Tuesday, November 01, 2011

{murder in the lighthouse}

halloween parties are more like halloween work days.
i mean, you have to think up an original and creative costume {or else shell out 50 bucks for someone else's creativity}, you have to get a bunch of food and drinks, and you have to entertain people and think of witty conversation, and you have to invite a billion people and then clean up after them.

hullo. 
scary, yes. fun, no.
well, fun, maybe. i guess it could still be fun.
but the point is not that.
the point is: have you ever tried a murder mystery in a box? 
you can buy it in the board game section. you take it home and voila


instant, easy party.
you find 8-10 friends who are game, and you assign them characters. the game includes their costume suggestions, as well as a menu for appies, the main course, drinks, and dessert {just get everyone to bring a thing. minimal work for everyone!}


on the night of the party, everyone shows up, you sit em down at the dinner table, and you all read from your scripts. zero awkward pauses. zero i can't believe i just said that moments or am i talking too much moments. there are four scenes, and you play while you stuff your face.
it comes with a {wonderfully cheesy} cassette tape, which briefs you on the situation and who has been murdered and how, so you the host don't actually have to have any social graces. 
one person is the murderer, and only they know it. at the end of the game, everyone presents their solution and makes their accusations, and if anyone guesses right, they're the winner!
who doesn't like a party where you could potentially take home the title of Winner?


we did one with a boat theme. the murder took place in a lighthouse... there was a lot of khaki, a lot of accusing, and a lot of food. 
what more could you want in a halloween party?


have you ever played one of these?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic idea!!!!

erin e flynn said...

uhm this is totally awesome and i want to do it!

Liz said...

I love these! I haven't done it in forever, though... Mine was a murder that happened in a candy shop; therefore, Kara Mel, Sugar N. Spice, etc. hahaha. Kinda lame characters but fun all the same.

Suzy Krause said...

shelby and erin: try it out! it'll change your life...or your halloween.

liz: hahaha, but doesn't the cheesiness just add to it? so good... i love some good cheese.

Andrea Stevenson said...

How stinkin fun!!! I love this. I'm doing this. And that last photo is AMAZING!

PICS-O-ANDREA

Holly Knitlightly said...

This sounds & looks soooooooooo much fun!!! I wanna do it! Haha.

Anonymous said...

that sounds like a game I would totally play!

Jannaya said...

Yes! So fun! I've only played it once. It took place at an archaeological dig in Egypt. Now I want to play again!

Suzy Krause said...

andrea, holly, debbie: totally do! and let me know which one you play...there are so many good ones!

jannaya: whoa....we should swap games! they're kind of expensive to just buy all the time. besides, you only can play the same one so many times....haha.

The Magnificent Lou said...

Holy moly, this rules. What a cool party - love the last picture! I have heard of murder mystery games but hadn't checked them out...I'm completely sold.

The Magnificent Lou said...

Holy moly, this rules. What a cool party - love the last picture! I have heard of murder mystery games but hadn't checked them out...I'm completely sold.

Jen Glen said...

You guys are awesome. How come I don't know who that murderer is? Never seen him before.

RobynRenee said...

My Young Adults group did one of these for New Year's Eve a few year's back. It was so much fun! It took place at classic hollywood party or something like that. :) I didn't win but I do remember walking around and finding certain other party people to finish tasks in order to keep my secrets a secret and reveal other people's.

Shelley said...

I have totally played one of these! The one I did was a glamorous hollywood themed one - I was a young (I liked that) actress sleeping with everyone on set but I wasn't the murderer! It was fab - everyone dressed up in dinner suits and ballgowns - very odd for a friday night suburban dinner but oh so much fun!!!

(how terrible is this - when I just typed 'glamorous' Fergie's song started playing in my head - I hate that song and now it's stuck on repeat in my mind, most likely for eternity - noooooo!)

kristyn ellen said...

You all are lookin' classsy!

Suzy Krause said...

lou: DO.

jen: he's liz's new boyfriend. :) i made him the murderer to see how he'd stand up under extreme pressure. he passed with flying colours.

robyn: whoa. a classic hollywood one would be so fun to dress up for! i should look for one like that for next year...

shelley: ball gowns! heck yes. i would LOVE that.

Unknown said...

What an awesome idea! Totally getting one of these games for playing fun in the future! :)

Jamie said...

I totally want to play one of those games!! It would be fun to do for no good reason too. I love your pictures!

Erica & Benjamin said...

Oh my gosh, I totally just remembered that Mike and I did a Murder Mystery once in Orem!!! Lol I had totally forgotten about that.... what a fun night.

RIPplePuddle said...

This looks like so much fun! Good idea for a party next year.

Jillian said...

This looks like great fun. :) I think Owen would be perfect at a game like this. He is just seriously goofy enough.

Meg said...

So this post inspired me and I'm hosting my first murder mystery dinner party. But I'm ghetto and downloaded a free version and it doesn't seem as complete at the one you are talking about. Crap! I knew I shouldn't have cheaped out!

Suzy Krause said...

it'll still be a blast i bet!!! as long as everyone's really into it. oh fun...we're doing another one soon here too. yay!