Murder at the Nir Cantina

$49.95

(38 customer reviews)

Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set at a space station’s pub.

Format:
Mystery Party Kit
Setting:
Deep space outpost & tavern
Time:
90+ minutes
Ages:
Adult
Players:
12-15 (Standard Game)
16-100+ (Expanded Game)
Space travelers discover a killer in their midst…

Backstory

The Nir Cantina on Federal Station Nine in the Axilon Nebula attracts a diverse crowd of space travelers, including mercenaries, traders, diplomats, scientists, and smugglers. While most of these folks want nothing more than to have a quick drink and a meal on their way from one end of the galaxy to the other, at least one of them has a more sinister purpose in mind. It will take the guests and employees of the Nir Cantina all of their wits and skills to piece together the confounding clues and determine the identity of the killer in their midst!

A Patron Goes Missing

This mystery is divided into two primary segments. During the first portion of the evening, Act One, the guests will arrive at the Nir Cantina and have a chance to eat, drink, and mingle with one another. Each of the guests has certain personal goals (unrelated to the overall mystery) that they are attempting to achieve, and Act One gives them an opportunity to meet these goals. During the course of the evening, there are minor intermittent power failures that plunge the Cantina into darkness. These blackouts are probably the result of minor asteroid impacts; the Cantina owner assures everyone that there is no cause for alarm.

Murder!

Act Two will commence with the discovery of one of the guests, dead in the Cantina’s bathroom. The victim’s throat has been cut and cauterized, probably by a laser sword or knife; there is no blood. Near the victim is a small bag containing trace amounts of Stress, an illegal, highly addictive stimulant. It looks as though the person was killed for his drugs.

Justice and Profit

Nir Deware responds to this discovery by sealing the Cantina’s airlocks and informing the guests that there is a Fed-Terra Peacekeeping Envoy scheduled to dock at Outpost Nine in a few hours and that the best course of action will be to simply wait for them to show up and sort things out. However, when one of the other guests points out that there is a substantial bounty being offered for bringing in confirmed murderers, everyone’s mind turns to profit; if the killer can be identified before the arrival of the Envoy, the guests can claim the bounty for themselves!

Solving the Mystery

The rest of the evening is then devoted to locating clues, piecing together evidence, and trying to figure out who killed the victim.

Customer Images

38 reviews for Murder at the Nir Cantina

  1. One Dilapidated Space Station


    Headline : Complex, but Worth It

    Nickname : One Dilapidated Space Station

    Menu Highlights : Yoda Soda - scoop of lime sherbet with lemon-lime soda poured over it Blue macarons (Grogu's favorites) Boba Fettucine - Fettucine in a crockpot Thermal Detonators - sweet and sour meatballs in a crockpot Corscant Subway Sandwiches - literally sandwiches from Subway Porg Pastries - Anything pink from Hostess products - Snowballs, raspberry Zingers Galaxy Pops - cake pops dipped in blue frosting with nonpariels and sparkle dust around the equator.

    Theme Highlights : Our house was under construction so we didn't need to do much to make it look like a dilapidated space station. We used lots of mylar balloons and some large life-sized inflatable R2-D2 and stormtrooper.


    The informational packet is so detailed as to be overwhelming. When the author says that this murder mystery is more complex than other kinds of murder mysteries, the author is absolutely right.

    We used this murder mystery for a 14 year-old birthday party for a Star Wars fan. The good news is that you don’t have to be familiar with Star Wars to run the party. Due to the buying and selling of food, drinks, information, blasters??, etc, you really need a party host to help make sure the party is moving along. We had the bar owner, Nir Deware, and his bar “managers” co-hosting the party. Thank goodness! It would have been really hard for someone to play the character of Nir Deware well and staff the bar all by themselves.

    The kids totally enjoyed it and were really into their roles. In fact, we had to remind them to “buy” some food and drinks with their credits! That being said, the clues weren’t enough to get the characters to actually guess who the murderer was.

    One thing to note is that the game can be played with a minimum number of characters, and then there are some characters that are optional, that can be used if more people want to participate. This is a nice option, but also frustrating. Some of the characters were trying to gain points from interacting with the “optional” characters, but since those characters were “optional” we didn’t use them. They kept wandering around asking “Where is xxxx character?” We didn’t know enough about the game to go through the individual character sheets to remove references to the missing characters.

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  2. ladvena


    Headline : Great Party enjoyed by all ages

    Nickname : ladvena

    Menu Highlights : I had Giant cater the event. I took normal food (wings, sandwiches, pretzels, etc) but made up a cute description for them in the menu including Star Wars plants that I googled.

    Theme Highlights : We have a dry bar in the basement, so that was easy. I also purchased a small device that could project stars on the ceiling.


    My husband is a Star Wars geek. This murder mystery party was to celebrate his 50th birthday party. I was a little worried that there was no script to follow. However, the guest embraced the occasion and readily mingled to gain points and Corporate Credits. It was so fun to have most of the guests convict someone innocent. Even our youngest guest (age 13) could enjoy himself, and he won a prize at the end of the evening. It is a lot of setup work for the host, but if you plan and leave yourself plenty of time, everything runs smoothly.

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  3. Petar Iliev (Nir)


    Headline : Great atmosphere and lots of gags !

    Nickname : Petar Iliev (Nir)

    Menu Highlights : Hoth custard = brie cheese Sith shot = espresso vodka shot Yoda pint = green vodka Fancy droid = bubbly wine Stars of the galaxy = pickled plum juice (non-alcoholic)

    Theme Highlights : Food colouring for outerworldly drinks :)) Purple party lights + projector = space galactic vibe with class

    Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXVCe6AWggs


    https://youtube.com/shorts/hXVCe6AWggs?feature=share

    I am a fan of the Star Wars series and this was my first murder mystery party to host – It’s the theme that attracted me to this murder mystery scenario and I was super excited to set up decorations with our LED party strips at our living room. We had 16 guests including myself joining for the mystery, expanding into the expanded plot with one 1 investigator joining the cantina as well. It was a lot of info to set up for one person and thankfully I had my partner (playing Onna) excited with me too for setting up the menu and play around with food and drinks ideas. It was awesome to get excited with setting up the party with my partner !!
    The protocol handbook is clear, comprehensive and very well written. Thank you to the creators, I have to say it made a big difference with guiding me with the process of hosting the party during the night itself. It was super fun to have the dynamics of serving drinks and food as part of the plot. The scavenger hunt and currency at the Cantina was very interactive and enjoyable for everyone – the role-play of selling and buying services from one another really amped up the negotiations for information and built the character’s personas in the process.
    The production of the setting was also very impressive for all the guests – I had my speakers and the lights connected to my phone by Bluetooth and it was seamless and effective as to use the multimedia parts of the story with that set up. I also really enjoyed having more characters have lines as part of the script, which made the experience so much more interactive and immersive.
    The murder scene itself was a little complicated to set up with so many clues to be found within a room of items, but people appreciated the change of pace from the interrogation to a scavenger hunt. The accusation/discussion part of the night was intense ! There were so many plot lines and characters to think of, and we had some competitive people in the room. It was awesome with so many different details.

    I give the game 4 stars out of 5 as for a murder mystery plot, a lot of people mentioned that the murderer itself is too hard to guess. I don’t want to mention any spoilers here, but overall there was really only one solid clue leading to people to guess the murderer. The motivation for the murder was easy to pinpoint, but honing into the right person that did it, our group agreed needed more evidence in the script. With so much going on in the game, it is easy to overlook this clue and the people that noticed the single clue in the services exchanges did not bring it up in front of the group, thinking that it is simply a coincidence. In the end for some people, it felt a little like the Scooby Doo series where suddenly one person is an impostor and just reveals they are someone else without a lot of hints for who that person might be in the first place – so it came as too big of a surprise. We still had 3 people out of the 15 players guessing the murder however !!

    As this is my first murder mystery game, I really wouldn’t know better and whether there were enough hints for the group to guess right, though I do agree with some of the guests that have played this type of games before – there are usually at least 2 hints or clues to help guests suspect the right murderer and it felt here that there was simply only 1 solid clue that could not be argued against in the accusation stages. I give 4 stars for the murder mystery aspect of the game as it was still a big mystery with a lot of fitting plot lines to confuse the guests. There were simply too many bitter guests that were angry that they didn’t have enough info to guess it LOL. I don’t really mind but I have to be fair to the murder mystery rating of the game I guess.
    I rate it 5 out of 5 for the production value and passion of the creators, as what this game delivers as a setting and environment was outstanding ! It really felt special and one-of-a-kind experience for all of us, having the space menu, currency and visual-audio setting of the Cantina. I have to mention, the creators thinking of awards for different categories at the end, was a great touch that made the whole experience wholesome and quite the memory for the whole room. Overall, an amazing role-play experience that will be remembered by everyone !!

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  4. Shauna Lynn


    Headline : Did Someone Say Murder?

    Nickname : Shauna Lynn

    Menu Highlights : I decided to run the event like a real Cantina, but I must confess that I did find out most people did not want to spent their credits on food or drinks. So as a host, do not lean to heavy on the food details and maybe find another creative way to get your guests to spend their credits.

    Theme Highlights : The mood was set with the help of silver and gold table cloths, lots of glow sticks, and colored disco lights. Having great guests willing to go all out on their costumes helps also.


    What an amazingly put together package! I have now done 3 murder mysteries with different companies and this is hands down one of my favorite so far!

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  5. Petar Iliev (Nir)


    Headline : A vibrant cantina with lots of Action !

    Nickname : Petar Iliev (Nir)

    Menu Highlights : Hoth custard = brie cheese Sith shot = espresso vodka shot Yoda pint = green vodka Fancy droid = bubbly wine Stars of the galaxy = pickled plum juice (non-alcoholic)

    Theme Highlights : Food colouring for outerworldly drinks :)) Purple party lights + projector = space galactic vibe with class


    https://youtube.com/shorts/hXVCe6AWggs?feature=share

    I am a fan of the Star Wars series and this was my first murder mystery party to host – It’s the theme that attracted me to this murder mystery scenario and I was super excited to set up decorations with our LED party strips at our living room. We had 16 guests including myself joining for the mystery, expanding into the expanded plot with one 1 investigator joining the cantina as well. It was a lot of info to set up for one person and thankfully I had my partner (playing Onna) excited with me too for setting up the menu and play around with food and drinks ideas. It was awesome to get excited with setting up the party with my partner !!
    The protocol handbook is clear, comprehensive and very well written. Thank you to the creators, I have to say it made a big difference with guiding me with the process of hosting the party during the night itself. It was super fun to have the dynamics of serving drinks and food as part of the plot. The scavenger hunt and currency at the Cantina was very interactive and enjoyable for everyone – the role-play of selling and buying services from one another really amped up the negotiations for information and built the character’s personas in the process.
    The production of the setting was also very impressive for all the guests – I had my speakers and the lights connected to my phone by Bluetooth and it was seamless and effective as to use the multimedia parts of the story with that set up. I also really enjoyed having more characters have lines as part of the script, which made the experience so much more interactive and immersive.
    The murder scene itself was a little complicated to set up with so many clues to be found within a room of items, but people appreciated the change of pace from the interrogation to a scavenger hunt. The accusation/discussion part of the night was intense ! There were so many plot lines and characters to think of, and we had some competitive people in the room. It was awesome with so many different details.

    I give the game 4 stars out of 5 as for a murder mystery plot, a lot of people mentioned that the murderer itself is too hard to guess. I don’t want to mention any spoilers here, but overall there was really only one solid clue leading to people to guess the murderer. The motivation for the murder was easy to pinpoint, but honing into the right person that did it, our group agreed needed more evidence in the script. With so much going on in the game, it is easy to overlook this clue and the people that noticed the single clue in the services exchanges did not bring it up in front of the group, thinking that it is simply a coincidence. In the end for some people, it felt a little like the Scooby Doo series where suddenly one person is an impostor and just reveals they are someone else without a lot of hints for who that person might be in the first place – so it came as too big of a surprise. We still had 3 people out of the 15 players guessing the murder however !!

    As this is my first murder mystery game, I really wouldn’t know better and whether there were enough hints for the group to guess right, though I do agree with some of the guests that have played this type of games before – there are usually at least 2 hints or clues to help guests suspect the right murderer and it felt here that there was simply only 1 solid clue that could not be argued against in the accusation stages. I give 4 stars for the murder mystery aspect of the game as it was still a big mystery with a lot of fitting plot lines to confuse the guests. There were simply too many bitter guests that were angry that they didn’t have enough info to guess it LOL. I don’t really mind but I have to be fair to the murder mystery rating of the game I guess.
    I rate it 5 out of 5 for the production value and passion of the creators, as what this game delivers as a setting and environment was outstanding ! It really felt special and one-of-a-kind experience for all of us, having the space menu, currency and visual-audio setting of the Cantina. I have to mention, the creators thinking of awards for different categories at the end, was a great touch that made the whole experience wholesome and quite the memory for the whole room. Overall, an amazing role-play experience that will be remembered by everyone !!

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  6. Olivia


    Headline : Great for friends old or new!

    Nickname : Olivia

    Menu Highlights : Calypsian Jewels (deviled potatoes) Roasted Garlic Space balls The hallowed bean (beet hummus) Shredded wheat (seitan)

    Theme Highlights : Lighting was everything for this party! Totally transformed our space. We gave out little color changing orbs for the awards (5 below.) They were a great decoration and then people loved bringing something from the party home.


    All of our guests had the absolute best time. I love that the special tasks have all the guests interacting so people who didn’t know each other got to talk in character to break the ice. It warned people up so much I let intermission go on for a while.

    There is not a detail spared on this set. I was ready with everything to make the party a huge success.

    We used lights to really transform the space. We didn’t have much in the way of decorations besides lights and it was perfect.

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  7. Beth


    Headline : Very fun!

    Nickname : Beth

    Menu Highlights : Assortments of finger foods so people could grab and play games


    Casino party for 17th birthday 🙂

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  8. Michelle Nienhuis


    Headline : Out of this Galaxy!

    Nickname : Michelle Nienhuis

    Menu Highlights : For NYE we served 3 main courses and 2 desserts Mains were duck, beef and prawns with sides and the desserts were ice cream and toppings as well as a cheese board

    Theme Highlights : We made most of our decor, costumes and props - but that was the fun part. Music we kept to a NYE playlist

    Video : https://youtu.be/3hbl52EbgDQ


    What an awesome time had by all species from all parts of the galaxy LOL!

    New Years Eve was attended by only family due to the lockdown, so we needed something that would entertain all ages, and so we decided to host a Murder Mystery.

    Everyone had such a great time, I will never forget the look on everyone’s faces when the murderer was reviled – no one could believe it LOL

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  9. Benn


    Headline : Popcorn Club Cyberpunk Murder Mystery Night

    Nickname : Benn


    Thanks to your Murder at Nir Cantina party kit and LOTS of props and preparation, our social club Cyberpunk Murder Mystery Night was a huge success! Our Chinese members come to Popcorn Social Club to learn how to use English in a fun and natural setting, and jetting off 1000’s of years into the future was a novel experience for everyone involved. Each guest was able to get into character easily and achieve most of their goals before the murder, and the voting on who was responsible was very, very close, which is all down to your expert party kit! Thanks for the storyline, characters and assistance PlayingWithMurder.com!

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  10. Stat wars birthday party


    Headline : Star wars birthday party

    Nickname : Stat wars birthday party


    We all had a great night. Really enjoyed seeing the effort my friends went into to dress up and act. I dis personally find it hard to organize stuff on the night and also be apart of the game. Next time I think I will ask someone to be an organizer and prep everything, so I can play my part 100% and also not know the answer. All and all it was great fun.

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  11. Ft space jam


    Headline : My 23rd birthday !

    Nickname : Ft space jam

    Menu Highlights : Artichoke dip: alien guts Inka cola: alien pee space cheetos Brócoli: alien brains


    so for my 23rd birthday in quarantine i wanted to do a semi-virtual murder mystery. It was a lot of fun, dressing up and the planning was my fav part.
    We bought a disco ball, and tapped led blue lights to the wall and covered the walls with black garabage bags

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  12. Belle


    Headline : Out of this world fun!!

    Nickname : Belle

    Menu Highlights : It was a potluck from out of space. We had Italian Ice for drinks because they could be made in many different colors.

    Theme Highlights : I had mylar sheets on the walls, glow in the dark stuff, marbled balloons on the ceilings. I downloaded the music from the new Star Wars Cantina found in Amazon Music.


    We had a blast!! I have been hosting Mystery Dinner Games for Halloween for the past 4 years, and “Murder at the Nir Cantina” has been the funnest one so far.
    Everyone loved the amount of activity and interaction we had with each other; Which is something that most games like this lack. Highly recommend it! We had 7 adult couples.

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  13. thenoraborealis


    Headline : Entertaining and loads of fun!

    Nickname : thenoraborealis


    We played this murder mystery for my birthday and it was awesome. My girlfriend organized things and MC’d as Nir. Definitely challenging (as other reviewers have noted), but 7 of our 23 guests were able to correctly identify the murderer.

    Since we had more than 15 people, we made the extra folks private investigators (we called them “Intergalactic Investigators”) and a band of smugglers, and we encouraged the smugglers and P.I.s to battle over who could solve the mystery first. This kept folks occupied. We also made up secondary goals for these characters in order to make them competitive for the prizes at the end.

    Definitely print out extra money for “the house”… Also, make sure you have prices listed for food and drink so people know how much to pay! All in all, I highly recommend this murder mystery–I have done 2 other similar games for my past birthdays and this one was by far the best.

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  14. Alienzzzzzzz


    Headline : Great time!

    Nickname : Alienzzzzzzz


    By far the best murder mystery to get if your friends enjoy dressing up in costumes. Easy party to plan with not a lot of “planning” involved. I will say that making the majority of characters “human” for a party set in outer space is kind of boring. Also, there are a lot of types of money and you will have to print more copies of it than are given in the PDF if you have all characters present. Otherwise very fun.

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  15. Rebekah


    Headline : FUN NIGHT FOR ALL!

    Nickname : Rebekah

    Menu Highlights : Mostly appetizers with space themed names: Meateor meatballs Intergalactic pizza Nuts & Bolts (bits & bites) Space balls (balled melon) Orbits (pigs in a blanket) Jello shots + other drinks

    Theme Highlights : LED lights that changed colours, dry ice, "space junk" laying around, put aluminum foil around so it looked like a space station, posters of advertisements for visiting other planets


    Really great characters and great info sheets. They have everything you need in the packages. I gave my guests notepad and papers so they could track everything and had prizes for the winners. Well put together and worth the extra effort for the host to set the scene!

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  16. Christy


    Headline : Zombie asylum

    Nickname : Christy

    Menu Highlights : This game requires the hostess to be on their A game.

    Theme Highlights : Halloween decorations


    We did the zombie asylum. I have hosted at least 5 mystery parties and this was my favorite so far. We had 30 guest and every single person had a great time. Already planning the next one.

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  17. cslaughter


    Headline : One dinner our library will never forget!

    Nickname : cslaughter

    Menu Highlights : for one of the events a local chicken restaurant donated chicken tenders and sauce, we put together sides and fruit punch for the drink and renamed all of the food for something space related. For the teens we made nachos and "charged" for each of the toppings. The nachos worked the best.

    Theme Highlights : We decorated by making a kitchen area, we had a smoke machine, and played a star wars mixed soundtrack. Salt rock lamps, and a lava lamp and fiber optic lights added a little extra to the ambiance.


    I work at a library. Our summer reading program was a universe of stories. The Murder on the Nir Cantina was absolutely perfect! We originally planned for one event of this and there was SO much interest that we ended up having 2 adult and 1 teen event. This resulted in having investigators in all three events just to make sure we could allow as many people to participate in the amount of time that we could use. Our patrons went above and beyond! I look forward to purchasing another kit soon.

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  18. Bre


    Headline : Birthday party fun for all

    Nickname : Bre

    Menu Highlights : There were a few different dietary restrictions we were working with so we set up a taco bar with vegan and gluten free options.

    Theme Highlights : We used some color change leds that I could change or turn on and off from my phone. We used actual items for the scavenger hunt which gave it an extra layer of fun.


    I hosted this party with the max number of guests. While most people were automatically interested in the space theme, everybody got into it once the party started. The secret goals distracted a few of the new to murder mystery players. I think they struggled to remember these goals in addition to finding clues about the murder. Still it was a lot of fun!

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  19. Angeluti


    Headline : Great mystery party set!

    Nickname : Angeluti


    Just did the Murder at Nir Cantina mystery party last weekend. It was fantastic! We all had so much fun, especially with the menu and the costumes. I printed the money sheets but didn’t end up having enough for everyone so I’d recommend printing out 2 of each if you have the full group. Only one person in our group guessed the murderer correctly. It’s a little complicated for a bunch of first time mystery partiers like us, but the individual goals for each character keep the game interesting even if you have no idea who the killer is. There is a lot of paperwork so you’ll need a good printer. I have already recommended it to others and can’t wait to do another one! I gave it 4 stars just because if you’re a beginner it’s a lot of information to digest and we didn’t give ourselves quite enough time. Just something to keep in mind if you’re on a tight schedule.

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  20. Hudsons


    Headline : Fun to decorate - Fun to play

    Nickname : Hudsons

    Menu Highlights : I've attached a menu to this review for everyone to check out if they'd like.

    Theme Highlights : Went all out on decorations, food, and planning!


    Murder mystery dinner for family and friends on a winter Saturday night.

    Once we set the date, we went to town deciding how to decorate, who to invite, how to invite them, and what to feed them. Overall, the party was a blast and the murder mystery was great.

    Character sheets were sent out to each guest in the form of a video invitation with a personalized link to an individual DropBox folder. Each folder contained the character sheet and the guest list, to allow them to get familiar with the various characters prior to the dinner.

    We used mylar emergency blankets and covered our walls in the entry way and living room when them. We purchased some larger space murals from Amazon (almost everything was from Amazon), as well as some space-themed 12×16 posters, space ship portal stick on windows and door covers. We bought some LED spider lights to hang on the ceiling, some LED blue light soft up-lights for the hallway, two blue floodlight bulbs for existing lamps for the hallway, and renting two larger up-lights for the living room. We strung LED exterior cafe lights across the ceiling separating the kitchen and living room. We also used the mylar blankets and created “curtains” on the windows and tied them in the middle with LED flashing hair clips. Lastly, we purchased 4 LED center pieces for the tables.

    We moved our furniture out of the living room and entry hall and rented 4 cocktail tables, used mylar blankets and a space-themed table cloth as the tables cloths. We purchased some space ship “wall paneling” (came in a roll of like 4 feet by 30 feet) and put that at the bottom of the walls. I had a welcome poster made by VistaPrint which was 3′ by 4′ and hung that above the TV which was playing the videos. My daughter made two large balloon arches. One for the transition from the entryway into the living room, and a shooting star arch for the entryway wall.

    We took another user’s review and created some videos using Powtoons as well and then created our menu. We ultimately had the event catered, to allow for less work on the day of the event to ensure the food was ready.

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  21. NMcClure


    Headline : Out of this world!

    Nickname : NMcClure

    Menu Highlights : The menu was pretty open this time. We made roasted pork sandwiches and meatballs and a few sides, but gave everything weird names like Roasted Tendon of Malek and Geiger's Eyeballs. I made a cocktail named Ondannian Algae Brine (lemon vodka, blue curacao, viniq, pineapple juice, lemonade and ginger ale - perfect greenish blue color) Threw in some peppermint patties :)

    Theme Highlights : LOTS of glow sticks and balls. Used emergency blankets on the walls for extra glam; lava lamps; found led stickers for the bottoms of bottles to light up the drinks; glow straws; Instead of an invitation, I made a website for the Nir Cantina and individual dossier videos that I texted to everyone; used shrinky dinks for individual name tags (lots of work though); found cool astronaut trophies for awards (amazon saves the day!)

    Video : https://youtu.be/dA3dEiK1jq4


    This is the 9th Murder Mystery Party we’ve held, but the first we’ve used Playing with Murder. We had an absolute blast! Everything was thorough and easy to put together and the space theme was a lot of fun to work with for decorations and costumes. NO ONE figured out the murder though which was pretty funny!

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  22. Emily


    Headline : Nir Cantina 35th Birthday

    Nickname : Emily

    Menu Highlights : Pulsar pork sliders Caprican caprese sliders Meteoroid meatballs Quasar quesadillas Cosmic cupcakes Venusian veggies Shivan Charcuterie Galilean cheese Lunar libations

    Theme Highlights : I got a neon menu board for display, set up our dining room table as a large bar. We also found spaceship door hangings.

    Video : Seattle


    This was a great fact pattern. I did have to customize the character sheets for gender pronouns and to make sure that everyone’s goals were equally achievable. I also had fun making "real" objects for the clues. The sound effects are a bit quiet so I had trouble switching to them from the party music. It would help to have someone assist in turning lights off and activating sound effects. All in all, a great time. I will use this site again!

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  23. Sophie


    Headline : Nir Cantina!

    Nickname : Sophie

    Menu Highlights : Mac and cheese balls, mini-cupcakes, "spudniks" (baked potatoes covered in tin foil), and some other snacks, mostly I was going for sphere-shaped foods.

    Theme Highlights : I covered all the windows with black garbage bags and taped up stars to make it look like outer space. I also replaced all the lightbulbs with violet lightbulbs/ flickering blue lights which created an eery, fun vibe! Costumes were also a lot of fun! Some folks dressed a little more casually, others went all out-- it was a lot of fun! Also, played various versions of Space Oddity on repeat most of the night =)


    Hosted a 15 person party to celebrate friendship and fun! It was a complete success! I hosted in my house and hung drapes to create a two room "space ship" which is where the dinner took place. I started planning about 5 weeks in advance which was perfect! The only challenge was getting folks to commit and follow through with attendance, in the end it all worked but I did have some day-of cancellations (I was able to switch one persons role from a non-essential to an essential).

    Overall: I think this might have been because of the group of 15 most only knew 2-3 others, so there was a lot of mingling that might happen at an ordinary dinner party. While the party packet is very thorough and provides all the information one might need, I do think folks struggled a little to remember a lot of information that (because it’s space/sci-fi themed) is not super intuitive. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time!

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  24. Anu


    Headline : Birthday

    Nickname : Anu


    It was great event! People got extremely into it and it was great for all types of people -not just Star Wars fans. Happy to try another type definitely

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  25. Steve


    Headline : Murder at the Nir Cantina

    Nickname : Steve

    Menu Highlights : We picked up a bunch of quick-heat appetizers from costco and then just gave them spacey names, see the menu in the picture

    Theme Highlights : I visited the local asian market for some really cool beverage containers and snacks, and used them as props.


    We hosted this party as a church youth group event, and it was a big hit. A bunch of teens gathered early to turn the church hall into a futuristic cantina, using lots of lights and LED balloons and even a few black light areas (bulbs were cheap right after halloween). We tried a dry ice center piece but it didn’t work super well and wasn’t worth the extra money and effort. The game itself was easy to understand and the teens got into it – and those that hadn’t put much effort ahead of time into costumes etc. regretted it, and determined to do a better job the next time. The mechanics of the game worked well and were very clear. it was a lot of effort to host but definitely worth it!

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  26. Bridgid


    Headline : outside space cantina

    Nickname : Bridgid


    We hosted the party as a fun summer get together with our friends. Since the weather was so nice we were able to host the party outside. This was the second murder mystery we hosted since we had so much fun with the first. This party went so well that the "murderer" got away with it. We had so much figuring out the costumes for our characters. I wish I had taken more photos since everyone really looked like they belonged in an outer space cantina. Our guests had so much fun they asked if we could host another.

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  27. Emily W


    Headline : Nir Cantina

    Nickname : Emily W


    ..

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  28. Emily W


    Headline : Murder at Nir Cantina

    Nickname : Emily W

    Menu Highlights : -"We come in Peace" Jell-O shots: green jello with a candy eye on top, Tippy Cow mint shots poured into Jello. -Rocket Fuel: blue alchoholic cocktail -Beam me up Scotchie drink -Cosmos-politan, Martian-tini drinks

    Theme Highlights : The atmosphere was truly intergalactic. We purchased a 30 foot plastic space background and push pinned it to the ceiling having it draped over the walls. We found many other space station themed door covers and window plastic banners. We also used a silver foil table skirt and push pinned it to the ceiling to create the roof of the Cantina above the kitchen. We found a glowing balloons that we push pin to the ceiling to simulate planets orbiting above our heads. We found rotating disco lightbulbs, screw them into the lamps so that lights swirled on the ceilings. We did all of the invites on Facebook and the guests came in face paint, metal contraptions affixed to different parts of their bodies and costumes of cosplay quality.


    My boyfriend likes Star Wars and always wanted to try a murder mystery party, so murder in nir cantina was perfect for everyone! The world and character stories were incredibly detailed. I loved that there were about seven different types of creatures at the party. Some people were intimidated by how much knowledge they needed to know to play their character and achieve the character’s goals during the party. But others, including my boyfriend, got really excited by all of the details and dove right in. For the game makers, I would recommend making the printable PDF handheld friendly, because not everyone will remember all that they need to accomplish during party and will need to carry around a reminder. It would be great if each characters goals/points list was able to be printed and fit on one large index card with check off boxes next to each item, instead of 2-3 pages, which can be difficult for hiding information. Guests will need to check off the goals that they accomplish during the party and keep track of how many points they have, give every guest a pencil. Future customer, Always get the version for 15-200+ people. It just gives you extra materials for the same price. People went all out with their costumes and did not disappoint! We decorated a week before the party and the house looked amazing! I would recommend getting a very loud sound system for the audio clips ( because having 15+ people in the same space gets very loud ) and have an helper shut off the lights during the cantina’s "power failures." It seems more authentic when the host isn’t flicking on and off the lights to simulate that. Wait til everyone stops talking to start the audio clip. In this party there is an act one, and intermission, and then act two. Since the characters have to purchase the food at your party with their alien money, some characters may not be able to get all the food that they want depending on the prices you set. To get rid of excess food, the intermission is a great time to announce that since you’re taking a break from your characters that no one has to pay for food for the next five minutes. Lol! This created a free for all! And while everyone is getting food it gives the host time to give out act two cards and get ready for act two prompts. The party was a huge success and everyone had a great time, I would highly recommend this intergalactic fun to anyone who loves space, aliens, or Science fiction of any sort!

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  29. Dakota


    Headline : Best Friends Reunion Ever, Murder Included!

    Nickname : Dakota

    Menu Highlights : I found some awesome star wars themed menu items online. On my menu, I also included one particularly good item that was described as follows: "Even Luke Skywalker couldn't say 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO' to our sweet and sour meatballs!"

    Theme Highlights : Part one, any music that had to do with bars (Piano Man, the theme from Cheers, etc.). Part two, any music that has to do with killing (Heathens, Cool Kids, etc.).


    A few years after graduating, a number of my high school friends and I had gone on mission trips to foreign countries, been married, and gone off to college all over the US. We were finally all back together in our hometown this last New Year’s, and for New Year’s Eve we decided to throw the murder mystery party. It was a total blast! I planned for us to spend 90 minutes on it, but everybody was having so much fun that I let it continue and we got up to about two and a half hours. Not that it needs to be that long; the great thing about being the host is that you can decide how the story moves along depending on your group’s desires. Everybody gave great feedback, and it’s definitely one I would recommend! One thing that everybody seemed to enjoy was turning the clue hunt into an easter egg hunt. I prepared 20 easter eggs, five with clues, five with extra points, and 10 with extra money (game money). That made the clue-finding more fun!

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  30. Ben McClymont


    Headline : Murder at the LAMP Cantina

    Nickname : Ben McClymont

    Menu Highlights : Space cake (we covered our cake in purple lights)

    Theme Highlights : We had black tule put up all around our apartment and put glowing balloons under it to make it look like a galaxy.


    This party was amazing! I’ve played many murder mysteries before from other companies, but this was the best! We did this for my roommates’ birthday parties and they all loved it. It had the perfect balance of campy comedy and high stakes danger. The amount of freedom in crafting relationships makes it so fun for a bunch of theatre people. I would totally recommend!

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There are 15 primary suspects in this mystery, however only 12 are required to play the game. Read the "How To Play" section for more information on how to play an expanded game with more than 15 guests.


* = Optional character


Male Roles


  • Jaseph Kalovich, Station Mechanic, Nir Cantina: Jaseph is the second mechanic at the Nir Cantina, working side by side with Fedor Mas. Jaseph is a working-class man who dreams of a better life. Race: Human

  • Captain Sebastian Malachai, Captain of the Sisyphus: Sebastian Malachai is the captain of the Fed-Terra trading vessel, the Sisyphus. He is an upstanding Fed-Terra citizen and a reputable businessman who makes his living transporting cargo. Race: Human

Female Roles


  • Onna, Serving Girl at the Nir Cantina: Onna is the primary server at the Nir Cantina. Once a petty smuggler, Onna has turned over a new leaf here on Federal Outpost Nine. Race: Human from Terra-4

  • Erin Schale, First Mate of the Sisyphus: Erin Schale is first mate of the Fed-Terra trading vessel, the Sisyphus, serving under Captain Sebastian Malachai. Professional, precise, and talented, Erin helps the captain operate his small but highly profitable business. Race: Human

Male or Female Roles


  • Nir Deware, Owner and Proprietor of the Nir Cantina: (Played by the Host/Hostess) Owner and sole proprietor of the Nir Cantina, Deware is an ex-adventurer with a cheerful disposition and a willingness to do business with anyone. Race: Human

  • Fedor Mas, Station Mechanic, Nir Cantina: Fedor is one of two highly skilled mechanics at the Nir Cantina. Fedor is a Divek, a feline humanoid from the jungle planet Divekan Zed. While highly competent, his somewhat arrogant demeanor makes it difficult for him to relate to others. Race: Divek

  • *Caleb LaVorn, Short Order Cook, Nir Cantina: A highly skilled chef whose talents are undoubtedly being wasted in the Cantina, Caleb rules the kitchen with an iron hand and an eye towards detail. Race: Human

  • *Galen, Crew Member of the Sisyphus: Galen is a highly advanced android who performs numerous tasks aboard the Sisyphus under Captain Malachai. Galen's mechanical body is capable of prodigious feats of strength, and the android's quadrilium alloy frame is all but indestructible. Race: Android

  • Arian Zapho, Diplomatic Envoy: Arian Zapho is a minor diplomatic envoy from Calypsis, en route to the Fed-Terra Galactic Embassy. Arian has arranged for transport aboard the Sisyphus and is at the Cantina to rendezvous with Captain Malachai. Race: Calypsian

  • Ryle Kan, Bodyguard: Ryle Kan is a professional bodyguard and occasional mercenary. Ryle makes a living by ensuring the safety of important intergalactic travelers through dangerous territory. Race: Divek

  • Mak, Infamous Smuggler: Mak is one of the most successful smugglers in the galaxy, eagerly sought after both by prospective clients and by Fed-Terra agents. Despite Mak's status as a wanted criminal, the smuggler rarely bothers to keep a low profile, instead trusting luck, cunning, and charisma to avoid capture. Race: Human

  • Macerak Sh'irr, Bounty Hunter: A short-tempered, greedy brawler, Macerak Sh'irr is a bounty hunter who delivers smugglers, space pirates, and escaped criminals to the Fed-Terra authorities. Race: Daculian

  • Millian Pardulo, Research Scientist: Millian Pardulo is an alien scientist dedicated to the discovery and synthesis of sustainable, inexpensive energy drives for starships. Millian's work promises to usher in a glowing age of cheap, efficient interstellar travel. Race: Shivan

  • *B9XL "Bean," Scientific Assistant Droid: B9XL, nicknamed "Bean," serves as the primary research assistant for the scientist Millian Pardulo. Bean comes preprogrammed with an extremely happy artificial personality. Race: Robot

  • Canthalus, Mercenary: Canthalus is a mercenary, bodyguard, and soldier-for-hire, working out of the Axilon Nebula. Canthalus has a reputation for being even-tempered and reasonably pleasant, as long as no one crosses him/her. Race: Calypsian

Extra Players


  • *Investigator (male or female): Additional players have the option of playing the role of "Investigators". In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.

This party kit is a downloadable PDF file that you print at home. It includes the following features:

  • An introduction that explains the basic principles of running a mystery-party and provides specific tips on props, menu items, sound effects, and special tips to help make your party exciting, memorable and easy to run
  • Step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for your party
  • A detailed party guidebook that will walk you through the event in a simple, easy-to-understand format
  • Instructions on how to run the party for a large group
  • Nametags and character sheets for each player – the character sheets include tips on costuming and role-playing, as well special goals and gossip unique to each character
  • Fully customizable invitations, complete with RSVP cards and guest lists
  • Voting sheets
  • Awards for your guests
  • And much more!

With your purchase of Murder in Manhattan you will also receive the following:

  • Step-by-step printing instructions
  • Two mp3 audio effects for use with your party
  • Instructions on how to use these audio clips to best effect

Follow these steps to host this mystery:

  1. Each guest will each assume the role of a particular character

    Mystery Parties involve a combination of improvisational acting, storytelling, and creative problem solving. Each guest will play the part of that character throughout the course of the game. Each character has specific personality traits, goals, secrets, and information, all of which are included in the character sheet; a big part of the fun is getting into character and taking on a new, exciting role.

  2. A mysterious Event will occur

    At some point during the party, an Event will occur that will force the players to come together in order to solve a problem or unravel a mystery. Traditionally, the Event in question will be the murder of one of the characters (as played by a guest), but the parties crafted by Playing With Murder often use this basic framework to accommodate different types of Events, thereby ensuring that your guests will be surprised and entertained (even if they are veteran murder mystery party players).

  3. Solve the mystery!

    Your guests will need to use the information that their characters know (as well as additional clues that are provided during the game) to solve the mystery or overcome the problem posed by the Event. Typically this culminates in the guests voting on the identity of the murderer, but again, different parties will have different specific goals. All of our parties also come complete with additional subgames (treasure hunts, unique character goals and special puzzles) that are guaranteed to keep the action intense and your guests motivated and focused.

Expanded Game For Large Groups

If you have extra players, there are two ways that you can accommodate everyone:

  • Investigator Role – Additional players have the option of playing the role of “Investigators”. In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players. Expanded Games include a PDF guide that explains how to use the Investigator role, as well as printable character sheets and name tags for anyone that is playing an Investigator.
  • Multiple Groups – It is also possible to break your guests up into groups and play multiple instances of the game at the same time. The game will more or less happen the same way; the host makes announcements and each group moves their game forward simultaneously based on the host’s instructions. It’s good to have one assistant in each group to answer questions and facilitate gameplay within the group. This method provides a more intimate experience for your guests, who get better acquainted with a smaller group and participate in a more digestible story.

    Please contact us if you’d like more information about how to run your party using the Multiple Groups method.

Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.

Read more about Expanded Games here

First time hosting a murder mystery party?

Visit our How to Host a Mystery Party page to get step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for your murder mystery party.

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