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Jazz Age Jeopardy
$49.95
Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set in 1920’s jazz club.
Format:
Mystery Party Kit
Setting:
1920’s New York Jazz Club
Time:
90+ minutes
Ages:
Adult
Players:
Play with Printed Sheets or the App
Hosts have the choice of playing the game with printable documents or using the PWM Party Assistant app
View app gameplay guide
During a night of Prohibition-era revelry, something goes terribly wrong.
Backstory
The guests are a mixed group of club staff members, entertainers, and guests at a private party held at a jazz club in 1920s New York City. It is the height of the Jazz Age, and social revolution is afoot. This is the age of Prohibition—and of bootleggers and gangsters. Club owner Felix Fontano, the son of a successful bootlegger and crime boss—and a successful businessman himself—is throwing this private party for a group of select friends. It is a night of revelry like many other nights of revelry enjoyed by this group of sophisticates, artists, and hoodlums . . . until things go horribly wrong.
This mystery is divided into two primary segments. During the first portion of the evening (Act One), the partygoers will have the opportunity to eat, drink, dance, and mingle, while enjoying the swanky atmosphere and smooth jazz of Fontano’s club, The Cat’s Meow.
Murder!
At the midpoint of the evening, one of the players makes a terrible discovery: someone has been murdered in the back supply room of the club!
Solving the Mystery
Act Two will begin with the grisly discovery of the victim’s bloody body. In the area around the body, there are signs of the struggle that occurred prior to the death. It will now be up to the guests to figure out what happened.
The guests quickly decide that the best course of action is not to call the police, but rather to conduct an investigation amongst themselves; at this point, all the guests are suspects; a formal police investigation would dredge up unsavory details of their pasts and expose them to public scandal and unwanted personal repercussions, not to mention the serious and immediate legal repercussions of being caught in a bootlegging establishment!
There are 24 primary suspects in this game, however only 13 are required to play the game. The host or hostess will play the role of the Narrator, who keeps the party on track and helps to advance the action. Read the "How To Play" section for more information on how to play an expanded game with more than 24 guests.
* = Optional character
Male Roles
- Felix Fontano, Club Owner. Felix owns The Cat’s Meow Jazz Club. He is attractive and vain, the son of famous bootlegger Frank Fontano.
- Raymond Ellison, Artist. Raymond is an old college buddy of Felix’s—an artist and something of a dilettante. He comes from old money.
- Jefferson Mitchell, Stockbroker. Jefferson is a successful stockbroker working on Wall Street.
- Edgar Fitzpatrick, Broadway Producer. Edgar is an up-and-coming Broadway director and producer.
- Roger Romano, Attorney. Roger is a money-hungry, ambulance-chasing attorney.
- Duke Carillo, Track Owner. Duke owns a horseracing track in New Jersey. He’s an old friend of the Fontano family.
- Poppy Keene, Club Manager. Poppy manages the day-to-day affairs of the club with an iron fist.
- Calvin Carpenter, Bartender. Calvin is the bartender at the club. He’s cocky and presumptuous. A scoundrel with the ladies.
- *Ronald Mason, Doctor. Ronald is a physician who has made a lot of money during Prohibition because of his willingness to prescribe medicinal alcohol.
Female Roles
- Edith Fontano, Club Owner’s Wife. Edith is Felix’s wife. Enduring years of his infidelity has left her hardened and cynical.
- June Palmetto, Actress. June is a famous actress, a southern belle in the big city.
- Judy Jordan, Flapper. Judy Jordan is a popular young woman on the party circuit. She’s young, bubbly, and optimistic.
- Claudia Mitchell, Writer. Claudia is a well-known author and the wife of stockbroker Jefferson Mitchell.
- Gloria Vale, Singer. Gloria is a jazz singer hired to perform this evening.
- *Jacqueline Jacobs, Fashion Designer. Jacqueline is a snobbish fashion designer. She has a boutique catering to young flapper types.
- *Ella Landeau, Flapper. Ella Landeau is a popular young woman on the party circuit. She’s confident and flirtatious.
- *Mary Marino, Flapper. Bess Bailey is a popular young woman on the party circuit. She’s lighthearted on the outside but serious underneath.
- *Holly Olmstead, Tennis Champion. Holly Olmstead is a professional tennis player. She’s haughty and competitive.
Male or Female Roles
- Win Wallace, Accountant. Win is the accountant for many of the guests. S/he’s reserved but knowledgeable.
- Elliot Nash, Jazz Pianist. Elliot is a talented jazz pianist who often performs at the club. S/he is cool, calm, and collected.
- *Charlie Chambers, Jazz Bassist. Charles is a talented jazz bassist who often performs at the club. He is obsessed with all things jazz.
- *Brett Reeves, Waiter. Brett is a relatively new employee at The Cat’s Meow Jazz Club. S/he has hopes of one day making it big on Broadway.
- *Regan Rowan, Waiter. Rosie is a relatively new employee at The Cat’s Meow Jazz Club. S/he has hopes of one day making it big on Broadway.
- *Alex Preston, Actor. Alex Preston was once on track to stardom, but alcohol got the better of him/her.
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.
What's Included
Jazz Age Jeopardy is a downloadable kit that contains PDF files that you print at home, as well as other media files. You can also host and play with the PWM app.
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, casino games, 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 as special goals and information unique to each character
- Fully customizable invitations, complete with RSVP cards and guest lists
- Special handouts for your guests, offering a detailed overview of 1920s costuming and slang
- 7 illustrated clue cards the players can use to solve the mystery
- Voting sheets
- Customizable awards for your guests
- And much more!
With your purchase of Jazz Age Jeopardy, you will also receive the following:
- A separate “Customizable Documents” file that includes all of the invitations and awards in an editable format
- Step-by-step printing instructions
- A lengthy MP3 audio effects clip for use with your party
- Instructions on how to use this clip to best effect
Follow these steps to host this mystery:
- 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. - 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). - 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.
Content Rating:
This party is rated adult. While there is no explicit material, the party does contain references to the following:
- Infidelity and extramarital affairs
- Alcohol use
- Bootlegging and various other crimes
- References to the Great War
- Murder
Difficulty:
This party is moderately complex to set up. We recommend a venue with at least two rooms and a sufficient area to hide clues for the scavenger hunt.
This party is average difficulty.
Al Chaplin –
I ran this for my 30th birthday. I had 26 guests, and thought the expanded version meant more characters, but it didnt. It just said to make more people investigators, but offered no extra story lines or suspects (i had to add my own) and no other characters for people to play.
i had to write a lot of characters, altered about 70%, and the printables that came with the mystery were asthetically awful! I made my own invites and nametags.
It was just so overpriced that i feel cheated.
Siah –
We had the Jazz Age Jeaporady party and it was very successful! The guests all were very enthusiastic about their characters and roles and they truly had a chance to shine! With about 25 people we all really enjoyed our night. I would definitely recommend. Playing With Murder does a great job of preparing everything and setting an exciting scene.
NielsonLady –
I included a murder mystery with my birthday party and I had sent everyone their character sheets 5 days before. Everyone had a blast and I was constantly being told we should do another one by everyone as they left 🙂 There’s a voting sheet at the end that I didn’t end up utilising, nominating characters and putting it to a “hands up” vote was sufficient enough.
Hilary –
The party was for my daughter’s 16th birthday. The kids got their character sheets with their invitations and were very excited to get dressed up and be in character. My daughter didn’t want one of her friends to be the murder victim, so I enlisted the help of some good family friends, which worked perfectly because the murder victim has another character after the murder, which helped me as the hostess of the party. They could encourage the kids in their solving of the murder. What I did change though, from the prescribed script, was to rewrite the murderer’s act two sheet, so that they did not know they were the murderer while everyone was analysing the clues and throwing accusations around. I felt if they knew, they would let it slip. So I gave them a generic act two sheet, with their specific knowledge; and I wrote a “Final Speech” sheet which the murderer read out after everyone voted and the murder was solved. It was a script which explained their motive, just like the final reveal in the murder books and movies. The kids had an awesome time, loved being in character. I loved doing the speakeasy decor and my daughter loved being able to solve the murder without having any inside information.
BRosch –
We celebrated my daughters 16th birthday with Jazz Age Jeopardy. We currently live in Panama so I spent several days translating the material. In the end – it was so much fun. It’s something the people here had never heard of but they jumped right in and had a blast. I have actually had requests to host another one in the future. We ended the night with fireworks and a 1920’s themed cake. Awesome party and so much fun!
Mrs.BMW –
We did this in January and everyone is still talking about the party. Dress and plan the menu to match the theme and it’s a 5 star night.
Momof7 –
Great party package! The downloadable information was extremely helpful in planning and executing a fun party. We used all of the tips included for costumes and decorations and added a few of our own. My favorite was our roaring 20’s cut outs that were hung on the walls throughout the house. Everyone did their “homework” and came to the party ready to play their character. So much fun watching everyone get into their part and use the provided “20’s vocabulary” cheat sheet. Great time had by all for my daughter’s 30th birthday party!
Kathy –
The party was a Mardi Gras party for senior citizens. They found it fun and exciting. I was impressed at how easy everything was to download and set up.
LD –
My event was for teens ages 13 to 18. I was nervous at first that they wouldn’t get into character with their roles but when I set out the sign up sheet they all took the choosing of a character very seriously. We had 21 characters out of the 23. The teens LOVED this event! They said they wanted to do more parties like this one where they get to have an active role in what’s happening. The biggest issue was that some of the necessary information was not given out because the teen playing that character was shy and didn’t really speak. So finding ways to have information presented other than just hoping the actors give it out, would make this party a perfect 10!
Franny –
Purchased a kit to host a murder mystery night fundraiser. It was awesome for our event. We had 40 guest attend, and would recommend this be the max amount of people you host due to limited number of character roles – unless you believe not many guest will want to get involved. Guests who were the investigator rolls felt a little left out because once people realized they were just investigators, less people wanted to talk to them. However, this also worked well for the few guests who did not want to get as involved!! It helps if you have an idea of people would will get into their role, and who will suit each role.
We did not give the personal information out in advance. Upon arrival each guest got an envelope with information and a name tag.
We were able to host this event in a bar, up stairs private space – it worked perfectly!
Who recommend this kits for a fundraiser or party.
thelittlesister –
We played Jazz Age Jeopardy for my sister’s 30th birthday. It was also a surprise party! We had everyone arrive 30 minutes before my sister did to give them time to mingle in their character. (I did not send out their character cards before hand and it still went really well! We just told everyone to dress in 1920s costumes). My sister was shocked to see all her friends dressed in their 1920s best! We had a costume ready for my sister and shortly after she arrived we served dinner. I got so many compliments on the party and the game. Everyone had a wonderful time. We did spend quite a long time decorating before the party, but it was well worth all the extra effort. It really added to the feel of a Speakeasy. We kept everyone informed with physical invitations and also a Facebook event group.
Jeanine –
We played Jazz Age Jeopardy last night and had a blast. There were 24 characters and 2 hosts… Our group of friends really did an excellent job staying in character the entire time. The interrogations was the funniest point in our evening… I never knew our friends could act!!
The instructions were a little overwhelming and we there would have been no possible way to have pulled this party off in a 2 week period of time. We had to slowly digest the components and then run with it… Took us about 4 hours to read everything.
The instructions were well done but probably could have been consolidated a bit.. Would I buy it if I knew this before, Absolutely…
We had a tie for best costume, 4 people guessed whodunnit so we gave out the cold blooded killer award.
Nora –
I hosted a New Year’s Eve party, and after we ate dinner I organized the murder mystery dinner! Jazz Age Jeopardy was a hit!! We did it pretty informally. Guests knew we were doing a murder mystery but didn’t know their character beforehand, and didn’t have to dress up in costume. Despite this, everyone still got very into their characters! Everything was great from start to finish.
Amy A. –
We had a New Years Eve party to remember thanks to PlayingwithMurder.com and the Jazz Age Jeopardy kit. We had 17 people attend (including me at the narrator) so nearly everyone had a piece of important information to contribute. This made it way more fun for everyone as we had played other mystery murders and its boring for the non-essential characters. We went all out on the decorations -transforming our kitchen and living room into The Cat’s Meow Jazz Club with a bar, stage, and VIP lounge. This party is quite complex – I read it through multiple times and STILL had to refer to my pages often during the evening. I would suggest that you stress that it is important to divulge your character info and not to withhold any. Also, a scoring or vote tally sheet would be a really helpful document to add to this package.
Randi –
We did this for a Halloween party! We had the best time ever! Everyone really enjoyed themselves. The clues were really great and kept us all thinking!
Julie –
Halloween Party. This was my first time hosting and first time attending a murder mystery party. Everyone really seemed excited for this event. I was happy that all my guest took time and put in a lot of effort in their costumes and their roles.
Jazz –
We did a murder mystery party for a friends birthday. It was awesome… everyone dressed up and got involved… the step by step was very helpful especially since I only had 3 1/2 weeks to plan.
Vicki –
We had a Mofia Murder Myster dinner in the 1920’s. It was a great success! My boyfriend and I played the owners of the Jazz Club and made a sign using Christmas lights punched through foam board. We hired 3 college students from our neighbors younglife group to be our waiters. Everyone came dressed up to match their character. I’ve never had so many compliments on how much fun the evening was. The one thing I did notice was that during Act two, it was “challenging” to get the adults to look for clues, they were leaving it up to the kids as they stood in a large circle. Can’t wait for the next one! Would really love a Wild West with a chuckwagon dinner at our firepit and a murder on the trail/yard.
Amy Bell –
This was our second Playing with Murder party. We had an amazing time, everyone loved the 1920s theme and everyone really got into their parts!
Kirsty –
My friends and I played this and absolutely loved it! I can’t believe its free, to be honest, as you get so much information and the characters and storyline are really well thought out. Everyone had a lot of fun getting into character, and they all interacted with each other perfectly thanks to the character prompts. Honestly, it was brilliant – a very, very good choice for your party!
Melinda Frank –
This was so much fun! I have a Halloween party every year, but I wanted to do something different last year, and I’,m so glad I did. Everyone got into character, and I honestly was so worried it would not go smoothly as I didn’t even get to read the entire game through, but I had all my instructions/narration in hand and it all worked out. Everyone complimented me on what a great hostess I was, and how well it all flowed. I am planning to do another murder mystery party this Halloween…with a different theme of course.
Vic –
I’ve been wanting to throw a murder mystery party forever, so I figured my 25th birthday was a good reason! The kit was well thought out and thorough. My only tip would be to plan further in advance than I did. I started planning about two weeks out and it was a lot more work than I thought it would be! Overall the night was great, the only kink was that our killer cancelled last minute and I had to do some switching, but that is no reflection on the kit/script. Everyone came in costume and had a great time.
Dani –
Book club party. Read "Death of a Flapper" and held the party for book club girls and their significant others. It was fantastic! The guests got really into their characters with detailed costumes, accents and even homemade business cards.
Megan –
This was our second party using Playing with Murder and it did not disappoint!
Everyone was very into it this year, playing their characters and dressing up.
We had 28 people, so we played with a couple investigators. Even though they didn’t have a specific character to play, they still dressed up and participated in solving the murder.
Since I did not have a specific part, I played a cigarette girl. I ordered candy cigarettes on amazon- they were a huge hit!
We all had a great time and can’t wait to do it again next year!
Dymond –
For my 33rd birthday I wanted to try something different, and i have always wanted to do a murder mystery party. So why not.
We had a blast. All 20 of my guests showed up in character and costume, they looked amazing.
When it was time for the murder we cut the light and the victim slipped away before the lights came back on. I gave a secret password to be able to get in ours was "2 words 1 finger" (you know like speak easy, be quiet, shut up lol).
I had a scavenger hunt to find the clues and while they did that I set up for act 2 back in the 1st room.
Jen M –
I held the party at a local bar. It was such a hit! There were a lot of people that didn’t know each other and this was the perfect way to get people to mingle. It was so fun that we’re doing it again!
MaryS –
We were celebrating my daughter’s 30th birthday. It was amazing. Most everyone came in costume and really got into their roles. The couple who played Edith and Felix really brought a lot to their roles as a couple. The was the first time most of the guests had been to a murder mystery party and they all want to do it again. Thank you for making it so easy to host this party.
Supi –
Great fun for a 30th party with some rowdy 40 party people, was very easy to read and enact when necessary!!
highly recommend it !!
www.AllAmericanWife.co –
Playing with Murder is hands down the best murder mystery company! I had so much fun planning this party! See how I planned our party here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMPuZI7gnQ&t=85s
The plot was great and kept everyone on edge! Candy cigaretts added to the era’s atmosphere. Everyone really played into their characters, and we received so many compliments for going "all-in" on the theme! Head over to my site, http://www.AllAmericanWife.co to see details and photos from the evening!
Chris –
We are a cafe that used this game for our Halloween Party. We added in some of our own elements to make the game more personal. Overall this game was very well put together, it made it very easy to keep such a large group of people busy and having a great time. We received nothing but compliments on the game. Will definitely be purchasing more games in the future!