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Malachai Stout’s Family Reunion
$39.95
Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set at a family reunion.
Format:
30 Minute Mystery
Setting:
Stout's ancestral home
Time:
30+ minutes
Ages:
Adult / Teen
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
Play In-Person or Over Video Chat
You can host this game in-person or over video chat. The game is built to be run either way!
Everyone predicted a bad reunion. Few expected murder…
Background
Your guests are going to be playing the roles of the largely dysfunctional members of the Stout family, who have gathered at their ancestral home for a family reunion, hosted by the elderly Malachai Stout. None of the Stouts have ever gotten along particularly well with each other, but the promise of a substantial inheritance has encouraged them to at least put on their friendly faces and attend Malachai Stout’s occasional gatherings.
Murder!
Now, however, something awful has happened. This morning, when you came downstairs for breakfast, the door to Malachai’s bedroom was ajar, and Malachai’s lifeless body was crumpled upon the bed, his contorted purple features a mute testament to the fact that he had been smothered in his sleep. Further, the wall safe in Malachai’s study has been opened, and the precious Stout family jewels are missing!
Solving the Mystery
The obvious course of action would be to phone the police or travel to the nearest town, but last night’s storm has knocked out the phone lines, and the tremendous rain has washed out the mountain road to town. It appears that it will be up to the guests to solve the mystery of Malachai Stout’s murder!
There are 8 primary characters in this game. Read the "How to Play" section for instructions on how to play this game with more than 8 people.
* = Optional character
- Grandma Winifred Stout: Stately and stern, Winifred Stout, Malachai's wife, isn't the sort of grandmother who bakes cookies for the little ones; she's more the sort to scream at them to stay off the furniture.
- Penelope Clarington: Icy cold and snobbish, Penelope Clarington, Malachai's daughter, is far more concerned with maintaining proper appearances than anything else.
- Harrison Clarington: Penelope's husband Harrison is a drunkard and a cad. He never got along with either Malachai or Winifred, and he's only here because Penelope insisted.
- Mortimer Stout: Malachai's son and eldest child, Mortimer is stuffy, conservative, and driven primarily by his own financial interests.
- Monica Stout: Mortimer's trophy wife, Monica is a bubbly, talkative, sweet-as-saccharine woman who has always done her best to stay on good terms with all of her in-laws.
- Sabrina Stout: Mortimer and Monica's only daughter, Sabrina is a spoiled-rotten college student who is more interested in partying than in anything to do with her father's side of the family.
- Uncle Edwin Stout: Malachai's brother and the black sheep of the family, Crazy Uncle Eddie was never quite right after the war. He has lived on the Stout estate with Malachai and Winifred for years, keeping almost entirely to himself.
- Sebastian Seward: Malachai's long-suffering and much-maligned butler, Mr. Seward is responsible for keeping the Stout household running smoothly and putting up with nearly endless mistreatment from Malachai and Winifred.
Extra Players
- *Investigator: If you have more than 8 players, 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
This game kit includes:
- Hosting guide – A guidebook that takes you through all the steps for running the game
- Character sheets – Information sheets for eight unique characters and one generic "Investigator" character
- Name cards – Printable name cards that can be placed in front of players for in-person games (optional)
- Introductory handout – A brief description of the game that can be sent to your guests ahead of the event (optional)
- Invitation template – Printable template that can be used to send paper invitations to your guests (optional)
Our line of 30 Minute Mysteries is specially designed for fast setup and easy play, whether your playing in-person or virtually over video chat.
All you need to do is:
- Gather a group of players
- Distribute character sheets
- Follow the party guide instructions
If you’re playing in person, you have the option of printing out the hosting script and character sheets, or you and your guests may view them on your electronic devices.
Best of all, the party facilitator can choose whether they join in the game and solve the mystery along with the other guests!
Playing the Game
While this mystery has 8 primary characters, it is designed to accommodate any number of additional players. See the “Expanded Game for Large Groups” section below if you have more than 8 players.
Each of the players will be assigned a character and given a character sheet that explains who or what their character is, what information their character knows, and how their character should respond to events that occur during the game.
The game will progress in rounds.
Round One will start with the party’s host or hostess reading a script that explains the nature of the mystery that is afoot. After the introduction is read, each player at the table will share a piece of information from their character sheet, which will often be met by a response from another player.
Round Two begins with the host sharing a clue that should shed further light on the mystery. After the clue is revealed, the players will once again go around, providing another piece of information.
Round Three, the final round, begins with the host sharing the last clue. The players then go around the table a final time, sharing their last piece of information.
By this point, the players should have enough information to piece together a theory about who was responsible for the crime. Everyone will vote for the culprit, which the host will then reveal. Any player or couple who correctly guessed the identity of the killer is declared a winner.
From start to finish, the game typically requires half an hour to complete.
What Do I Need in Order to Play?
Our 30 Minute Mysteries are specifically designed to not require very much in the way of supplies. All you need is:
- Playing area
- In-person – Table to sit around or large playing area where the guests can sit in a circle
- Virtual – Video chat room (links to 3rd-party providers like Zoom included in game)
- A group of players (minimum 8 people)
- Access to a printer or electronic device (so you can distribute game materials)
Expanded Game For Large Groups
If you have more than 8 players, there are three ways that you can accommodate everyone:
- Investigator Role – Using this method, eight guests play the primary characters while the remainder of the guests each play the Investigator role. Players in this role 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.
- Teams – Each primary character can be played by 2 or more people that work together as a team. This works well if you’ve invited several couples to your event, but also works if you break up your guests into eight larger teams of 3 or more guests.
- Multiple Groups – If you have 16 or more guests, you can break them up into groups of 8 players and run multiple instances of the game on their own. This method is best for large events (e.g. fundraisers) where each table of people can play through the game independently. This method goes well with the Investigator method, which allows you the flexibility to add more than 8 people to any group.
Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.
Content Rating:
This party is rated adult/teen. There is no explicit material; the party does contain references to the following:
Murder
Difficulty:
This party is simple to set up and can be played with minimal or no preparation.
This party is average difficulty to solve.
Mountain Girl –
Headline This was a hit!
Nickname Mountain Girl
I did this for our annual work party. We had 8 characters and then our audience was friends and family who attend the dinner, a total of about 30 people. We did not practice ahead of time as we didn’t want to know who the murderer was. We had everyone guess at the end and then put the correct guessers in a hat to draw for two $50 gift cards. We had a mix of guessers, 5 were correct. I do wish we would have practiced ahead so that we could have done a better job however part of the fun was our screw ups. This was great and I would do another.
Liz –
Headline Easy to play and great fun
Nickname Liz
Menu Highlights We did not have a meal theme to go with the murder mystery we just ate a delicious 4 course meal!
Theme Highlights We downloaded this game at the last minute so we did not have a theme. This was part of the attraction - it was so easy to do and no one had to do any prep!
New Years eve party
Nimish –
Headline Best murder mystery dinner party!!
Nickname Nimish
Menu Highlights Burgers, pizza and coke
Theme Highlights We had given a prop to each of the characters that would match their attire. Dinner table had balloons and printed sheets of the murder mystery party. Each character was goven pen and paper to take notes.
We had a birthday dinner party for a girl of 12 year old and her 10 friends. As soon as we found about playingwithmurder and the Malachai Stouts murder mystery dinner theme, we were hooked. We professionally arranged the dinner table and all the girls had a blast playing the game. They were so engrossed in the game that they wanted to play more even after the dinner was over.
Sheena –
Headline Really fun
Nickname Sheena
Menu Highlights This was done at a Halloween party for youth ages 12-18, some of whom have English as a second language. Most understood it pretty well and acted it out. There were some errors though. Some people didn't have responses where the guide indicated they should be.
Theme Highlights Not too much, we let the kids just do what they could.
ESL Church Youth Halloween Party
The Lakes at Jefferson –
Headline Fun
Nickname The Lakes at Jefferson
This was a great! It was easy to learn the parts, Not only was it a great team building exercise for the staff but our residents and family members enjoyed it. We will be doing this again!
Michelle Parker –
Headline 25 Adult Acquaintances had fun!
Nickname Michelle Parker
I ordered this for a group of 25 adults who did not know each other except for their plus one. It was a fun ice breaker game after cocktails and snacks. It was an easy to follow script that I read through once before the event. There is a lot of set up talking so be sure you have someone comfortable with speaking to a group. I offered up the character options on the spot and those who grabbed the scripts are usually excited enough to do some acting which always adds to the fun. I offered some themed costume items like fake cigarettes, chocolate cigars, pearls, etc.
TwentyEighty –
Headline Summer BBQ Murder Mystery
Nickname TwentyEighty
Menu Highlights BBQ
It was an awesome event to do with our office! Even the people who were watching us play the game had fun! We will definitely do this again!
BI Mavericks –
Headline Hilarious and Riotous
Nickname BI Mavericks
Menu Highlights This game was awesome for a remote team building event
Theme Highlights I asked everyone to really get into the role that they were playing and it made it so much more fun!!
Our event was a work team building event. It was great everyone really loved the suspense and played their roles well. It wasn’t too long so people stayed focused on solving the murder!!
Chris V. –
Headline Church Choir CAN Act!!!
Nickname Chris V.
Menu Highlights We simply ordered Olive Garden take-out and had the choir members bring desserts to share.
Theme Highlights Our cast dressed for their parts and stayed in character even while we were eating! As far as I know, they MAY NEVER stop "acting"!!!
We presented this mystery as our year-end choir party “event”. Everyone had a GREAT time and the “characters” really got into their parts! Who knew we had such acting talent in our church choir?
Julie –
Headline Perfect
Nickname Julie
We had a family birthday party for my 12 year old daughter. Everyone really enjoyed the mystery and really got into character.
Pleasantview Sharon –
Headline Good family fun
Nickname Pleasantview Sharon
Great family game! We spent 3 days in the country with 20 members of our family including 3 10-year-olds, 2 12-year-olds and 2 primary school kids. The adults took the roles and the kids took us to court! It was a lot of fun for all of us and we would do a mystery again.
AK –
Headline Youth Christmas Party
Nickname AK
Youth group Christmas party (age 12-17). Had 20 youth so we split into 2 groups. The group I led struggled to focus, but I’m not sure whether that was the group itself or the storyline was just slow.
We previously did “There Might be No Christmas” last year and it went amazing… it was everyones highlight. “Malachai Stouts Reunion” seemed more like practicing reading a skit and the youth were confused how to respond when it was written in 2nd person.
Apparently the other group had more success and focus. So I would recommend using this only for more mature or older youth or adults.
Verdict– Still worth the $30 but I’d do more research next time.
Val –
Headline A night of intrigue
Nickname Val
Menu Highlights Potluck! Mac and cheese, scallop potatoes, coconut pie, roast ham
Theme Highlights Candles, dressed up in character
It was a dinner party, it went great. Everyone dressed up and brought food and drinks. We read the descriptions aloud and then got into the mystery after dinner.
Whitney –
Headline An Absolute Blast!
Nickname Whitney
We used our Murder Mystery as our holiday party for our Church Small Group. We had an absolute blast. Everyone got into character. We chose not to play it around the table, as suggested, but mingled while we ate/drank during each round.
Ariheg –
Headline Fun for all abilities!
Nickname Ariheg
Menu Highlights Creamy chicken pasta Side Salad Tiramisu Mousse Sparkling Apple Cider
Theme Highlights We decorated the room with a mix of old style and Halloween. We used a Halloween décor candelabra (battery powered) in the middle of a large table. We put while table cloths down with black spiderweb runners. We used spider webbing around the room and made an alter with battery powered candles and a picture of an old man in balck and white to be (Malachai). For scratch paper, we made "invitations" inviting guests to the Stout family reunion. We put the menu on the front and created a fake location and added the creepy picture of a family in black and white. Each invitation was placed at each table setting with their name placard. We also dressed up each resident... Very Fun!!
We played Malachai Stout’s Family Reunion with a group of 10 residents in a residential care home. We had residents aged 29- 65 with varying abilities. While our residents needed some support, it was very successful. The story played out with ease and all our residents enjoyed playing the part. It was an amazing night. Residents really got into it. The story was easy to follow and the instructions were clear and concise; which made it very easy to support. We decorated the room and ate a fancy dinner. We brought each resident in the hall to explain their characters to them and the night flowed with ease. We have had nothing but rave reviews from each participant and lots of requests to host another! The story was very affordable as well, making another murder mystery party possible. Even our residents who are non-verbal were able to play along as detectives. Highly recommend!
Jane –
Headline The evening was a success.
Nickname Jane
Menu Highlights We held a potluck buffet. Happened to be Mexican; no relation to the plot.
Theme Highlights We decorated the “mansion” walls with old time portraits, and the tables with lace tablecloths and candelabra.
We hold a game night at our church periodically. We decided to try our first Mystery Night theme. Attendance ranges from 10-25, so we needed a family-friendly plot that would work with a flexible number of players. Malachai Stout’s Family Reunion was a good fit. The evening was a success. During the intro the host told the characters that it was ok to “embellish” their lines a little; to “have fun with” their roles (in other words, "opened Pandora’s box") The ad libbing was non-stop. As were the laughs, the groans, and the overall good time. We will be ordering another party kit for future events.
[email protected] –
Headline Wine and appetizers
Nickname [email protected]
Menu Highlights Hot and cold appetizers.
Theme Highlights Most of the actors that I had preselected wore clothes that fit their characters.
My local political group had a wine and appetizer party at a wine bar. It was a cash bar with the club supplying the appetizers. About midway during the party I had my characters, who were preselected by me, sit at a long table to read their parts. I gave the audience ( investigators) a file card and a pen to write their answers. At the end of the presentation we gave out prizes for the correct answer from the investigators. Everyone that was there just had loads of fun and keep asking me to do another!
Emily –
Headline Great 18th Birthday Game
Nickname Emily
Menu Highlights The birthday girl decided on some out of the ordinary menu choices. She had a bit of a Mexican food themed, as there was one dish that she particularly wanted. Cake and chocolate fondue were served at the end of the game.
Theme Highlights We didn't use any particular decorations or themes for this game, but the players were able to set the Mood by really getting into their characters.
Video Seminole
We played Malachi Stouts family reunions at an 18th birthday party. It was very fun, and all the guests seem to love it. The only complaint was that the clues seem to point to one or two characters in particular, which made guessing a bit predictable. Overall, it was great fun and quite clean for the whole family to play.
Jamie –
Headline 16th birthday party
Nickname Jamie
We were excited to try this, it was a fun story line, and seemed easy enough to do. Unfortunately, we found it fairly easy to solve. I would have loved for it to be a little more complex,
Virgie –
Headline Family get together
Nickname Virgie
Family Reunion: such fun with family of children and teen grandchildren. Kids and adults had fun playing parts and trying to solve mystery.
Tanja –
Headline Exciting
Nickname Tanja
Menu Highlights fruit and salad bar, dips and chips and cold cut sliders. For drinks i severed Sangria, bottle water and flavored water.
Theme Highlights The game was played in my dinning room, as guest came onto the house they was greeted by the corps of Malachai aka my husband on the couch made up as a bed with a box that served as a safe next to him.
Video CHICAGO
I was hosting a jewelry party so Malachai Stout’s was perfect. The guests that discovered the murderer got a free set of jewelry. I had 16 players who partnered up It was an afternoon party that lasted three four hours. it was fun, exciting with loads of laughter. Selling a lot of jewelry was a plus. They cant wait till the next one.
Jane G –
Headline Mystery party
Nickname Jane G
Family get together. 14 participants. This format was the worst we’ve ever done. A thin story line with barely any clues. I rewrote the episode adding three more clues and an additional character. Even so it lasted less than an hour. The killer just confesses since there is not enough information for people to guess.
Poor choice.
Myra –
Headline Hysterical
Nickname Myra
Menu Highlights No food or beverages.
Theme Highlights It really made no difference who murdered Malachai, it was just hysterical from bePgining to end.
Performed at women’s club meeting which runs about an hour and has about 45 members. I read the intro and introduced the cast of characters. The rest of the members were investigators and could ask questions between each act. The characters all improvised their parts and started accusing each other of all sorts of dysfunctional things. It was so funny, we couldn’t stop laughing. We performed it again for a senior group and it was equally funny, but different. At the end, we asked the audience to vote on who the murderer was. It really didn’t matter since some of the clues got mixed up or changed. It was one of the best meetings we ever had.
Monty –
Headline Youth Group Adventure
Nickname Monty
Menu Highlights We had fancy mocktails, small sandwiches and strawberries! The girls enjoyed the fancy feast!
Theme Highlights Each player received a prop, helping them get into character. Most enjoyed were the inspector's fake handcuffs and the butler's serving tray!
We are a youth group organizing a fun Friday night events weekly! The kids are between 10 – 16 and we have as many as 14 participants! We chose a 30 min murder mystery! It was superfun! Only problem was that some of the language in the descriptions were hard for the youth to use. I would have loved a simpler version. A highlight, were the name-tags, the girls loved seeing who they were!
Tim –
Headline Christmas Family Reunion
Nickname Tim
Menu Highlights Italian Dinner with a buffet and lots of homemade desserts. Cash bar was also available.
Theme Highlights Christmas decorations and music before the event. Several announcements during the social time to get people engaged. No details were provided prior to the event.
This was for a department Christmas party with 80 in attendance. It was a huge success. 8 friends came to play the roles. Voting at the end was nearly evenly split between all characters -they were that good selling their story. We will definitely do another one,
Gina Ables –
Headline TNT 50+ Ministry
Nickname Gina Ables
Menu Highlights We had taco salads and everyone brought an ingredient. I make the shells and everyone piles everything in them. Fun and great!
Theme Highlights Didn't really do anything special except tell the intro of the dysfunctional family.
Our 50+ ministry has a monthly meeting and we decided to do a dinner mystery theater! Everyone jumped in to ask questions to try to figure out the mystery. Everyone was sooo convincing and no one guessed the murderer!
Hollie –
Headline Halloween party!
Nickname Hollie
Menu Highlights Pizza ;)
I wanted to plan something exciting for our little family Halloween party (Halloween isn’t that big yet in Australia and I wanted to make it fun!) and I came across this website… I am so glad I did!
The murder mystery game was a complete surprise to all guests so everyone had to improvise in their roles which made it absolutely hilarious! Guest ages ranges from 20 to 65 and every one of us had an absolute ball! This story was heaps of fun to play. We can’t wait to try another!
Fishbonius Sound Design –
Headline Something Amiss in the 100 Acre Wood
Nickname Fishbonius Sound Design
Theme Highlights https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-list-game/id1291797303?mt=2 its episode 9
I changed the characters and did a little rewriting to make this a reunion of the Winnie the Pooh 100 Acre Wood characters.
I recorded the event for my podcast which will be available soon
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-list-game/id1291797303?mt=2
It is episode 9. came out great.
Shylo Edmund –
Headline Staff murder mystery party
Nickname Shylo Edmund
Menu Highlights We hosted a potluck. Everyone brought something dinner related including desserts
Theme Highlights Long dinner table Candles Flower centre price Dinner music/elevator music Some people wore wigs and fake moustaches
We had a staff murder mystery party at laser quest Toronto east. We had so much fun people where really into there characters people and made them there own.
Shylo Edmund –
Headline Staff murder mystery party !!
Nickname Shylo Edmund
Menu Highlights We hosted a potluck. Everyone brought something dinner related including desserts
Theme Highlights Long table Candles Dinner music/elevator music Everyone got into character. Some people wore wigs and fake moustache
We had ran a party at our work (laser quest Toronto east !) it was amazing our team is really creative and really expanded the personal of each character. Some people almost started fight!!(acting) in the end everyone had stomach cramps from laughing so hard!!