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Murder in Manhattan
£49.95
Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set at a Manhattan cocktail party.
Format:
Mystery Party Kit
Setting:
New York cocktail party
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
Gossip, treachery & murder at an upscale NYC party…
Backstory
You and your guests have been invited to the anniversary bash of Mr. Francis Fisk, a noted businessman. The attendees include a number of Fisk’s high-society friends, family members, and business associates. These high society sophisticates live in a world of intrigue, gossip, treachery and endless jockeying for social superiority.
Murder!
Things take a turn for the deadly when a rolling blackout provides someone with the opportunity to advance their social agenda in a more brutally direct fashion than most of the guests are familiar with. When the lights come back on, a grisly crime is discovered!
Solving the Mystery
Reputations are at stake and no one at the party wants to risk the scandal of press and police involvement. Now the guests must work together to sift through the evidence and identify the killer in their midst!
There are 25 primary suspects in this mystery, however only 10 are required to play the game. The host or hostess will play the role of Taylor Walker, the head caterer. Read the "How To Play" section for more information on how to play an expanded game with more than 25 guests.
* = Optional character
Male Roles
- *Alexei Siranov - Security: Doorman at Fisk’s building and security for the party, Alexei is in charge of making sure none of the lower classes get into the celebration.
- Chester Fisk - Playboy: The debauchery and indulgence of the life of the upper class run hand in hand with this well-known playboy, younger brother of Jonathon and Francis. He owns the Castle, a hotel known for ruining the reputations of many celebrities and socialites.
- *David Kreig - Author: David published a biting satire on Upper East Side personalities—recently at the tope of the New York Times bestseller list—which everyone suspects is based on actual socialites.
- Francis Fisk - Real Estate Tycoon: This party is being thrown by Francis in celebration of his company’s twenty-five years of success in real estate. He is very well known and always throws the most elegant parties.
- *Grayson Kreig - Rock Star: A one-hit wonder, Grayson was once part of the band Eagle’s Rose, which has long since broken up.
- *Isaac Corrington - Retired Senator: Although retired from government life, Isaac is the head of the politically active Corrington family. Easily the king of the Upper East Side socialites, Isaac has played the social and political scene for years.
- *Jesse Corrington - Journalist: Editor of a biting online gossip site, Jesse is known for only publishing verifiable rumors. He comes from one of the most powerful families on the Upper East Side.
- Jonathon Fisk - Outcast: Jonathon runs Fisk Enterprises in Australia and has been invited back to New York for his brother’s big celebration. Rumor says he left due to some scandal that was covered up.
- Richard den Waldern - Philanthropist: A young but prominent philanthropist, he is known for giving generously to children’s charities around the country. He was recently in Florida on vacation.
- *Sam Lily - Lawyer: Sam is an entertainment lawyer known for his famous clients and sharp sense of humor.
- Zachary Wellington - Architect: A board member of Fisk Enterprises from Chicago, he is attending the event with his daughter Candice.
Female Roles
- *Ashley LeBois - Editor: Up-and-coming queen of the younger generation, Ashley is the editor of Runway, a popular fashion magazine. She rules the younger generation with well-timed rumors and vicious social takedowns.
- Candice Wellington - New Girl: Candice is both Zachary’s daughter and his assistant. This is her first time in New York.
- *Davana Gudriov - Housekeeper: Ashley’s maid and housekeeper, Davana has been looking out for Ashley since she was a little girl.
- *Francine (Frank) Rose - Debutante: A cousin of the den Walderns from Florida, Frank recently arrived in New York and is making her debut among the upper class.
- *Gwen Kreig - Rising Star: New to the social scene, Gwen is a fashion designer with cutting-edge style and swift social-climbing ambitions.
- *Helen LeBois - Designer: Helen owns and designs her own line of haute couture fashion, catering only to the rich and fabulous.
- Irene den Waldern - Party Planner: Irene runs a very successful public relations firm that caters to the Upper East Side and numerous celebrities and socialites. She is throwing this party for Francis.
- Jo Chase - Filmmaker: New to the scene, Jo makes documentaries and is filming the party for a new documentary.
- *Mercy Neist - Scheming Socialite: A well-known socialite, Mercy mysteriously left New York a few years ago and has only just returned from traveling abroad. She is a troublemaker and a schemer who used to give Ashley a run for her money.
- Rose den Waldern - Queen: Queen bee of the older socialites, Rose rules the Upper East Side with an iron fist inside a silken glove.
Male or Female Roles
- *Callaway Lee - Bartender: Callaway was hired by Irene to be attentive and discreet as well as to keep the drinks flowing.
- *Jamie Lavigne - Caterer: Jamie was hired by Irene to be attentive and discreet and to make sure the party runs smoothly.
- *Sydney O’Connor - Caterer: Sydney was hired by Irene to be attentive and discreet and to make sure the party runs smoothly.
- Taylor Walker - Head Caterer: (Played by the Host/Hostess) Taylor was hired by Irene to be attentive and discreet, as well as to run the staff and make sure the party goes as planned.
- Jess McIntire - Caterer: (Played by the guest that played the victim in Act One) Jess was hired by Irene to be discreet and bring her any juicy gossip throughout the night.
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
Murder in Manhattan is a 171-page 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 13 pages of gorgeously illustrated full color props and clues for use during the scavenger hunt Voting sheets Customizable 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 effectFollow 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.
Ashlee Bischoff –
Headline Real life Gossip Girl
Nickname Ashlee Bischoff
SO FUN! I was worried it was going to be way too complicated and confusing but once the party started everything fell together perfectly. The guests were so into it and only 3 of the 14 guests pinned the murder on the right person which I actually loved because it wasn’t obvious who did it. I’d love more complex games like this one!
Jessie –
Headline It was amazing!!!!
Nickname Jessie
We had the Murder in Manhattan Party. It was a lot of fun, ran smoothly….. everyone was really into their character. Which i gave everyone there info weeks before the party. I did hold on to act 2 till the party started.
Stobie –
Headline No Occassion! Just a fun night with great company
Nickname Stobie
My partner and I had 20-25 guest attend our Murder in Manhattan mystery night. Everyone dressed for the occasion and it was a great night for all (except the murder victim when he/she found out they were ‘the one’)
Savannah –
Headline A Night to Die for!!
Nickname Savannah
This was an awesome kit. It was our first time hosting a party like this and we nailed it. We had 24 people. It was amazing to hear how many people studied their parts. I can’t wait to host another party!!
Savannah H. –
Headline A night to die for!!!
Nickname Savannah H.
This was my first time every throwing a murder mystery dinner and thanks to this kit it went perfectly!! I created a Facebook event to do my invites and once confirmed I then mailed/handed out the parts. We had 24 people. Only 1 person canceled. Everyone got into character in their own unique ways and it was fantastic. It was really funny to hear how many people actually study for their parts. Hands down best party I have ever thrown.
LF –
Headline Best Halloween Murder Mystery Birthday Party
Nickname LF
I hosted a Halloween murder mystery birthday party for 30 guests in our small Manhattan apartment using this kit and it was a blast!
Some tips: We used Survey Monkey for the voting so it was easier to tally up the votes quickly. If you have extra people like we did, you can give a few people (like couples or +1s) shared roles instead of adding investigator characters, which worked out for us. I would set aside some extra time after the mystery ends so you as the host have more time to talk to everyone afterward!
HannahS –
Headline Murder in Manhattan
Nickname HannahS
The party actually went way better than I thought it was going to! I was nervous that people weren’t going to enjoy themselves or get bored, but everyone was entertained throughout the whole evening!
Brooke –
Headline Murder in Manhattan
Nickname Brooke
The party was so much fun! A couple friends of mine had been wanting to throw a murder mystery party for a while. We decided to throw one less than a month ago and even though we pulled the party together on short notice, it turned out awesome! Everyone got super into their characters. It was even better because not everyone knew each other at the party, but it was a great way to bring all of my group of friends together.
We had a slight mishap with trying to turn off the lights during the blackout, so we had one of the characters actually "find the body" by the pool. Her reaction ended up being even better and all the guests were shocked to see who the victim was. I would just make sure to give yourself adequate planning time because this party is very detailed and you can’t just breeze through it!
KP –
Headline Murder in... our backyard
Nickname KP
For my best friend’s birthday we held the first Murder Mystery party! living in a small house, we held the party in our backyard, and it was a success!! If you plan on indulging in a couple drinks as the host, just make sure you know timing and where you are doing your "events" of the night! You’ll get pulled in a lot of directions with food, guests, and playing along!
We had friends get very into their characters! I suggest really highlighting getting dressed up as their character, it makes the night so much more fun!
Murder in Manhattan –
Headline Great!
Nickname Murder in Manhattan
We did Murder in Manhatten for our Halloween party. It went great! Everyone had a really good time. There are 2 things I wired change The clue saying someone saw a man and I would change Act 1 so that the murderer and the person killed didn’t know until they absolutely had to. Great party though! Thanks
Shannon Van Wagner –
Headline March Birthdays
Nickname Shannon Van Wagner
We had a group of 23 ladies! It went really well, half played the male roles. One mistake I made was I sent both act 1 and 2 to the group in advance. Don’t send act 2, it says who is murdered! Only found that instruction once in the manual. Luckily, most ladies hadn’t read their scripts. Overall, it was a lot of fun and worth the experience. Did require hours of prep if you plan on emailing the parts out. Would definitely do again now that I know what to expect!
Lakelyn –
Headline 30th Birthday Party
Nickname Lakelyn
This was SO good! The package it came in was great, it made it so easy to organize everything. I just split up the PDF to email it to everyone who was coming. A couple last minute back-outs only took a bit of rearranging but it was no stress. We had 18 people come.
We booked a private room at a nice restaurant and the staff were happy to accommodate our needs for the game, like shutting off the lights, etc. The players really got into character and most people dressed up. It was a blast – I will definitely be getting another murder mystery package from here!
Lakelyn –
Headline Murder in Manhatten
Nickname Lakelyn
Video Saskatoon
We did this for my friend’s 30th birthday party and it was SO good!! It was my first time organizing a murder mystery party and this package was just perfect. It had enough information for a details person like myself to be completely confident in setting it up and hosting the party. I will be doing more of these parties for sure. Highlights were definitely some of the characters and how many people got into it!
Kristen –
Headline Murder in Manhattan
Nickname Kristen
My son and I hosted a 60th birthday party. We had 25 people attend but 30 had RSVP’d. The thing we were disappointed about was I believed the additional parts were developed. Instead the additional rolls beyond 25 are only investigators. But it worked out.
The directions were very thorough and complete. Once my son and I read the directions hree times we knew the details and did need to refer to the notes very often.
We decorated the house with many balloons to define the party area for the game and had a theme that was black gold and silver. Everyone dressed up. We had more women than men so I did have some women take submittals rolls and improvise if they wished to dress as a man, come is a lesbian, or trails. It out of his element of fun.
This is the second murder mystery party I have hosted. you really need to plan at least a month ahead. We did not use the invitations provided using email instead.
Kelly Wheeler –
Headline Blackout, Booze and Blood
Nickname Kelly Wheeler
I decided to host this party for my husband. He has been very ill and needed a fun night with friends. We were able to fill all the character roles with the exception of the wait staff. I created a facebook invite first to generate excitement, then sent character sheets once confirmed. The party was a huge success!! Everyone dressed to their role and interpreted their characters uniquely. We had two floors of play space and I killed the lights through the circuit breaker for the blackout. This got everyone super excited and we used flameless candles to keep it dim.
We decided to charge $10 per person to play for cash prizes to determine the killer, best costume and actor. Only 2 people figured out the killer! I printed the award certificates and framed them with their award cash in an after party winner’s announcement.
The game came with everything I needed to create a flawless night of murder, mystery and fun!! Definitely buying another one as all the guests cannot wait to play again!!
Leslie –
Headline Murder in Manhattan - cocktail party turns deadly!
Nickname Leslie
Video Libertyville
Our extended family played this and had a ball! Ages ranged from 15-70 and there was a part for everyone. Everyone got into character – and continued using the character names long after:)
I had seen another’s review that the murderer doesn’t have a written confession speech so I ended up writing one since they didn’t have all the information. I highly recommend doing that ahead of time!
I do think it was difficult to orchestrate the blackout as guests were in a few different rooms at the time.
Judith Allen –
Headline Holiday Murder in NYC
Nickname Judith Allen
Video Raleigh
Family, neighbors and friends gathered at a private hall, decorated for the holiday season. You never know who will get into the spirit of the event, and who will carry out their character best. But we had an all star cast and the queen, the caterer,the bartender, and maid all did their part to perfection. the queen mentioned that I had her pegged just right!!!I had 35 guests and would have liked more character parts, but made do with the investigators. just ok. I added a master of ceremonies and he performed to perfection and was a great hit. I also added a greeter who helped with named tags. I must admit the suggestion to decorate the windows with city scape bought from amazon was great.
Bonnie Michael –
Headline Murder in Manhatten
Nickname Bonnie Michael
Great time. Easy to use scripts and we had a blast. Highly recommend for those looking for larger party participation
Amanda –
Headline Fun time!
Nickname Amanda
We decided to throw a Murder mystery for Halloween. Everyone did such a good job of getting into character and we all had a great time!
Ashley Brocksmith –
Headline College Murder Mystery Event
Nickname Ashley Brocksmith
Video Madison
I am a student at the University of Central Missouri and I work in student activities as an event planner for a group called Spotlight. We put together free events for students every semester and it has been one of my goals to put together a murder mystery party, because they have always seemed so fun to me! I was happy when I found this website and how the pack comes with everything you need to run the event as well as tips on how to have a successful party. This was my very first murder mystery event that I hosted by myself, so I was very nervous and super excited for the night but everything went great! We bought the expansion pack because we can anywhere from 40-200 students come. We ended up with about 60 people, but everyone was super into it especially our murder victim. It was confusing at first for the players because I spent the first 15 minutes assigning everyone roles for the night, but they figured it out as they went along. I would strongly look into doing another murder mystery in the future and using this site to buy another mystery kit because everything was laid out and it made it so easy!
Jana brown –
Headline Friday the 13th Murder in Manhattan
Nickname Jana brown
We did our party on Friday the 13th so the decor was Halloween themed. It was a ton of fun and everyone really got into their characters. We were concerned that the guests who weren’t familiar with each other would have trouble interacting but it gave everyone a reason to come out of their shells.
Overall it was fantastic and we had a tonne of fun!
Ggallagh –
Headline Murder in Manhattan
Nickname Ggallagh
The party was a huge success. I was surprised at how everyone really took to their characters and played along with the storyline.
The instructions were easy to follow and the audio extras are great!
Naz –
Headline University society murder mystery night
Nickname Naz
Every year my Isoc at university raises money for charity week, and so we thought we should do something different on top of the usual events this year – cue murder mystery night! I’d not organised a murder mystery night before, but thankfully the pack was detailed so I was able to plan enough in advance that there weren’t any issues or difficulties on the night. We charged £5 entry which all went to charity, and assigned characters as they arrived. It meant nobody could come in costume, which made it a bit harder to tell who was who given the name badges were quite small, but that was only a small issue. We had 30 people turn up which seemed like just the right number. It went down really well, everyone got into character, and had a great time. It was a great social evening and we raised money for charity which is fab. A lot of people said it was the best event of the semester 🙂 so thank you playing with murder for a great evening!
S. Oliver –
Headline Murder in Manhattan Eric's 50th!
Nickname S. Oliver
This was for my dad’s 50th birthday party. It went very well, everyone really enjoyed themselves! The number one highlight was the murder scene that was played out for everyone to see. We all laughed so hard! The people playing the characters did a fabulous job! We used four different themed rooms for the characters to go into. A lot of people snuck off to have "private conversations" after the dinner had concluded. This led to an even more mysterious atmosphere because everyone was always keeping tabs on everyone else thinking they were missing something.
Dianne –
Headline Murder In Manhatan
Nickname Dianne
It was the most fun I had in a long time.Everyone stayed in character all thru the whole party.We had appertisers,Champagne,Then moved to dining room for soup,salad,wine,main course,dessert.Then lights won’t out.We all wore formal attire and dressed according to their character Loads of fun and mystery .We played classical music.we had 14guest 5 guessed the murderer. We had 2servers plus myself , who also had part.It worked out great.
Emily Holt –
Headline THANKSGIVING MURDER MYSTERY DINNER PARTY
Nickname Emily Holt
We did our thanksgiving dinner with a murder mystery theme! Everyone we invited had such a good time, although some were skeptical at first. We have out everyone’s act 1 description a few days in advance so they could know what costume to come in and a little background. As the host I would just make it clear that you WILL find out who the murderer is and not to let others help you because it doesn’t hide it. A few of us got spoilers because they helped cut and fold paper etc. great theme. We had 20 people who all seemed to have vital roles. We loved it!
Soonmi –
Headline Friends from different groups meet for the first time
Nickname Soonmi
I decided it was about time for my friends of different friend groups (childhood, high school, college, work) to meet- and this party was such a great hit!
Interestingly enough, it was easier for everyone to talk to each other in character so it made for a very smooth transition for them to chat out of character. I put up everyone’s picture with their real and character names on the wall so people could refer to it instead of search through the crowd for the right name tag. I also took out some of the unnecessary characters in the story so everyone felt like they were an important character.
The print outs were really helpful and well done. The only two things I would be aware of is that 1) the murderer doesn’t have a written confession speech and 2) even though it says there has to be a minimum of 10 characters, read through the descriptions and you will find that you will want at least a group of 15. I ended up making a confession speech for the murderer since they didn’t have all the juicy information. And as for the characters, once I really knew what was going on and who knew who and why, I had to ask a few extra friends to come last minute since these characters had to be there.
Overall, I really enjoyed the murder mystery! All my guests were still talking about it a week later. Highly recommend!!
Megan –
Headline First of many murder mystery parties!
Nickname Megan
I’ve wanted to attend a murder mystery party for years but never had the chance. Finally, I decided to host my own! The party was so much fun. We had 26 RSVPs. It worked out perfectly, I only had one person as an Investigator. Then, two hours before the party, I had a couple drop out. I replaced the investigator (male) with the male character that dropped out. We played with only one character missing but it didn’t make much of a difference, really.
I can’t decide if I preferred knowing who the killer was ahead of time or not. I’m a planner and organizer so I liked knowing and being able to plan accordingly but I also would have liked to see if I could guess the killer.
I was a little apprehensive about the "caterer" characters at first. I didn’t want to invite people to a party then ask them to serve food and drink. But I had a few guests on the shy side who preferred not to have super social characters so I assigned them caterers. Once they arrived I told them they did not have to serve anything but if they wanted to use it as an excuse to jump into conversation they could. That worked out great.
Everyone arrived at 6pm. I gave everyone a chance to get drinks and mingle for about an hour, then I passed out name tags and said we would be "officially starting". This worked well because people got a few drinks in them and loosened up a little so they were less nervous, I think.
It might have worked a little too well because I had a hard time getting everyone’s attention when it was time for the scavenger hunt 🙂
Everyone was having so much fun and that made me happy!
Towards the end, everyone was slinging accusations at each other and when it came time for voting, out of the 24 people, I only had 4 people guess correctly. The mystery was just hard enough that it was challenging but not impossible. I was glad for that.
We finished the game at 10pm. I probably could have wrapped it up sooner if I had moved the game along faster, but everyone was having so much fun laughing and talking, I hated to interrupt. There was never a lull in conversation or the game the entire night.
We got great feedback from our guests and have already decided this will be an annual event!
Scott –
Headline Murder in Manhattan NYE party
Nickname Scott
We did the party for new years eve. This was our fourth murder mystery party and one of the best yet. We used the smart things home automation routines to slowly bring in the rolling blackouts creating some suspense. We started at about 8:30 pm and finished right at 11:45 pm just in time for a midnight toast for the new year and watching the ball drop. I would recommend this party for the veteran party host.
Caylee –
Headline Murder Mystery in Manhatten Solved!
Nickname Caylee
Our MOPS (mom’s group) had a date night and this murder mystery party was perfect!! The victim and the killer were so into it and made the party very exciting. The people involved got extremely into character and had a wonderful time!