Murder Mystery Party | Bloodwood Masquerade Ball
A murder mystery party game in a masquerade ball theme for 8-18 players, ages 14 and up due to difficulty. This is an in-person, face-to-face formatted game. Characters are flexible gender, so this game may be played co-ed, all female or all male. There are two expansion packs available (purchased separately) to include 40 unique player roles. Also, the game is expandable to up to 200+ players with duplicated team players.
This is the instant download version of the game, you will have everything needed to play within the download, and there's nothing to ship, so you avoid shipping fees. No waiting, just download, print, prepare and play! Don't want to prepare your game? No worries - for the party ready pack (boxed set), click on the link below in the helpful links section.
INCLUDED: There are four PDF files to download with this game - a host instruction file, printable file, solution key, and an optional free invitation file. You must use Adobe Reader (free software that you can download at Adobe.com) to view the PDF file, as a PDF is an Adobe product.
FORMAT: this is a traditional, mingling, clue-based game (downloadable version) for in-person groups. For virtually-formatted games that are ideal for video chat platforms, click here.
GIFTING: the standard game license does not allow transfers, so you cannot purchase a download as a gift. For gifts, click here for gift certificates, or use the link below for the boxed version of the game (party pack).
This game was updated on 5/24/24 and prior versions will not be seamless.
Helpful Links:
Bloodwood Masquerade Ball Decor Kit
6+ character Expansion pack #1 - Purchased separately
16 character Expansion pack #2 - Purchased after Expansion pack #1
Boxed version - My Mystery Party will prepare your party ready kit
Pinterest board - more DIY food and decor
Direct your guests here - the corresponding pre-game site at Your Mystery Party
Murder Mystery Synopsis:
Bloodworth Falls is an isolated town plagued with scandals. The townsfolk bicker in the streets, and many believe the local government is corrupt. Nevertheless, the mayor is hosting a mysterious masquerade ball in the old Bloodwood Castle. The tickets to the event have sold out in record time. The townspeople are curious to discover why the mayor would put effort into doing something positive in this hopeless town of gloom. Anticipation for the event hangs thickly in the air, and many are already hunting for the perfect mask.
You are worried about what will happen when toxic people come together this night. You are alarmed, as you didn't purchase your ticket - somebody placed it in your mailbox in an unmarked envelope. Somebody wants you there, but you're unsure why. This is where your story begins.
How to Host a Larger Party:
- 18 unique players from the main game.
- 6 unique players from expansion pack #1 (purchased separately)
- 16 unique players from expansion pack #2 (purchased separately)
- Up to 20+ duplicate Magician's Assistants led by Lou Violet, Expansion Pack #1.
- Up to 20+ duplicate Makeup Artists led by Izzy Maroon, Expansion Pack #1.
- Up to 20+ duplicate Production Assistants led by Cass Chocolate, Expansion Pack #1.
- Up to 20+ duplicate Entourage Members led by Bruno Ivory, Expansion Pack #1.
- Up to 20+ duplicate Mobsters led by Maria Lime, Expansion Pack #1.
This instantly downloadable game accommodates 40 unique players by using both expansion packs and an additional yet optional ability to expand to over ~140+ guests by using teams (duplicate players) with expansion pack #1. View the character list of expansion pack #1 for further details. The game may expand above 200 by adding more expandable team players, but not much further than that.
Commercial Licensing:
If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit &/or in public &/or as a benefit to your organization or business - you will need a commercial license.
- Minimum age:
- 14 years for difficulty - no foul language, sexual content, drug references
- Difficulty Rating:
- 6/10 - moderate difficulty level
- Gender of character roles:
- Flexible besides 2 optional males
- Number of players in main game:
- 8-18 players - all unique suspect roles
- Expansion pack(s):
- 6 unique suspect roles in Exp #1, 16 unique suspect roles in Exp #2
- Expandable team players:
- With the purchase of expansion pack #1 (purchased separately): Expands to 130+ players with team players (non-suspect team roles).
- Date of publication:
- May 1st, 2014 - Last revised on 05/24/24 with minor format changes
- Game license:
- Single, private use. For the game license Terms and Conditions, see below.
Reviews
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Party of the Year!
Due to Covid-19, my gf and I decided to host a murder mystery MASK-querade party for Halloween. It was only 15 people and we practiced plenty of social distancing and kept our masks on! This party will be the talk of the year! From the set up, the the mini games we played in between, the clues! Everyone got into character and really dressed up. This was such a flawless way to plan a party. This website thought of everything! We took all the suggestions and got some awesome props from the store. We made it very official! As the party host of the group I loved that all the hard work was done for me. We will be making this a tradition from here on out. I totally recommend it to anyone looking to have some fun inside activities to do during this crazy time we are experiencing.
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Fun! Fun! Fun
We played this with our « bubble group » for Halloween. We had a blast! Everyone really got into character which makes the night! Age ranges from 13 to 60. I have hosted a murder mystery In the past which helped planning for this event. If you are new to murder mysteries take your time and read through everything (lots of reading). Make sure not To partake in to many glasses of Punch if you are hosting as you will want To pay attention to make sure all the needed activities take place. I would definitely do another murder mystery again. We laughed all night
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Great time!!
We enjoyed a night at the ball! I purchased the downloadable version. Printed everything out my myself and organize the scripts for everyone. Took only about an hour to prepare everything. I used envelopes so make sure you purchase some in advance it made everything easier to hand out at the given times. My only thing though is I wish we had more people to play. We had the required amount of people but would have been more scandalous, haha, if we had more. We had 8 in our party so next time I will look for one that only accommodates that amount.
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Bloodwood murder mystery
We had a Blast playing this! I printed the game myself and we chose to do mardi gras themed masquerade. Our group was 18 Adults, we will be replaying with a smaller group of teens. Will definitely be purchasing another game very soon! I highly recommend. Seriously everyone ❤ it and can't wait to do another one!
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Great girls 15th birthday party
My daughter's friends had a blast unraveling the mystery at her 15th birthday party. We had 10 guests that grabbed ball gowns from older sister's closets and goodwill. We printed the invite on linen paper, rolled them like scrolls, tied with a black ribbon and delivered in person. The week of the party we sent out the pre-game cards and got the hype going as the girls texted and emailed the first parts of the story. We ordered masquerade masks in bulk online and put them at their table settings. The day of the party, we sent a pic of their place setting telling them the mystery was in motion and their place in the story was set to begin. They all came excited to join the story. We opted to print our own clues on cardstock and purchased some A2 envelopes to put them in. Printing them was a bit tricky, but google printing A2 envelopes DIY and it worked. Easy to print and prep. Then my husband was the butler, my other daughters and I were the maids, so we got to hear them acting the parts as we circulated with appetizers or served the meal. We decorated the den with tons of candles to set the castle feel, cast the Bloodworth Masquerade pic onto the bigscreen, and we played the Phantom of the Opera soundrack. Guests mingled and enjoyed the party. 4 of the 10 guests were able to guess who did it, so it wasn't super easy and not too hard for teens. The victim had a great time setting up the crime scene from the victim bag. We purchased bloody handprint decals for the bathroom mirror and caution tape. We got a toy dagger and a halo that lit with LED lights. She loved her role and even guessed her killer. All in all a great party. We even had a "mugshot" backdrop for photo opp and printed "I've been framed", "the butler did it" "I saw nothing", etc with fake handcuffs, a mugshot paper that said BLOODWORTH COUNTY JAIL with the date of the party - -all very fun. So worth the $ - great memories made! We will be doing another at Halloween with all 3 of my girls' friends.
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Fun, hilarious and great problem solving
This was great fun. I had a party of approx 21 people (we bought the expansion as well). It was great how everything worked together - the expansion slotted in nicely, with pregame objectives to those in the main game and it all built up the excitement for the evening very well. There were plenty of red herrings and almost everyone had a motive to kill the victim, which was both hilarious (as the victim in real life is nothing like her character) and really made people think as the mystery unfolded. At the end of the night we had a little prize giving, and once revealed it was obvious how the murderer was the murderer, but only 3 people in our party got it right - so it really racked our brains. All in all, an amazing night and I highly recommend. P.S regarding the timing of the review and Covid 19 - our party was in New Zealand, which currently has the virus quite well controlled - and we didn't break any restrictions (100 people per event), so we did party safe.
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Great fun!
Bought this for an online games night with some friends . . . it was a BLAST! We had a lot of large group conversations and reveals, but we also had people spending time in separate rooms on zoom or sending private messages in the chat box! At the end, every stated that they had a lot of fun and couldn't wait to do another one!
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We did a virtual party on Easter and did this one.
Since none of us could be together this Easter, we did this murder mystery game as a virtual game. We used Zoom meeting and we really had fun. It was a bit of work on my part sending everyone their clues but really worth it. Everyone already said they couldn't wait to do another party in person next time. Hopefully our world returns to normal soon!
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We had a ball!
This was super fun. I put together everything (putting the clues face down to keep them hidden). Everyone got into their character, and it was one my best parties ever. We had 12 people, in all. The only thing I'd do differently is to have gotten more food catered so I could have spent more time mingling. Regardless, we had a great time.