Murder at Skull Manor Costume Ball | Party Ready Pack

A fun Halloween murder mystery party for a minimum of 8 players, ages 13+ due to difficulty. There are various kit sizes to choose from - starting with 12 players (Kit A) on up to 280 players with expandable teams of non-suspect duplicated team players (Kit J).

Select the party ready option above, and our staff will fold and slip the clue cards for rounds one, two, and three into the envelopes to prevent you from seeing spoilers on the round cards. If you do not select this option, you will have some assembly required with your kit.

 The download version is a different product and does not come with the party pack, as they are not seamless and materials should not be used together. 

Mystery Synopsis: 

It is time again for the annual Skull Manor Costume Ball! Skull Manor is an old estate in the heart of Spider City known for its captivating architecture, mysterious ambiance and unspeakable history. The townspeople have been scurrying about the streets to get ready for the big night of great food, inspiring conversations and, of course, outrageous gossip. This has been a daunting year of dissension and discord among many of the residents of Spider City. Rumors of blackmail, thievery, and scandalous controversies have been circulating throughout the town’s grapevines. We all hope everybody can put aside their differences for a night of fun. If not, there may be misfortune on the horizon. This is where your story begins.

Helpful Links:

Click here to view sample game materials View example plotlines, format of the game, and an example timeline.

Click here to view the game trailer

Click here to see an example party pack (boxed set)

Click here for the Pinterest Board More DIY food, decor, and other party hosting ideas.

Instant download version No waiting, avoid shipping fees. (Does not come with the party pack, as you'll have everything needed with the boxed kit.) 

The Kits:

Kit A: (12-player kit)

 Host character list for the main game players - #1-12

 Kit A invitation - 12 player kit 

 Free pre-game site for Kit A at 'Your Mystery Party' 

Kit B: (24 player kit)

 Host character list for players #13-24 (expansion pack #1) 

 Kit B invitation - 24 player kit.

Free pre-game site for Kit B at Your Mystery Party

Kit C: (36 player kit)

Host character list for players #25-36 (expansion pack #2) 

Kit C invitation - 36-player kit

Free pre-game site for Kit C at Your Mystery Party

Kit D: (45 player kit)

Host character list for players #37-45 (expansion pack #3)

Kits D - J invitation - 45 player kit (Kit D does not have expandable teams - it's only the suspect players.) 

Free pre-game site for Kits D-J at 'Your Mystery Party' 

Kits E-J: 

(45 suspect players (above) and expandable teams of duplicate non-suspect players)

Kits D - J invitation - 45+ player kit plus expandable teams - see the teams below.

Free pre-game site for Kits D-J at 'Your Mystery Party' 

Kits E-J - expandable teams 

Kits E-J will have varied numbers of non-suspect, duplicated expandable team players sorted into the following teams. 

• Darby Yontz’s Viking Tough Run Staff (Vikings)
• Mo Plinker’s Colleagues (Contortionists)
• Bruce Kent’s Citizen’s on Patrol (Superheroes)
• Bonnie Capone’s Mob (‘20s Gangsters)
• Jess Bigsby’s Telemarketers (Business Casual)
• Micki Fish’s Cast Mates (Monsters)
• Vic Beeber’s Cast Mates (Survivors)
• Kris Nance’s Cyborg Engineers (Cyborgs)
• Stevie Jett’s World Travelers (Tourists)
• Theo Wimbly’s Artifact Dealers (Mummies)
• Heather Bank’s Entourage (Security)
• Ash Spinx’s Managers (Witch/Wizards)

Expandable Teams:

This game has the ability to cover large groups by using expandable teams. You can only have so many suspect players in a game before it overwhelms your players and leads to chaos, which you do not want.  Since there are 45 suspects for your group to investigate, the only way to include more players is the expandable teams. 

Specified suspect players are designed to lead an optional team of non-suspect, duplicated team roles. It's as if this team leader got the invitation and decided to bring along friends, family, or colleagues (this varies). Assume (in the story) that these tag-along guests don't know anyone at the party. What would they speak to the other partygoers about? Well, they have a mutual friend (their team leader), so these players have game cards that contain their team leader's story. For example, Darby Yontz brings along the Viking Tough Run staff. The Viking Tough Run Staff cards have information about their boss's story that they will use to mingle and discuss with others (or they can play strictly as a team and stay with Darby - it's flexible).

The expandable players have duplicated information on their cards - they do not have unique stories. If they had unique stories, they would have to mingle with every single player in the game - which would lengthen the round significantly. We don't want to do that, so it's best they have the duplicated information. They are second-tier, non-suspect players because they do not have unique character names or stories but, other than that, they play the game like everybody else with the same type of game materials.

These players are not given unique names, but will have name tags of their group names, so the group led by Darby Yontz will have name tags that say Viking Tough Run Staff. This is by design - we do not suggest you giving these roles a name, as that leads to confusion during the investigation.  When investigating players see a name on a name tag, they start considering them a suspect, which will end up drawing more attention to them not being suspects.  Don't worry, not everyone in a large game would want the limelight - a great portion of a large group would rather not have an attention-grabbing role. It's best to assign the most shy/reserved players to the team roles, or last minute RSVPs. Save your outgoing (and hopefully dependable) players for the required roles, and all will be optimal. 

Commercial Licensing:  

If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit &/or in public &/or as a benefit to your business or organization, you will need a commercial license - click here.