Mystery party hosts are known for wanting their players to have equal involvement, which means assigning each player to be a suspect character. This works up to a point with the traditional, in-person games. Unfortunately, you are headed for chaos if you do that with a virtual game that has over ten players. But not all is lost - you can still play a game on Zoom or another video chat platform with an unlimited number of players.

Please take advantage of our staff and the beta testing group's hard work in 2020-2021 when we developed our virtually-formatted games. If you have ten or fewer players - Select one of these virtual games. It's easy!

If you have more than ten players, these are my five main points of advice for you, based on my experience, listening to host feedback, and of course, my hundreds of beta testing groups that have graciously helped us out during the pandemic. 

KEEP THE PLAYERS WITH CHARACTER ROLES MINIMAL

Did I release games with over ten players? Yes, we tested games with suspect expansion packs (Murder in 1985, Miles Randolph) that extend up to 16 player roles. The beta feedback came from hosts who had played multiple virtual games back-to-back, so their opinions were critical to us in fine-tuning the optimal experience.

The consensus was the optimal number of players in a character role is six to eight with a max of 10. But having a small expansion pack to 15/16 more character roles does work - it's just not optimal. Each beta tester who tested a suspect character expansion pack said they wouldn't do it again and would return to either a small group or make the extra players spectators. They also tested guests playing along without roles, and that worked great. That's why the spectator packets were created (see below).

There are some games with non-suspect expansion packs. These work well, but don't try to sell that these are strong suspects - let them drop off as suspects quickly in round one so your group can focus on the ten or fewer actual suspects. It's optimal. Trust us. I don't think we have ever had beta testing groups return such solid feedback and agree as they did on this issue. So why were the expansion packs created and still for sale? Well, if you have a group with 11-12 players and the game you want to host has only ten - I can see where you might wish to assign those one or two players to have at least a character role. Also, the demand was there, and it needed to be tested, so I did create non-suspect characters with the expansion packs, and these worked better than the expansion packs with suspects (Murder in 1985, Miles Randolph). 

ASSIGN THE REMAINING PLAYERS AS SPECTATOR PLAYERS

Spectators are play-along players who are not suspects nor named characters. They will have a PDF file resembling a character packet that explains the game and their role and keeps up with the pagination of the character packets, so when the host announces to turn to page 7, they'll be viewing the same type of page.

They will have challenge materials just like the other players for ease of playing along. For example, Who Whacked a Mole has many detectives working the case in the storyline. Therefore, the extra players are detectives.

In the Creeps, Haunts, & Murder game, they are ghosts in the haunted mansion. It works. It's the best option for you to have a large group on a video chat playing a mystery party. These spectators still visit the pre-game site but do not perform pre-game tasks. However, some spectator roles have fun things to do, such as Creeps & Haunts. They are instructed to act as ghosts while you play the ghost video for everyone. It's just a fun surprise, making the spectators feel more included.

GIVE ALL PLAYERS ACCESS TO THE PRE-GAME SITE

This host's instructions tell you to send your players to the free pre-game site before the party. However, suppose you have a bunch of players in secondary roles. In that case, you should still encourage access to the pre-game site at Your Mystery Party so they can watch the game trailer and review the character bios and the synopsis (albeit the last two items might also be in their packet). This will reduce pre-game chaos once everyone logs into the video chat.

GIVE ALL PLAYERS ACCESS TO THE PLAYER INSTRUCTION VIDEO IN ADVANCE OF THE GAME

This host's instructions tell you to wait and play the player instruction video to start the game. However, with a large group - you want to minimize 'quiet time' while watching an instructional video, as they can begin to grow impatient - unlike an intimate group. Therefore, get the player instruction video out of the way before the participants log into the video chat. But, again, you want your group to know the deal and get ready to play to avoid chaos.

MAKE IT MANDATORY FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE CHARACTER ROLES TO WEAR COSTUMES AND DECORATE THEIR BACKDROP

The worst possible scenario is that the players in the character roles look like everyone else. Make it evident that they are the ones who are the focal point. Zoom has a virtual backdrop option, as well. Ensure these players know how to video chat and have good lighting. Lighting should be in front of their face, not from behind, or they'll be a shadow. Also, have them include their character name on their chat box (if your chosen platform has the function), and instruct the spectators not to put a name on their boxes. The spectators can still dress up in the theme - but don't try to make them look like the suspect characters in the game.

If you have any further questions, the staff of My Mystery Party is always willing to assist you. Your success is our success! 

 If you have any further questions, the staff of My Mystery Party is always willing to assist you. Your success is our success!