Mystery Party?

[Just Kate]

Has anyone ever thrown a mystery party? Like a murder mystery party, but for younger kids? My almost 11 year old dd is thinking about doing this for her upcoming birthday party. I’ve looked online and see that there are lots of options out there for her age-range. Anyone have experience?

[Bambam]

We did one once - for a group of teens age 15-18. I purchased the complete scenario from an online site (clues, instructions, invitations, guest list, suggested dinner menu, etc). It said for ages 15+. It was suitable from a standpoint of no non-PG stuff. 

It was fun to plan and set up. I did not read the mystery so I had no idea what would turn up. 

The guests mostly had fun dressing up and acting their parts. I picked one with color names (Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum - that sort of thing) to try to keep costuming to a minimal cost. 

As for the party itself, some of the kids (total surprise to me) never figured out what was going on. I guess they never played Clue before. Several of the kids loved it. One boy, who is always polite and thanks me for having him over, came and told me how much he enjoyed the party and how great it was, etc (he is usually a quiet one and not one to get excited over much). One girl left still asking people what they did.

So, if I ever do one again. I'll get one targeted for a slightly younger audience. YMMV. 

But I thought it was a blast. It was very neat to see several of the kids team up to talk through the clues and what they thought it meant - and then that grew to include everyone. It was interesting to me to hear their reasoning. 

 

We did an escape room party next (from a box that I got on Amazon). The box said 3-8 players. I think 3-5 players would probably be best.