Murder Mystery Games for Small Groups

Author: Murder Mystery Date: 13 March 2025

You don't need a big crowd to have a big party

More often than not it is the small parties with 3, 4, 5, or 6 people that are the most intimate and memorable. Murder in a Box Mystery Parties offer the flexibility to host a fun, interactive party for large groups up to 120+ people (work gatherings, fundraisers and other large scale social events) but also for the smaller, more exclusive parties for 14 or 15 close friends, without compromising on the quality of the party experience and the amount of enjoyment everyone will get out of it. Maybe you're a bride-to-be looking to have your bridesmaids over for a 10 people Murder Mystery Game. Maybe you're organising a child's birthday party and you're hoping not to have too many kids over - a 12 people Murder Mystery Game would be just the right size. Whatever the occasion for your small group gathering, Murder in a Box has a Game that will suit you!

how to host a murder mystery party in 3 steps

Our Murder Mystery Party Games

Click a game to learn more

- How much do murder mystery games cost? Click the game images above to see prices.
- Do we need a host? It is up to you. You purchase a game from us then run it yourself or hire a murder mystery host.
- Are you available on...? Click hire a murder mystery host. Contact the hosts to check their availability.
- Does everyone get a character? Sure do.
- What do I get? Our murder mystery games contain between 100 and 300 items to make your party fabulous.
- Can I ask questions? Yes please. Click "Contact Us" above.

How does a murder mystery party work?

Murder Mystery Games

Murder Mystery Game Characters

Murder Mystery games offer the chance for you and your guests to take on different personas as you act out different Murder Mystery Game Characters for your party. Murder in a Box comes in a range of different themes to suit your tastes. Why not dress up as flapper girls and gangsters for a Tracy Gang themed party, or as cowboys, Indians and saloon girls for your Wild West party? No matter what your age group, favourite movie or time period is, Murder in a Box has a party just waiting for you to host it! Murder in a box comes in both boxed and downloadable versions, so you have the convenience of choosing whether you want to receive everything you need for your game in the mail, or to have it instantly to print off yourself. It all depends on how much time and budget you have to spend.

How to set up my small murder mystery groups

Small groups of 2 to 15 people:
- Make sure you read “Planning a Fantastic Party” that came with your game.
- Give out all central name badges.
- Some people may end up with 2 or 3 characters.
- This does not change how the game is played.
- Wearing more name badges does not make it harder to play the game.
- Because guests are detectives and not playing a character having an extra name badge does not change anything.
- Don’t have less than 3 teams but 4 or 5 is better.
- Good team combinations: 3 teams of 2, 4 teams of 2, 3 teams of 3, 4 teams of 3, 3 teams of 4 and 1 of 3
- Have 1 volunteer from each team present their story and identify the murderer.
- Expect a detailed story at the end of what happened.
- Games with small groups tend to go quicker. 2 to 2.5 hours is normal.

Medium groups of 15 to 60 people
- Make sure you read “Planning a Fantastic Party” that came with your game.
- For groups bigger that 40 consider a roving microphone.
- Give out all central name badges.
- Prepare 5 more name badges than you need as some people will want to change.
- Estimate the numbers of boys and girls and prepare an appropriate number of name badges.
- Use generic boy/girl characters where possible.
- Try and distribute central characters evenly so they don’t all end up in one group.
- If possible give central name badges to the more gregarious people.
- If possible try and match character names to the guests costumes.
- If you have 40 guests, walk around with 35 name badges so you know all the central characters will get given out.
- Try and aim for a maximum of 8 people per team.
- Good team combinations: 4 teams of 4, 5 or 6, 5 or 6 teams of 4, 5, 6 or 7, 7 or 8 teams of 7 or 8.
- Have 1 volunteer from each team present their story and identify the murderer.
- Expect a detailed story at the end of what happened.
- Games with medium groups tend to take 2 to 3 hours.

Where to Host Your Murder Mystery Party

Having a small group of people attending your Murder Mystery Party has the added bonus of the ease with which you can find a venue. Instead of having to hire a huge dining hall, a small group of 8 people for example can very easily be comfortable in a house, apartment or private room in a restaurant. This saves you time when you're planning your party while also being easier on your wallet! Games tend to work best with between 8 and 15 people, so make sure you don't cut too many people from the invite list.

If you are not sure you could try our friends in the US with their great range of murder mystery games.