NOTE: Select a version to suit your number of guests and add it to your cart. Note that some are for “all boys” and “all girls”. See samples below. If you want more than one version, just buy the larger one and contact us and we will send you the smaller version as well for no extra charge.
A mystery that’s perfect as a library game or as fun for anyone!
The characters come out of their books at night to frolic. His Majesty King Henry VIII – has disappeared. Who rid the library of Henry?
The school versions come with teacher’s notes.
Versions and samples:
Video friendly version for 8 guests ($24.95):
Mini for 11 guests(same as the play version but with only one act, and some reports) ($19.95):
Standard for 10 (5f5 and 6f4), 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 guests ($29.95):
Boys standard for 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 boys ($29.95):
Girls standard for 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or 20 girls (you can use the larger version for less by ignoring some associate roles and having the suspect read the associate’s clues). ($29.95):
Play for 10-16 guests ($29.95):
School play for 10-30 guests ($39.95):
Meet and mingle for 17-30 guests ($39.95):
School meet and mingle includes 4 different versions for 17 to 30 guests for use by schools for different classes. 4 different people who did it. ($39.95):
Meet and mingle for 17-52 guests ($49.95):
Meet and mingle for 17-100 guests ($74.95):
Overview of mystery party game
The other night in the library, when many characters were out of their books enjoying a sojourn in the night air, a crime was committed, grim and grave, right in our own library. As a result his Majesty Henry VIII – that famous monarch from the English history books – has disappeared.
Gathered at this table are the characters who were present in the library at the time of the nasty deed. Fortunately Master Sherlock Holmes is here to investigate, so the perpetrator of this heinous crime will no doubt be revealed as the night proceeds.
Excerpt
Alice: “Well I saw a White Rabbit looking at its watch and I followed it down a rabbit hole. I fell down a deep well, but I fell slowly so I had plenty of time to look at the jars of ‘Orange Marmalade’ and such.”
Additional information
Number Of Guests:
7 to 20 girls (standard format), 8 guests (video friendly format), 8 to 16 boys (standard format), 10 to 16 guests (play format), 10 to 16 guests (standard format), 10 to 30 guests (school play format – mystery not murder), 11 guests (mini format), 17 to 30 guests (meet & mingle format), 17 to 100 guests (meet & mingle format), 17 to 30 guests (school meet & mingle format – with 4 versions), 17 to 52 guests (meet & mingle format)
Photos
What They've Said
Chante Cole (verified) – December 14, 2021 – 5 star rating
“Very fun! We didn’t figure it out but the clues were there. I think it would be helpful if there were an order for the clues since there are some clues that build on others but we didn’t know that so some of the story line was unclear. Thank you for making this Zoom friendly so that we could safely enjoy it with friends.”
Melissa (verified) – December 14, 2020 – 5 star rating
“Everything I needed to complete the party was explained in a logical and easy to follow manner. I was able to choose how much extra effort I wanted to put into the process as far as food choices or decorations.
The mystery itself was engaging and entertaining. The guests had fun. It was a great birthday party for kids aged 8 through 14 year olds. The 12-14 year olds did the roles that involved reading. I think the younger ones would have been intimidated by reading aloud so much. But I had them be involved by picking their own favorite book character to dress up as and then letting them participate in deciding who they thought committed the crime at the end. They also participated in the best costume contest.
The mystery wasn’t too easy for them to solve, and it sparked some lively role playing and conversation. They will definitely remember it for years. I appreciated that this mystery wasn’t as involved as others I saw on the market with participants having to mingle and individually ask each other questions or bribe each other. That would have been too much for the younger ones in my opinion.
It turned out to be exactly what we were wanting. Also, the price was half of other options that I saw on the market, and I really appreciated that I was given options for varying numbers of participants.”
Anonymous (verified) – December 11, 2020 – 5 star rating
“This was a lot of fun and EXACTLY what I was looking for! We had never done anything like it, but would definitely consider it again in the future.”
Deborah Harper (verified) – February 11, 2020 – 5 star rating
“Got this for my daughter’s birthday party – we ended up having two more girls come that had said they would not be able too, so it was popular and it was great to be able to adjust size. They giggled and got into it. It took them 3 hours with dinner and cake breaks. One girl guessed right out of 12, so it wasn’t too easy. I wish it had more printable art with it, but that can be tricky with copyright stuff.”
David H. (verified) – August 24, 2019 – 5 star rating
“The party was excellent and the guides easy to follow. Our girls (12 yo) had a great time.”
Susan Chilukuri (verified) – May 5, 2019 – 5 star rating
“It was great fun for the girls. Things were explained pretty well in the packet. One thing that would be great is to make sure that the way things are in order, that will make it easier to print to make the booklets for each child. I had to cut and flip some things I found. They also required separate notebooks to take notes in to keep track of things. This maybe a good suggestion as well. Other than that, it was great fun for my daughter and her friends.”
alexis taylor (verified) – March 2, 2019 – 5 star rating
“Did the party for a church group of 50+. It was amazing! Everyone had so much fun and talked about for days after. It’s still one of my favorite parties.”
Jessica (verified) – December 18, 2018 – 4 star rating
“This was my first time hosting a mystery dinner. I loved the setting and characters. It was a great story. The only negative was we were completely blindsided by the solution. It was disappointing to not even be on the right track.”
Anonymous (verified) – May 11, 2018 – 5 star rating
“I used this in a primary class for speaking and listening activity. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it – some found it harder than others – but they did manage to work out the correct answer. I found it great that all the parts were already given and the clues could be given out accordingly – i gave some more than others. Definitely keep my eye out for any others that come out.”
k Ames (verified) – December 22, 2017 – 5 star rating
“We had a great time. It was nice it wasn’t gruesome.”
Laura Fox
Re a successful large group event using “Mystery in the Library”:
“Hi Stephanie! Remember me? I purchased the script for 50 for our teacher appreciation dinner. We held the event on Friday night and I cannot tell you what a huge success it turned out to be. We spent three long evenings decorating for this event and when you walked in to the room you really thought you had walked in to an old English library. We had wonderful scenes of Sherlock Holmes and Alice with the Queen of Hearts on the wall.
We are fortunate to have several artists on staff. The teachers gave … with their costume, most going out and renting very elaborate outfits. The script was wonderfully written, my staff ad-libbed beautifully.
We laughed for 4 hours straight. What a wonderful evening we had. The classified staff dressed as English maids and butlers in black and white and we served grilled steak or chicken, serving approximately 110 people. It was a night to remember and I am hearing the same sentiments from the entire staff. They are wanting a repeat for next year! Whew! It was a tremendous amount of work but it all paid off. Thank you for helping to make this evening so very special!
Sincerely,
Laura Fox”
Tina McIntosh , Red Gum Cottage, Tamworth, NSW, Australia.
“Mystery in the Library” (fairy tale version) has entertained a few Church Youth Groups. We had Goldilocks bring her own porridge, Dorothy brought Toto and the Wicked Witch of the West was SO green. Huck Finn brought his fishing rod and Robin Hood his bow and arrows.”
Tina Wong USA
“We had a fantastic time with our 8th grade middleschoolers. It was a bonding and team building time and this wonderful game brought incredible memories and fantastic anticipation for more of these mystery games to come. I had college kids help with cooking and decorations and now they’re asking when it’s their turn to play. Thank you for an unforgettable evening!!!
The kids and parents still talk about that “magical” evening!
Thank you very much!!
Tina”
See photo No. 1 above for Peter Pan and Tinkerbell posing for a photo. See photo No. 4 for a group photo.
Melissa Eakle, USA
Melissa sent in this feedback (see photo No. 2 above):
“I hosted a surprise 16th birthday party for my son. The theme was Mystery in the Library. The youngest was 1 and the oldest was 85. We had so much fun! The play was great and allowed everyone to participate. I decorated with books from the mystery and also my son’s favorite books. He is an avid reader and loved all the costumes and books! We had a great evening and would recommend this mystery to anyone wanting to entertain a wide range of ages. Thanks so much! I am entering the decor contest.
Sincerely,
Melissa Eakle”
Here are Melissa’s winning decoration photos (see photo No. 5, 6 above).
Kathy McCann, USA
Kathy sent in this feedback about her party (see photo No. 3 above):
“It was fabulous!!! Whoever thought that a bunch of grownups could have so much fun dressing up as mostly storybook characters? Since everyone was given a character assignment, they spent their time simply working on their character and not wasting time trying to figure out what to be. Definitely a plus. Our party was held Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008. The weather for the weeks before was beautiful, but for party night it was a downpour of much-needed rain. That meant that all the vignets we had planned to decorate around which were to be outside had to come inside. Last minute decorating! What we did was make up 10 vignets to honor the 10 suspects. We had a ton of fun just planning what it would look like.
It was interesting to watch the evening unfold. At first people weren’t sure what to do, but as they started chatting and reading their clues, they definitely got into the swing of things. One group of about 10 were found sitting in the family room, and they were discussing in a quite serious manner, about whether Aladdin was at such-and-such a place, and could he have done it! What a hoot. No politics. Just real sleuthing and concern for Henry VIII. When we gathered back in the library/living room by the fireplace, we went around the room and each character explained who they thought did the deed and why. It was amazing how high-powered executives could spend their time solving this “crime”! Everyone had a blast and said it was probably the best party they had ever been to. Better yet, we have to come up with another one for next year!!! So, thank you so much, and please, oh please, have the perfect party idea, again, for my group of 35-40 people.
Sincerely,
Kathy McCann ”
Traci Stevens, USA
Traci sent in this feedback about her party (see photo No. 7 above):
“We had a wonderful time decorating and putting on this mystery dinner! Our youth group has successfully used the mystery dinner for two years now, as a fundraiser to pay for our mission trip this summer. I have a number of wonderful pictures, especially one of the cake that our talented rector’s wife created for this event!
But I can only attach one, and was so proud of our youth for coming up with the idea of themed tables and creating runners for each table with drawings of different stories (they used many Disney stories and fairy tales). The attached Little Mermaid theme was one of my favorites!
Again, many wonderful costumes, but we had a costume contest and these two were voted the best overall! Wish I could send more!”
Tara Hendrickson, USA
“Hi all!
My name is Tara Hendrickson. I purchased your Mystery in the Library kit and we just had the party today!
The party was a huge success! I had 23 people participate, including myself.
The costumes were so creative. The acting was amazing. People really got into their characters…sometimes to their detriment because they were making up information before they had heard all of the clues! It was great to see the dedication though.
I didn’t actually play the game, but was there as Sherlock Holmes to help make sure it flowed smoothly. I loved hearing everyone come up with theories about the King and whisper to each other behind other characters’ backs.
For decor I made 10 hand-drawn pictures of storybooks with the suspects missing from the pages and hung signs from the ceiling with Dewey Decimal sections of the library listed. With a bunch of books strewn throughout the house, it really made you feel like you were in a library!
I have attached a few photos for you of the costumes and the decor.
Thank you so much for a great time had by all. I look forward to future parties with you!
Tara Hendrickson”
Characters
Some of the characters from some versions of this party game
The suspects for the meet and mingle version (and play versions):
Alice (from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
“Wonderland was not my imagination. It was a wonderful dream – a dream filled with strange creatures.” I saw a White Rabbit looking at its watch and I followed it down a rabbit hole. I fell down a deep well, but I fell slowly so I had plenty of time to look at the jars of “Orange Marmalade” and such. I came to a bottle saying “Drink Me”, but “the bottle was not marked poison”, so I drank it. I “shut up like a telescope” till I was only “ten inches high”. Then I found a cake marked “Eat Me” and I ate it and grew very tall. My feet were so far away. [Reading Level: 6]
Huck Finn (from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)
I’m a good boy – honest. Me Pap – he kidnapped me, but I escaped. But before I left, I killed me a pig and made it look like I’d been murdered. Then I hid on Jackson Island, but I found out I wasn’t alone – Jim had run away. So we floated down the river on a raft at night and slept and fished all day. On the way I got mixed up with some con artists – “the Duke and the King” I called ’em cause they pretended to be royals so I’d wait on them. But King Henry was a worse King than the one in my book. “He used to marry a new wife every day, and chop off her head next morning. And he would do it just liken he was ordering eggs.” “Fetch up Nell Glynn”, he says. They fetch her up. Next morning, “Chop off her head!” And they chop it off. “Fetch up Jane..” and so on. King Henry, why he was a plain villain. He kept trying to latch on to me, said I could be his son, but I wouldn’t have a bar of it. [Reading Level: 5]
Cinderella (from Cinderella)
I am a merchant’s daughter. Then my mother died and my father remarried a widow with two grown daughters. Alas, when I met them, they treated me as a slave rather than as a step-sister. My step-sisters saw me covered in cinders after cleaning the fireplace and, my name being Ella, they gave me the nickname of “Cinder-ella”. After working all day on my chores, I often wondered if I would ever be happy again. The ladies of my household were invited to the Duke’s ball. But my step-mother said I could not go unless my chores were done. Fortunately, my Fairy Godmother came to my aid and – well, you all know the rest of the story. King Henry was fascinated by my glass slippers. I think he thought that if I had no slippers, that the Duke’s son would not find me in my fairytale and then I would be free to marry him instead. [Reading Level: 7]
Pinocchio (from Pinocchio by Carlo Lorenzini – penname Carlo Collodi retold by James Riordan)
When I was a puppet I lied a lot, but the Good Fairy taught me not to and to be good. ‘How stupid I was as a puppet. And how glad I am to be a real live boy.’ When I lied my nose became so long I ‘could not move without banging it against the walls or door.’ Geppetto sold his coat to buy me a spelling book for school. I sold it to go to the puppet theatre. Then I saved a puppet from being burnt by the showman and the showman gave me coins for my father. A fox and a cat told me they could multiply my money in “The Field of Miracles”. A bird and the ghost of the cricket tried to warn me not to. The evil fox and cat hung me in a tree to die, but the Good Fairy saved me. But I still let them fool me into burying my money so it would grow. They stole it. Later I became a donkey and ended up rescuing Geppetto from the belly of a whale with the help of the Good Fairy. King Henry thought that I was a silly puppet and he tried to fool me into being his slave. But the Good Fairy warned me that he was an evil man. [Reading Level: 6]
Snow White (from Snow White by The Brothers Grimm)
My step-mother was jealous of my beauty and asked a huntsman to do away with me. He took pity on me and let me run away into the forest and I came to the house of the dwarfs. I ate their porridge. They found me later asleep and asked me to stay and take care of them. But I am not a porridge thief like you Goldilocks, I only took a little from each bowl as I was fainting from hunger. And since then I have kept house for them, so I have repaid my debt to them. My step-mother asked her looking-glass `Who is the fairest of us all?’ and it told her I was living in the glen. Then my stepmother, plotted to get rid of me. She dressed as an ‘old pedlar woman’ and sold me some lace for my waist. Then she laced me up so tight, I `lost … (my) breath, and fell down as dead.’ Fortunately, the seven dwarfs soon returned and cut the lace in two, so that I could draw breath. The Queen knew I wasn’t dead because her mirror told me so, so she came again with a poisoned apple. The dwarfs thought I was dead. A prince saw me and carried me away. Then the apple fell out of my mouth and I came back to life and we married. King Henry kept trying to get me to marry him, but I refused. [Reading Level: 5]
Peter Pan (from Peter and Wendy by Sir James Matthew Barry)
I live on an island inhabited by pirates, mermaids, fairies and Indians. On the island there are lots of fairies like Tinkerbell. “When the first baby laughed for the very first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about and that was the beginning of the fairies.” I taught the three children of the Darling family to fly so they could return with me to the island. We were trying to stop the evil pirate Captain Hook from going about his wicked ways. Then Captain Hook plotted to do away with me and he captured Wendy Darling, but I was able to save her. There is also a crocodile that follows us about that has a clock inside his belly going tick, tick, tick. King Henry was impressed with my victory over Captain Hook. [Reading Level: 7]
Little Red Riding Hood (from Little Red Riding Hood by various authors)
I was on the way to visit my Grandmother when I met the wolf. We chatted about how I was visiting my Grandmother and I told him where she lived. Then he left me and I went to my Grandmother’s cottage. When I came inside my Grandmother’s cottage, I found that she looked very different from her usual self. The Big Bad Wolf locked my Grandmother in the cupboard. So I said to the Wolf who was sitting in bed dressed in my Grandmother’s nightgown, ‘Why, Granny…what big eyes you have got.’ And the wolf said, ‘The better to see you with, my child,’ imitating her voice. I won’t bore you with the rest as you have probably all heard the story. Most versions of the story end happily with my being saved from the wolf’s clutches by my father and the woodcutters. King Henry and the Big Bad Wolf had a lot in common. They were both men that little girls should stay away from.[Reading Level: 6]
Robin Hood (from Robin Hood by various authors)
I am a wealthy man who has been forced to become a thief. I steal from the rich and give to the poor. The poor of England were being asked for too many taxes. The taxes were required to fund various political battles overseas. I simply gave back to the poor the money that they had had unfairly taken away from them in the first place. Little John and I met on a plank across a river. But he would not let me pass. He was a large man. He did not see why he should make way for me and so we did battle. He used his staff, but I was victorious in our skirmish. Afterwards, he came to know me and to be one of my main supporters. [Reading Level: 5]
Goldilocks (from Goldilocks and the Three Bears by various authors)
I ate porridge at the bears’ house. The bears hadn’t locked their front door, so that’s permission to eat their porridge, isn’t it? I didn’t get much porridge anyway. Great Big Bear’s porridge was too hot, Middle-sized Bear’s bowl was too cold. So I had to eat Tiny Little Bear’s and his bowl is so small. Then I tried to find a comfortable chair to sit on, but Great Big Bear’s chair was too hard, Middle-sized Bear’s chair was too soft and Tiny Little Bear’s chair collapsed on me. I was getting tired after all this, so I went upstairs to find a bed to rest on. Great Big Bear’s bed and Middle-sized Bear’s bed both weren’t right for me. But Baby Bear’s tiny bed was perfect, so I got in. I didn’t even take my shoes off. King Henry kept saying I was a spoiled little girl and that if I was his child, he would lock me in the tower. The King had a chair in the library that he liked to sit on. It was large and I suppose it reminded him of his throne. Whenever he found me sitting in it, he got very angry. [Reading Level: 6]
Aladdin (from The Adventures of Aladdin by various authors)
I met a ‘mysterious stranger who said he would pay me a silver penny if I went down a manhole for him’. I found myself in a ‘large chamber… (filled with) pots of gold.’ ‘Put out the flame and bring me the lamp!’ he said. When I hesitated, he left me in there, dropping his ring in the chamber as he did so. Terrified, I put the ring on my finger and ‘twisted it round and round’. ‘Suddenly the room was flooded with a rosy light and a great genie with clasped hands appeared on a cloud’, and said he was at my command. I told the genie I wanted ‘to go home’ and immediately I found myself there. I told my mother of my adventures. She was a little disappointed I had returned with only the old oil lamp. But she started to polish it and ‘out shot another genie’. He said that we had set him ‘free after centuries’ and that he would be our servant. Things went pretty well after that and I married a beautiful princess. King Henry was jealous of my having a genie and even though he was already wealthy, he ordered me to give me to him but I refused. [Reading Level: 7]
The characters vary from kit to kit. If Sherlock Holmes is present, his Reading Level is 7.
Reading Level
Reading level: 6
Note: The reading levels of each kit (not just “page” as it says below) were determined by copying and pasting the kit (the play version), into The Readability Test Tool (see www.read-able.com). This is just the average reading level. See the character page for the reading levels for each suspect character’s lines.
5 reviews for Mystery In The Library
Rated 5 out of 5
Lisa Arcinas (verified owner)–
We had an 18th birthday party and the kids had a great time! We didn’t have them come in costume, rather we had props for each character. They really got into it!
Rated 5 out of 5
Joanne B. (verified owner)–
It was lots of fun. Our church did this as a community outreach so we needed something that was suitable for all ages. It was a great success and we plan on doing it again (different story tho) in 2019
Rated 5 out of 5
Gale Ferraro (verified owner)–
Rated 5 out of 5
Karen F. (verified owner)–
Thank you for this well-organized kit. Our group of adults and children had great fun. The only thing I would suggest for improvement would be to watch for stereotypes — we did remove a few words/phrases from the descriptions before we sent them out.
Stephanie Chambers (store manager)–
Hi – Thanks so much for your feedback. We are in the process of revising all our kits, so I will look out for stereotypes and remove them.
All the best
Stephanie
Director Merri Mysteries Inc
Rated 4 out of 5
Kate O. (verified owner)–
First the positive:
I purchased this party for my daughter’s 12th birthday. We had her party at the library since she loves to read and so does her friends. It was perfect! The kids had a blast. It took them about 2 hours to complete the mystery. We also added in challenges in between such as “find a book with your character in it” or “find your favorite book to share.” It was the perfect “not-a-murder” mystery for my book loving kid.
I love that this is a print from home kit so I could buy it last minute to toss together a party.
The “needs improvement” part:
This kit was made years ago on most likely Microsoft word. Someone needs to take about an hour to update the layout and graphics. Including an invitation that can be customized would be nice. The character sheets need to be on separate pages so they can be printed out and handed out. I ended up copying and pasting the writing onto smaller sheets with the character clip art on the other side to make it easy to hand out to the kids. The kids wore their character printout in a lanyard that I took from another branded mystery game. They wore costumes but the lanyards made it easier to identity who was who during the game if the costume was vague.
I was also a bit frustrated that the characters changed when you added more people to the script. I had last minute rsvps so I assumed I would just print the next script and add the next character but it left out other characters which made the planning aspect of this game frustrating.
Also the instructions on how to do the questions could be explained better. It took us a few minutes to get the gist of what to do.
I won’t post photos of other people’s kids so sorry no photos to include in my review.
All in all, I’m glad this concept exists. I would buy from this company again. I just feel it needs some updating and clarification.
Stephanie Chambers (store manager)–
Hi Kate
I am glad to hear your party went well. You ordered the standard format.
Thank you for your detailed feedback. The current landscape format doesn’t suit everyone. I am in the midst of creating a new more flexible version that will be able to be used as a play for a small group or as a “meet and mingle” format for larger groups. It is in normal portrait format and will be easier to prepare. The new format will have a base kit with 8 suspects and you will be able to buy extra male or female character sets for the witnesses/authorities. I am also making it a little less wordy and there will be alternate versions with different people who did it, so you can use it more than once.
All the best
Stephanie
Stephanie Chambers
Director Merri Mysteries
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
First the positive:
I purchased this party for my daughter’s 12th birthday. We had her party at the library since she loves to read and so does her friends. It was perfect! The kids had a blast. It took them about 2 hours to complete the mystery. We also added in challenges in between such as “find a book with your character in it” or “find your favorite book to share.” It was the perfect “not-a-murder” mystery for my book loving kid.
I love that this is a print from home kit so I could buy it last minute to toss together a party.
The “needs improvement” part:
This kit was made years ago on most likely Microsoft word. Someone needs to take about an hour to update the layout and graphics. Including an invitation that can be customized would be nice. The character sheets need to be on separate pages so they can be printed out and handed out. I ended up copying and pasting the writing onto smaller sheets with the character clip art on the other side to make it easy to hand out to the kids. The kids wore their character printout in a lanyard that I took from another branded mystery game. They wore costumes but the lanyards made it easier to identity who was who during the game if the costume was vague.
I was also a bit frustrated that the characters changed when you added more people to the script. I had last minute rsvps so I assumed I would just print the next script and add the next character but it left out other characters which made the planning aspect of this game frustrating.
Also the instructions on how to do the questions could be explained better. It took us a few minutes to get the gist of what to do.
I won’t post photos of other people’s kids so sorry no photos to include in my review.
All in all, I’m glad this concept exists. I would buy from this company again. I just feel it needs some updating and clarification.
Stephanie Chambers
Store manager
Hi Kate
I am glad to hear your party went well. You ordered the standard format.
Thank you for your detailed feedback. The current landscape format doesn’t suit everyone. I am in the midst of creating a new more flexible version that will be able to be used as a play for a small group or as a “meet and mingle” format for larger groups. It is in normal portrait format and will be easier to prepare. The new format will have a base kit with 8 suspects and you will be able to buy extra male or female character sets for the witnesses/authorities. I am also making it a little less wordy and there will be alternate versions with different people who did it, so you can use it more than once.
All the best
Stephanie
Stephanie Chambers
Director Merri Mysteries
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Q & A
Ask a question
What is the difference between the standard format and the school play format?Brenda asked on April 15, 2023
With the standard format, you generally go around the group and everyone says their first clue for the Act. Then you go around again and everyone says their second clue and so on. If someone has a question for another suspect, that suspect will have the answer on their page and when they say it, that will count as their turn in that round. You keep going until no one has any clues to say. The standard bundle has versions for different numbers of guests. For example, a version for 10 guests, a version for 11 guests and so on. You print the one you need to suit your number of guests. With the play format, you pass the play around and each person reads their line when it is their character's turn. Some clues can be said by "Anyone". So they can be said by people playing the optional roles or by the suspects if you don't have any other people. This means if someone playing an optional role doesn't turn up, you can just give those clues to someone else. So it is more flexible.
Stephanie Chambers answered on April 16, 2023store manager
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If doing this for a large group (mix and mingle format), how many characters are there? Do they all have clues/lines?Skylar Stephens asked on January 18, 2023
There are a number of versions of this kit - "Mystery In The Library". Click the dropdown next to "Number Of Guests:" If you want the "meet and mingle" format for a large group, choose "17 to 30 guests (meet and mingle format)" or "17 to 52" or "17 to 100". The "17 to 30 guests (school meet & mingle format - 4 versions)" has 4 versions of the kit with different people who did it in each version.
If it says it is for 17 to 30 guests, that means that there are 30 characters (with dress suggestions for each) in the kit. The way the meet and mingle format works is that some people play the suspects and everyone else plays a witness. Everyone gets at least one clue to talk about while they mingle. Sometimes a clue may be a question for a suspect. The suspect will have the answer on their page. They then mingle and tell everyone their question and what the suspect said in response to their question. Later some reports are read out to the whole group.
Stephanie Chambers answered on January 18, 2023store manager
Lisa Arcinas (verified owner) –
We had an 18th birthday party and the kids had a great time! We didn’t have them come in costume, rather we had props for each character. They really got into it!
Joanne B. (verified owner) –
It was lots of fun. Our church did this as a community outreach so we needed something that was suitable for all ages. It was a great success and we plan on doing it again (different story tho) in 2019
Gale Ferraro (verified owner) –
Karen F. (verified owner) –
Thank you for this well-organized kit. Our group of adults and children had great fun. The only thing I would suggest for improvement would be to watch for stereotypes — we did remove a few words/phrases from the descriptions before we sent them out.
Stephanie Chambers (store manager) –
Hi – Thanks so much for your feedback. We are in the process of revising all our kits, so I will look out for stereotypes and remove them.
All the best
Stephanie
Director Merri Mysteries Inc
Kate O. (verified owner) –
First the positive:
I purchased this party for my daughter’s 12th birthday. We had her party at the library since she loves to read and so does her friends. It was perfect! The kids had a blast. It took them about 2 hours to complete the mystery. We also added in challenges in between such as “find a book with your character in it” or “find your favorite book to share.” It was the perfect “not-a-murder” mystery for my book loving kid.
I love that this is a print from home kit so I could buy it last minute to toss together a party.
The “needs improvement” part:
This kit was made years ago on most likely Microsoft word. Someone needs to take about an hour to update the layout and graphics. Including an invitation that can be customized would be nice. The character sheets need to be on separate pages so they can be printed out and handed out. I ended up copying and pasting the writing onto smaller sheets with the character clip art on the other side to make it easy to hand out to the kids. The kids wore their character printout in a lanyard that I took from another branded mystery game. They wore costumes but the lanyards made it easier to identity who was who during the game if the costume was vague.
I was also a bit frustrated that the characters changed when you added more people to the script. I had last minute rsvps so I assumed I would just print the next script and add the next character but it left out other characters which made the planning aspect of this game frustrating.
Also the instructions on how to do the questions could be explained better. It took us a few minutes to get the gist of what to do.
I won’t post photos of other people’s kids so sorry no photos to include in my review.
All in all, I’m glad this concept exists. I would buy from this company again. I just feel it needs some updating and clarification.
Stephanie Chambers (store manager) –
Hi Kate
I am glad to hear your party went well. You ordered the standard format.
Thank you for your detailed feedback. The current landscape format doesn’t suit everyone. I am in the midst of creating a new more flexible version that will be able to be used as a play for a small group or as a “meet and mingle” format for larger groups. It is in normal portrait format and will be easier to prepare. The new format will have a base kit with 8 suspects and you will be able to buy extra male or female character sets for the witnesses/authorities. I am also making it a little less wordy and there will be alternate versions with different people who did it, so you can use it more than once.
All the best
Stephanie
Stephanie Chambers
Director Merri Mysteries