Night of Mystery Review & GIVEAWAY (closed)

Have you heard of Murder Mystery Parties?  They are interactive parties where you and your guests act out a fictional murder and spend the party trying to solve the mystery of "whodunnit."  At first I thought these were just done at special dinner theatres, but when I heard you could do them at your own home, I jumped at the chance to try host one of my own!  That's when I came across an amazing website, Night Of Mystery.com which actually allows you to instantly download your party games!

Night of Mystery does an excellent job at explaining all about Murder Mystery parties on their site and was kind enough to provide me with a free game to try out!  Something in particular that I loved when chosing which Murder Mystery to get from Night of Mystery is their options!!  Not only do they have a great selection of different themed mysteries to choose from, but they also have what they call "Clean Versions" of some of their popular mysteries.  The Clean Versions are perfect for more conservative groups, company functions, and youth groups because they have been formatted without any reference to alcohol, affairs and illegal drugs.  I really admire that Night of Mystery has these Clean Versions and even though it was hard to make a decision on which game to choose (because they all sounded so fun), I ended up getting the Murder High Reunion (Clean) 80s themed game! 

The download of the Murder High Mystery came with:

A Host Guide- A complete how-to of throwing your party which includes directions on preparing the invitations, assigning characters and preparing for the party.

A Schedule of the Night- a step-by-step breakdown of how the night will go.

An Introduction- to be read to the guests upon arrival.

Designed Invitations- that you can customize with the details of your party.

Information to be sent with the invitations- including background information on the party and the guest list.

Character Descriptions- full descriptions of the characters, including costuming and acting tips.

Character Objective Sheets- this includes objectives for each character to try to achieve at each stage of the game in order to uncover evidence and find the murderer.

Name Tags- for your guests.

Evidence- more clues that will be presented toward the end of the night. This evidence will help your guests solve the mystery and find the murderer.

"Who Dunnit” Cards- to allow your guests to guess the murderer, along with vote for the most animated character and best outfit.

The Solution- revealing the murderer and all the clues that could have led you there.

Award Certificates- to be awarded to the best costume, the most theatrical, the player with the most money at the end of the night and to each of the guests that solve the murder.

I used the downloaded file along with lots of helpful information on the Night of Mystery website to put everything together for my party.  Some things I found extremely helpful were the online forum posts which allowed you to get feedback from others who have hosted the parties, and all of the party, costume, and decoration tips Night of Mystery provides for each of their games.  I had such an amazing time hosting the party and everyone that came said it was one of the best parties they had been to.  

Here are some of the reasons I think made the night so great:

- Planning:  I made sure to give myself plenty of time (around 2 weeks) to plan for the party and get things ready.  Characters had to be assigned so I made sure to have RSVP's of everyone attending so the party could go smoothly.

- Extras: A little goes a long way!  With the help of some inexpensive decor, 80s themed items and candies, and some fun internet tools (YearbookYourself.com), I was able to decorate the house perfectly for the party and not spend a lot of money!

- Great Guests: My guests did an AMAZING job at dressing up and playing the roles of their characters!  The Night of Mystery Character Descriptions for everyone really helped get them into character and have a fun time!

- Don't  Stress, Just Enjoy the Night:  I had everyone bring an appetizer or treat to share so I wouldn't have to worry about feeding such a big crowd.  I read on one of the Night of Mystery posts that one hostess spent tons of time making food for everyone and because everyone was so into the party, not much was eaten.  Having finger foods was the perfect way for people to eat and still be able to mingle!

Overall, the Night of Mystery party I did was a HUGE success and I am already planning on hosting many more murder mystery parties in the future!  From start to finish, Night of Mystery provided an excellent experience, especially for my first time hosting!

BUY IT:

Head over to the Night of Mystery website to check out all their various parties and instantly purchase and download them for your own!

WIN IT:

Night of Mystery is offering a FREE MYSTERY GAME TO ONE OF OUR LUCKY READERS!!

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Giveaway closes Thursday February 2nd at midnight

Winner will be chosen using Random.org & announced the following day

(Open WORLDWIDE)

GOOD LUCK!

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A big THANK YOU to Night of Mystery for providing me with a free murder mystery game download.  I was not compensated for this post.  I receive product(s) for free so that I can provide my insight and experience. These are my honest opinions. Your experience may vary.