A Hatter's Ball murder mystery party game for 8-18+ guests, ages 14 and up due to difficulty. Characters are flexible gender, so this game may be played co-ed, all female or all male. This is the instant download version of the game - easy to prepare and host - and, you avoid the wait and shipping fees, as there's nothing that needs to be shipped. For the party ready pack, click on the link below in the helpful links section. This game was created for hosts who loved Bloodwood Masquerade Ball so much, they requested another with the same characters! The characters are jumbled up in order and placed into a new mystery for you to solve!
Mystery Synopsis - If you loved the Bloodwood Masquerade Ball, this is volume 2!
The neighborhood socialites have touted the Hatter’s Ball as the bash of the year in the isolated town of Bloodworth Falls. Mayor Riley White has organized the event in the old Bloodwood Castle as a diversion from the scandals that have plagued the town in recent months. Of course, it’s no coincidence the ball is scheduled right before the upcoming mayoral election.
The mayor posted the invite list online, and your adversaries have already sent in their RSVPs. You’re intrigued and have decided you cannot miss an opportune moment to seek revenge on those who have crossed you in the past. Now, you are on a hunt for the perfect hat.
This is where your story begins.
In addition to the fun hatter's themed murder mystery party instant download, there are additional bonus games.
If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit, you will need a commercial license or provide us with your 501C number for a charity fundraiser - click here.
Age: | 14+ years for difficulty |
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# of players in main game: | 8-18 players |
Expansion packs: | 6 players, 16 players |
Expandable?: | To 130+ players with expansion packs |
Gender of players: | Flexible |
This game was a bunch of fun with our group of 9 people. It was relatively easy to set up and by the end everyone was arguing over who they thought the killer was and defending themselves against accusations. We have already planned on doing another mystery game very soon. Andrew Carucci on Jan 5th 2021
I hosted the Masquerade Ball (with the same character cast) about 6 months prior to hosting The Hatters' Ball with a different side of the family. I really liked the shared characters between the two murder mysteries. It was extremely helpful that everyone wore clothes/hats/items in their color (or color scheme -- ie. green for mint). It helps to keep the characters straight especially for the younger players, but it's really helpful for adults too!
We played with a total of 13 people, but 1 optional character was assigned to a 3 year old. I still created envelopes for the 3 year old with leftover name tags from optional characters who were not cast. So, she still got to open envelops and the stickers kept her busy for a little bit during each round. Our 9 year old female guest lost interest frequently, so I recommend younger players be cast as optional characters if you want to include them. We also had a 12 year old male and two 14 year old boys who were fully engaged and enjoyed the game play. There were 8 adults varying from mid-20's to 70's. Everyone had a great time!
I ordered plastic castle wall decorations that were taped to the wall. We did Pre-Game activities while eating pizza. We ate pizza right as people arrived. I have done several murder mysteries, and this is the first one that I did not know the victim or the murderer beforehand. It is very challenging to setup the game on your own without knowing, but it's possible. I used a paper cutter to cut the cards for each round. I printed the clue cards on card stock, and I used a blank piece of card stock to cover the round cards. I would pull down the blank card stock just enough to see the upper border. Then, I lined it up on the paper cutter. I did this for all 4 sides of each card. After each card was cut, I did a similar reveal (slowly move the blank card stock down until I can only see the character's name) to see whose clue card it is.
I would have liked there to be more props listed that the host could have optionally chose to include such as various bottles for poison that are labeled with funny names. Amanda on Dec 31st 2019
Everyone had fun (even those who were skeptical) when we played Hatter's Ball at our annual department team retreat. Thanks! Unknown on Apr 25th 2019
The party is super fun! Great storyline! And my murder mystery was super helpful! Hannah on Apr 2nd 2019