Murder in 1985 | A Virtual Murder Mystery
This is a lighthearted 1980's murder mystery theme for 6-10 players (with an expansion pack, purchased separately, that adds another 6 players plus a spectator file to include up to 100+ non-suspect players), ages 13 and up. This is formatted for virtual (video chat) play. This can be played with only 4-5 players. This game should take 2 hours to play. The game can be played in two ways - at home with a group or via a video-chat service of your choice.
This is the instant download version of the game - no waiting, no shipping, and no printing is needed. Download and play! This murder mystery game was formatted to play on Zoom or other video chat - you send each player a PDF file before the game and meet up virtually to play!
Helpful Links:
- Host character list
- Free, printable invitation
- Murder Mystery Prop Emporium
- 6 character, Expansion pack - Purchased separately
- Free pre-game site for players
Mystery Synopsis:
It is 1985, and after losing market share to sweeter competitors, Koko-Cola has revised its classic formulation and named the new beverage Best Cola. The CEO, Martin McFly, is hosting a huge bash to celebrate the release and has invited the Who’s Who of the entertainment industry to attend the party. With so many Yes Men fluttering around Mr. McFly, he’s blinded to the reality that he is one of the most dreadful men in the world. He’s stolen ideas, broken hearts, slashed egos, and even kidnapped the beloved pets of foes when it suited him.
Alas, you are one of the ‘80s icons that received an exclusive invitation to this event. Mr. McFly has wronged you in the past but needs your fame to help launch Best Cola. It should be interesting how this all plays out. This is where your story begins.
Included:
- Host instruction file - including bonus games to play virtually, player instructions, and a timeline sheet (abbreviated instructions) for your event.
- 10 character packets (PDF files) to send to your players in advance of the party. They include instructions, a character bio, and three rounds of game play (optional pre-game, round one materials, round two materials).
- Solution keys for the game and game challenge (and optional bonus games) - host can play along without spoiling the game.
- Editable text field player contact sheet for pre-game
- Three videos of a detective's call on speaker phone to play to start the game, start round two, and give the solution
- Free invitation (optional to use)
- Free pre-game website (optional, but suggested)
If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit, in public, &/or as a benefit for a business/brand/organization - you will need a commercial license - click here.
- Minimum Age:
- 12 and up due to difficulty.
- Difficulty rating:
- Moderate, 6/10
- Gender of character roles:
- Flexible.
- Number of players in the main game:
- 6-10 in the main game (you can play with only 4-5). You'll receive an optional character list for the host that narrows to 4 required.
- Expansion/Expandable team players:
- Expansion pack #1 has 6, gender flexible characters - all optional. With the expansion pack, you'll receive a spectator file to cover up to 100+ players in the game.
- Date of publication:
- September 2020
Reviews
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My team had a blast!
We ordered this virtual team event for our quarterly team celebration and my team had a blast! We did the pre-games, dressed up, and put character backgrounds. We used Teams and it worked seamlessly. We did two of the bonus games in-between rounds and the entire event lasted 2 hours. We also took a team pic as a keepsake. I was the host and also got to participate which was a nice bonus. I recommend and would purchase additional virtual games from My Mystery Party.
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Absolutely Wonderful!
I did this with my coworkers and they had so much fun making costumes and drinking their "Koko cola"! It was a great story, very safe for work, very fun, the games were great too. Loved it. We are going to do another one next month.
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Lots of fun!
We had a blast. This was easy to execute and fun!
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Lots of fun for a birthday
While not the same as doing it in real life (people spent less effort on their costumes, we couldn't share a meal) this was still very good on zoom. The added videos and other game parts were great and added variety, and the story and characters were good. I've recommended it to friends and would definitely do another one.
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Incredibly fun!!
I'm am the president of my university's gaming club and we did this game. It was so much fun! We're thinking of maybe even making it an annual occurance!!
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Great fun! I would recommend this!
We had a lot of fun playing this! I would encourage people to use the pre-game as it was fun to email each other ahead of the event. Thanks for building this game! It was better than another night of Netflix during the pandemic!!
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Perfect Game for Quarantine Fun
I bought this to celebrate my 30th virtually with friends and it was super fun! I split up the character packets into three parts (Pregame, Round 1, and Round 2) and emailed it off to friends and instructed them which part to open during game play. Someone created a playlist so when we were reading our new packets for rounds, it was fun to listen to music and do shots before getting back into character to continue. It was super fun and easy to follow, although I would definitely advise looking through it all prior just to be sure you know what comes next. But the timeline and checklists made the flow easy to manage. I literally had everything I needed to make sure my friends and I had fun! I highly recommend this for switching up virtual hangouts with friends! Can’t wait for our next murder mystery!
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totally 80s totally fun
Played this the other night with an old group of friends and we couldn't stop laughing (and reminiscing about the 80s). Very fun and easy.
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A ton of fun!
A group of 10 of us did this for a birthday party, all on Zoom. Everyone LoVED the pre-game texting. That really set the mood and help us all get into it. The gameplay itself was just a little bit clunky since people get new info about themselves throughout the game and then just read it. But I’m not sure even what I would suggest to help that along so it really was fine. The videos and clues were well done and we had a great time! Hosting wasn’t too difficult and I still got to participate which was great. And it was a good price! Thank you for putting this together!!