Murder Masquerade

A social deduction murder mystery party game for 4-10 players – play online or in person.

Social deduction meets murder mystery in Murder Masquerade, a game where the killer hides among the suspects, and even the innocents may have reason to lie to frame or protect others. Only investigations and uneasy alliances can bring the truth to light, while lies and tampered evidence can bury the facts forever alongside the victim…

A Different Kind of Mystery

Compared to traditional murder mystery games, Murder Masquerade has a few tricks up its sleeve… Fans of social deduction games like Werewolf, Among Us, and Blood on the Clocktower will feel right at home – someone is lying to your face – but every investigation brings clues to solve the crime, and you can re-investigate a shady clue to separate the innocents from the guilty.

The killer knows they did it

Many first-time mystery party guests are shocked to learn that the killer often doesn’t even know they did it; they’re solving the mystery along with everyone else. In fact, that’s how it is in the popular board game Clue® (Cluedo) – everyone’s trying to solve the mystery, but it may be your card in that mystery envelope… Congrats on convicting yourself!

Murder Masquerade not only tells you that you did it, it lets you tamper with clues to throw the others off the scent.

Your character’s goals are your own

Many murder games give you lines to say or clues to drop, even if they implicate your character. Here the innocents try to solve the case, and the guilty try to avoid suspicion. No forced clue-giving involved. And unlike the team-versus-team battles of Werewolf or Among Us, the mansion isn’t split into good and evil – every guest plays for their own tangle of loyalties, grudges, and secrets.

Improv optional, intrigue always

While there's joy to be had in getting immersed in your role, Murder Masquerade is a lot more than just chatting and playing a role. Players get to unearth clues, tamper with evidence, and re-investigate shady claims. You know, like a game.

Roles and Goals

Roles – who you are for the night

In every game of Murder Masquerade, each player is given a role and a set of relationships that tie them to the mansion and the mystery. You may be a high-born baron or a humble cook, but it’s really your goals for the night that define you. Someone was killed tonight and the murderer is one of you! The only question is, are you the killer, an innocent, or something in between?

Your role sets your standing in the house and colors how the others read you – nobody suspects the cook of resenting an inheritance, and nobody expects the baron to know his way around a kitchen knife. But the role is only the costume. What you actually play for is the goal printed on your card, and every player in the mansion is holding one.

The Killer – don’t get caught!

A real cold-blooded killer keeps their wits about them and their plans together. In this Masquerade, the killer’s goal is always to not get caught, and we arm our murderer with the knowledge, bluffs, and tampering skills that might just keep them out of jail.

You are the Killer!

Primary Goal

You murdered The Baron because you stand to inherit from The Baron

You need to escape justice: hide your identity as the killer.

The Innocents – solve the mystery and suss out the scandals

An innocent’s primary job is to sift through the clues and uncover the killer. Each player gets two chances to investigate the mansion and learn facts they can rely on. You even get to hear the other players’ clues, but beware! They might subtly tamper with the evidence before it reaches your ears.

You are an Innocent Suspect

Primary Goal

You are an innocent suspect

You need to solve the murder: accuse the right person and get them arrested.

The Manipulators – framers and protectors

Between the killers and the innocents, there are suspects who have their own reasons to smear the truth. Some may be protecting a loved one, and some may be looking for an opportunity to get an enemy out of the way and into prison, whether justified or not!

Each of them is holding a primary goal of their own – and a reason for it, drawn from the same web of loves and grudges that produced the murder:

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You are a Framer

Primary Goal

You intend to frame The Colonel because you covet the wealth of The Colonel

You need to frame The Colonel: ensure that The Colonel is arrested for the murder.

You are a Protector

Primary Goal

You would lie to protect The Heiress because you and The Heiress are secretly in love

You need to protect The Heiress: make sure The Heiress and you are not accused of the murder.

You are a Devoted Protector

Primary Goal

You would die to protect The Actress because you and The Actress are married

You need to protect The Actress at all costs: ensure that The Actress isn't accused of the murder, even if you take the fall.

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Scandals – secondary goals

Besides the actual murder, there may be a murky undercurrent to the people in the mansion, both the innocent and the guilty. Some of you may be hiding your flings and infidelity, while others may have a dark secret to conceal. Players may tamper with the clues to keep their secrets secret, even if it makes the mystery harder to solve.

A secondary goal rides along on top of whatever else you’re playing for, so an innocent trying to solve the case may still have something of their own to bury:

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You have a Hidden Scandal

Secondary Goal

You want to hide that you had a fling with The Chauffeur

You want to hide your scandal: ensure most people don't discover your secret.

You Paid the Killer

Secondary Goal

You paid The Chauffeur to kill The Baron because The Baron betrayed you

You want to hide your shame: conceal your contract with The Chauffeur

You were Paid to Kill

Secondary Goal

You were paid by The Doctor to kill.

You want to hide your shame: conceal the contract with The Doctor

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The Investigations

Once everyone has reviewed their given notes for the evening and understands their part in the murder, we begin the investigations.

Choosing Your Target

On your turn to investigate, you’ll choose a person, room, or item to dig into, and you’ll be given a relevant clue, if possible. If not, you’ll still receive a clue that’s important to the mystery.

Truth or Tamper

The clue you’re given will be a true detail about the night of the murder, given to you as a single fact like, “The Butler picked up the knife in the bedroom”. While you could choose to reveal the true clue to the group, what if you don’t like what you see?

As the investigator, you have the option to tamper with any one element of the clue. Do you not want to implicate the butler? Change it to implicate someone else, maybe the doctor. Are you trying to make the clue seem a little less scandalous? Maybe the Butler picked up a glass instead of a knife. Do you want the butler to seem even more suspicious to draw heat away from an ally? Change “picked up the knife” to “cleaned the knife” and make it seem more like he has blood on his hands.

The choice is yours, but if you’re an innocent, revealing the truth is probably the best way to help the mystery get solved.

The End of the Night

After the last round of investigations, law enforcement will finally arrive and ask each player to fill in the details of the murder, including the motive. Besides the murder, you’ll also be asked to report any scandals that you’ve learned about, such as a sordid fling or an abusive spouse.

If you’re an innocent, keep in mind that some of the clues you’ve seen may have been altered by people trying to protect, frame, or keep their secrets under wraps. Check your notebook for all the clues and facts you know, but trust your instincts when it comes to catching liars.

If you’re a killer, framer, or protector, you may want to fill in a lie or two – law enforcement wasn’t there and will have to get a majority opinion from the group. Fudging your testimony might keep you or someone you love out of prison!