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Fun Detective Games for Teens

Many teens find detective games exciting and intriguing. When planning a mystery party or social gathering for a group of teenagers, be sure to incorporate games into the event to keep the teens entertained. Careful planning, a few ideas and some inexpensive supplies are all you need to make the party or gathering a success. Awarding the game winners with prizes will encourage all the teens to do their best.

Footprint Hunt
- Have each teenager paint the bottom of his shoe and press it onto paper. Write a number on each print and line up the prints on the ground. Give each teen a numbered sheet of paper and a pen. He must go down the line of prints and look at the other players' shoes to figure out which shoe he thinks goes with each print. The teens can ask other players to look at the bottoms of their shoes. The teen who guesses the most prints correctly wins the game. For a harder version, paint the bottom of each teen's bare foot.
Murder Weapon Clues
- Lead the teens on a hunt to find a deadly murder weapon. Hide a plastic toy knife somewhere around the play area. Give the teens several clues leading to the knife. Some clues can include "Try where you get clean" (bathtub) or "Maybe under a tree" (a certain tree outdoors). At each point, hide another clue leading to another clue. For the last clue, send the teens to the area where the knife is hidden. The first one to find it wins.
Detective Relay Race
- Create a relay race for the teens using two detective outfits. Divide the teens into two teams and give each team a detective outfit including a trench coat, glasses, hat, wig and magnifying glass. Mark a starting line and a run-to line 20 feet apart. Have both teams line up at the starting line and give the first player in each team a detective outfit. When you say "Go," the teen must put on the entire outfit and race to the run-to line. She must then yell "Problem solved" and run back to hand the outfit off to the next player on her team. Each player on each team must do the same thing. The first team to finish the relay race wins the game.
Who Am I?
- Write the names of popular actors, pop stars or famous people on index cards. Tape a card at random to the back of each teen's shirt. Names could include Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Nick Cannon and Barack Obama. The teens must walk around asking yes-or-no questions about their names. The first player to figure out his famous name wins the game. Keep playing until they all figure out their famous names. For another variation, have a theme for the famous names, such as pop stars or cartoon characters.

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