Murder Mystery Games for Kids

Board Games

• Depending upon the ages of the children, the classic board game "Clue" might be appropriate, but if younger children are involved, there's a version called "Clue Jr: The Case of the Missing Chocolate Cake" geared toward kids ages 5 to 8.

  University Games makes a game for kids who love riddles and brain teasers called "30 Second Mysteries Game for Kids," appropriate for ages 8 to 14 (divided into two teams). Game creators designed it to help build critical thinking skills and also promote social interaction. The solution is only revealed by the Giant Mystery Decoder, which also keeps score.

  "Spy Alley Junior" is for two to six players aged 6 and up, in which each player assumes the character on a spy identification card and then test their deductive and bluffing skills in trying to complete their mission and unmask enemy spies.

Video Games

• Computer games are available for the PC. You can either purchase them in stores or online or download for free. The games you can purchase include such classics as: "ClueFinders," a series of educational computer games aimed at kids ages 8 to 12 which follows a series of kid detectives as they use their brain power to solve puzzles, collect clues and outsmart the bad guys; "Mystery Case Files," where kids locate enough hidden clues to solve the crimes and become a Master Detective; and the "Scooby Doo" software series, based on the animated kids' TV show. There are hundreds of downloadable games, as well, which are linked from the sites in References and Resources below.

  For video game fans, and slightly older kids, there are games for Nintendo including the "American Girl Kit Mystery Challenge"; "Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney"; "Disney Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force"; the Professor Layton series; and series based on the Nancy Drew books and the Harry Potter books and movies. For X-box and Game Cube users, you can find mystery games with Scooby Doo themes; Sony's Wii has Hardy Boys mystery games, as well as "Cate West: The Vanishing Files Mystery Game," "Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery Games," and "The Mystery of Whiterock Castle."

Murder Mystery Parties

• You can create your own party games, but there are many fairly inexpensive kids games already available which come complete with all the materials you'll need. These are geared toward kids ages 8 to 13 in general. You can find many of these at department stores and toy stores, but many more are available to purchase and download online from the Mystery Games and Kids' Mystery Party Games links below. Titles include everything from "The Ghostly Case of The Haunted Amusement Park" to the holiday-themed "The Christmas Crimes."