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Mystery Party Games for Teens

Mystery party games provide guests with the opportunity to use analytical and supersleuth skills as they try to figure out who committed a "crime." Younger children may not fully appreciate mystery solving activities, but by the teen years, kids should enjoy the challenge of trying to outsmart other party guests and put their detective skills to use.
  1. "How to Host a Teen Mystery" Games

    • Decipher Inc.'s out-of-print "How to Host a Teen Mystery" series, available at online sites such as Amazon, caters to ages 12 to 17 and includes eight teen crime suspects in each of three games. "Roswell That Ends Well" features extra-terrestrial foul play at a beach house luau, while "Hot Times at Hollywood High" features a science lab fire ruled as arson and stolen test answers from the principal's office. "Barbecue with the Vampire" features a barbecue setting at a spooky castle, where a guest has pulled the Dracula-like move of turning guests into bats. Teens may adapt their setting to fit the mood of each game; for instance, when playing "Roswell That Ends Well," teens may decorate the house like a beach party, and for "Barbecue with the Vampire," teens may decorate the house with Halloween decorations.

    Murder Mystery Game

    • Teens may take a cue from the classic whodunit game "Clue" and play their own murder mystery party game. A leader devises the game scenario and, before the game begins, speaks with each guest individually, after which guests must not discuss the details of their conversation with other guests. The leader informs the "murderer" of her identity, and the "murderer" plays along as if she's trying tries to solve the crime along with everyone else.

      The leader starts the game by laying out the murder scenario, for which school dance, a school sporting event, a movie theater or local teen hangout may serve as the scene of the crime. The leader reveals the weapon, clues found at the scene, suspect list (which includes every guest) and other pertinent information leading up to the crime. Guests receive sheets containing key information detailing their individual relationship to the victim, whether they interacted with the victim before the murder and other facts; they study the sheet so they are ready with answers when other guests interview them. After a pre-determined time limit elapses, everyone guesses the "murderer's" identity, with each guest explaining her reasoning.

    Kissing Bandit Game

    • Teens may engage in lighter "criminal" mystery games, such as ones involving a a kissing bandit. For "Blind Date," a leader puts paper scraps in a hat, marking several with an "X." Players who pick an "X" assume the role of the "dater." If the boys go first, they stand in a line in front of the girls, who cover their eyes with their hands or a blindfold. The "daters" then approach the girl of their choice, disguise their voice and insist they go out with them on a date; they then kiss the girl. To make the game more challenging, one boy could be a true kissing bandit and kiss multiple girls.

      "Daters" then return to their place in the line, after which the girls open their eyes and stand in front of the boy they think approached and kissed them. Girls get three chances to guess correctly; whoever guesses correctly wins the round. For the next round, the girls take a turn as the "daters." Depending on the crowd and guests' comfort level, girls and boys could mix in a line, and guests really may have difficulty figuring out who kisses them.


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