How to Build the Most Creative Murder Mystery Escape Room At Home

Friends and murder go together like peanut butter and jelly. So gathering good friends at your home for a murder mystery escape room guarantees a great night for all! 

Most likely, everyone will leave alive and happy — if they escape! But if you've never hosted an escape room party, never fear! I'll walk you through crafting the story, ambiance, and puzzles that will make for an unforgettable evening.

Originality isn't required. Seriously. Classic mystery plots have survived the test of time for a reason. So plagiarize away - or steal one of these ideas. Just make sure to flesh out your theme by following these steps:

Choose a fun setting. Is your escape room taking place on a train, a plane, or a yellow submarine? Have you relocated your guests to the Everglades or to Yellowstone? The sky's the limit! Which, come to think of it, means your game could take place on the International Space Station!

Have clear goals... The goal is not simply to escape. That's boring. The players have to uncover the identity of the murderer. Here's where you up the ante. You must stop the killer because she leads a spy agency, poisoned the town's water, or stole all the girl scout cookies. Motivate them with an irresistible goal!

... and consequences! The players also need to know what happens if they fail. Will they be killed next? Will the killer escape in a time machine to rewrite the ending to Casablanca? Will their google search history be posted online? Make sure they know the price of failing to uncover the killer. You want them to be properly motivated.

Optional - Add a cunning twist. Be careful here because twists don't always work out. If you've incorporated non-player characters into the game, throwing the players a wicked curveball is easier. Maybe the NPC is the killer or the evil mastermind behind the killer. If the NPC has been providing the players clues, give them information that makes them distrust the NPC. You can imagine all sorts of ways to have a great twist ending to your game.

Keep the twist simple. If you can't describe the twist in two sentences or less, try again. Remember, the players only have an hour to escape. Complicated last minute twists aren't fair or fun.

Sure, we'd all love to build trap doors, secret rooms, and rotating walls for your murder mystery escape room. But who has the money for such expensive renovations? If your idea of a difficult DIY project is changing the light bulb in the outside flood light... you'll have to find a cheaper and easier way to decorate!

First, head down to the local dollar store - it can be a gold mine! Look for little items that fit your theme. They don't need to be clues or puzzles. Find things that help dress up your set. Roam every aisle. You never know what will jump out at you.

Design costumes for your game. You can pick up great themed garb at your local second-hand store. You can make all the costumes for your guests or give them the theme and tell them to come prepared!

DIY your decorations! You have plenty of things around your house, including those hiding in the attic for the past 15 years, to go with any theme. Get up there, brush off the dust, and find some gems. You can also fabricate great decorations with poster boards, paper mache, cardboard, and a little sweat. Your set will shine without sacrificing your wallet in the process. If you're looking for inspiration, check out what this family did for their Halloween escape room party!

Involving all five senses drags the players deeper into your game. It makes them feel like they inhabit the world you created. Rather than simply solving a sequence of puzzles on paper, they live the experience. Allowing the players to dive deep into the escape room makes the game more exciting. Try and combine puzzles (like the ones from this list) with different senses for amazing results!

Hearing. Having a subtle Morse code message playing in the background works wonderfully. Players need to find a clue to know where to start decoding the message. You can also incorporate a sequence that has to be played on a keyboard.

Sound effects can lead to clues. A creaking door can lead the players to a wardrobe. Static could leave players to a faint radio message. Or a crying baby means that your toddler just woke up.

Smell. Use scents to link objects. An ominous ransom note might have the same perfume smell emanating from a lockbox. Will the contents reveal the identity of the killer? Or is the bottle of perfume locked away for safekeeping? The players need to make the connection to get closer to unmasking the killer.

Make sure smells are obvious. Not everyone has a great nose. Escape room clues should be challenging but not overly subtle. You may also want to use a scent that no one in the room will use, or you may end up with a guest accused of murder.

Taste. Have the players figure out the ingredients used in the poison. Remember, your "taste test" has to be safe but not pleasant. For example, did the killer use salt or sugar in his poison (which is really punch with salt or wayyyyyy too much sugar)? Unless your players are true foodies, don't use herbs and spices. Most of us couldn't tell basil from oregano, even with our Italian grandmother standing over us menacingly, wooden spoon ready to strike.

Touch. While your players will "touch" everything in the room, those touches don't convey information. Have your players find hidden drawers by feeling for loose panels or deciphering codes in Braille. Make sure to have codes present. Your players likely don't know Braille. A box with a certain texture or another readily identifiable characteristic that the players can feel but not see also makes for a fantastic touch clue.

Sight. Every escape room requires sight. You can exceed the normal usage (reading) by adding blacklights, dim rooms, or strobe lights. Changing the players' visual acuity will change how they process information. It adds a bit of an extra spark to any game. Note: we do not recommend using actual sparks inside a building.

Escape room parties invite creative physical challenges. In fact, that's one of our patented escape room design secrets! In this case, you're escaping from a murderer. Usually, that involves more than just breaking codes. Sometimes you have to R-U-N!

Force the players to put a nerf basketball through a hoop to get a clue. Use a real basketball goal if you play outside! Put handcuffs on them and make them fish the key out of a bucket or enclosed puzzle while cuffed. Set up a Mission Impossible style tripwire maze. Touching the wire (rope or string) temporarily disables the player and forces the next player to go. Once one player navigates the maze, the clue is revealed.

The sky's the limit when it comes to physical challenges. We recommend avoiding roof jumping, snake handling, and bull riding. Other than that, have a blast!

No one wins a murder mystery escape room without great communication. Players talk while finding clues and solving puzzles. Without this collaboration, they'll end up murder victims.

Removing the players' ability to communicate adds difficulty to any puzzle. Place the players in different rooms. Force them to communicate with video monitors but turn off the volume. The players will have to use charades to communicate clues and hints. You may want to video this for later entertainment.

Play See No Clue, Hear No Clue, Say No Clue. Blindfold one player, put noise-canceling headphones on another, and forbid the third from speaking. The players must figure out how to communicate to finish the current puzzle. For some reason, Larry, Curly, and Moe come to mind when picturing this scenario.

Please, whatever you do, don't make the killer the butler in the library with the candlestick. You're better than that.

The best way to do this is to give a clue as to the killer's identity with each solved puzzle. Perhaps you give their hair color, eye color, or favorite 70s or 80s song as the hint. "Only The Good Die Young" is too predictable to be a good hint. "Thriller," on the other hand, may spark the right amount of fear. "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting" will probably get you kicked out of your own house.

Another fun way to reveal the killer is to give a piece of a puzzle or torn-up picture. Players have to assemble the pieces to reveal the identity of the killer. You must ensure the players can't solve the first two to three puzzles to identify the killer. They need to work for the reveal.

You have the theme, the decorations, and the puzzles. If you're looking for a more in-depth 'how-to' to make your own game, this guide takes you through the process step by step. You'll want to check it out.

Then, get some friends over for a night of chips, salsa, and an intriguing murder mystery escape room. 

Won't they be shocked, and a little scared, when they find out you're the killer!