Murder Mystery Luau

For Rudy’s 79th birthday, we hosted a Murder Mystery Luau.  It was my first experience with a murder mystery dinner party.   It required plenty of preparation time but I started planning MONTHS before. 

I looked at many of the murder mysteries and finally decided on one that I could download from the internet.  It was a very comprehensive package and included everything I needed including details for the characters, host directions, costume and menu ideas, party tips, and all kinds of graphics to print out.

At a murder mystery dinner party, the guests are each assigned a character.  They are encouraged to dress the part and assume the character at the party.  There are two sets of objectives for each guest.  They mostly involve interactions with other guests to demonstrate the conflicts and distrust among the guests.  Bribery, extortion, and blackmail are encouraged.  Before the night is through, each guest will have discovered they have a motive for killing the victim and be inclined to protect their innocence as well as seek out the murdered.  

When everyone has completed their part A objectives, someone DIES!  It is only this person who knows he will die as it is part of his objectives and he is to conceal this from everyone else until he dies.  Part B objectives are then handed out and one guests finds out that he is the killer.  This is concealed from the other guests until the investigator presents the evidence, everyone votes, and the solution is given.  

THIS IS WHERE I REALLY SCREWED UP!  I had the solution printed out for the investigator to read and it went through everyone’s character and why they could not be the killer.  I FORGOT ABOUT THIS ENVELOPE and after everyone voted, I blurted out the killers name!  We were all left wondering why because no one guessed the killer.  

Party Materials

Rewards

Then I decided on the props.  Pauline Fry and Noland Navarro (from bowling) helped design and paint the surfboards

Tiki Gods and Surfboards

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Then there were the outside decorations and of course, we needed some palm trees.

We couldn’t have a luau without a Tiki hut so Rudy and our neighbor set to work building one.  Barry Fry, Tom Hemmingsen, and Noland Navarro helped with the final details.

Finally it was party day!  I asked Jack Daniels, the bartender, and Kylie Cocktail, the cocktail waitress, to come at 1:00 p.m. and the rest of the guests to come at 1:17 p.m.   There was a lot of speculation about the 1:17 time and we had a lot of fun with it.  Some guests were quite early and parked a block away until it was time to arrive.  Some just sat in their car for a few minutes.  Actually, the reason I specified such a goofy time was to prevent people asking again what time for the party.  Everyone remembered 1:17 and some even thought it might provide a clue to the murder.