Game Rules

This page contains all of the rules you need to know to play the game.

What you should have

This is a list of everything you should have in your character packet:

Game Mechanics

Game Guidelines

Don't Panic! This looks like a lot of stuff to worry about. It looks much worse than it really is. This material is here to help you prepare. In order for this party to work, some preparation is necessary. Please, don't wait for the last minute. But don't worry yourself out of a great time at the party.

Don't Panic II! Don't worry if you make a minor mistake. Remember - everyone else is trying to role-play as well. If you make a minor mistake, simply say "I didn't say that" and go on. Don't worry about it. If someone says they didn't say something, do your best to forget it. If you make a big mistake, it probably means you didn't understand your character sheet.

Read your character sheet! There's a lot of facts that need to be learned. Dig into the sheet. There may be some important fact subtly hidden inside. For every fact you find, think about all of the different possible interpretations. Try to link one fact to another. Ask the Game Masters about ambiguities and fill in the holes as soon as possible.

Read your character sheet AGAIN! Come up with a list of questions that your character would like to know the answers to. Figure out who you want to talk to and what you want to ask them. Remember that some of the characters may have reasons not to tell you about themselves. Are there other ways to find out the information? Who else might know the answers you need?

Yes, read your character sheet again: Picture your character in your mind. Ask yourself questions like "What would the character do if someone was murdered?", "How would the character react if so-and-so died?", and so on. You may want to model your character based on someone you know or read about. Remember, this is a night of role-playing. You can be whoever you want to be (within reason!)

Read the sheet yet again: If there is something that you have to cover up, come up with rationalizations (or outright lies) that your character would come up with to clean up your past. This may require some additional props or research. Think more about your character's past. You may want to develop more details for the biography.

Reread the character sheet one more time: There are a lot of details in each of the character sheets, which you should know about. However, there is a lot of detail that isn't there. You'll have to fill it in, as necessary - but you should use the bio as a rough guideline. For example, if it doesn't say that you are a raving pyro or a drag queen, then you probably aren't and shouldn't introduce it into your character. Use your judgement when you improvise.

KEEP QUIET! Do not discuss the confidential information in your "kit" with anyone beforehand. Even though it may be a great temptation, please don't start acting as your character before the party. In order for everything to work out, the relationships between the characters cannot change from those described in the biography before the action starts. Furthermore, there is a lot of detail in each biography that may be crucial to the "plot" of the evening. If you are living with or meet someone else in the scenario - don't peek or probe until the party starts. (This means you!)

Don't worry that you've been typecast! Remember the old saying that "all characters are fictional". All of the characters in this scenario are exaggerated a bit. The character is not intended to be a reflection on you in any way. Just remember that everyone else is in the same situation. You've been cast in this part because we thought that you'd enjoy it and that you could bring something special to the role. The idea is to relax and have some fun with the part.

Do some research: If your character has some skills or knowledge that you don't have, then learn something about the subject before the party. Don't be a druggie that doesn't know the names of drugs or a policeman who doesn't know the Miranda rights that must be read before an arrest. You don't have to be an expert for the party, but it's more fun if you sound like you know what you're doing.

Get some sleep beforehand: The party will run for several hours. At some point, we will stop and take a poll of everyone to see if the murderer was caught. This debriefing may take some time - so we may go a while beyond the scheduled end. If you tend to nod off early, then take a nap beforehand.

Don't anticipate the crime: First and foremost, this is an opportunity to role-play. Don't try and second-guess the crime until after it happens. Remember, your character is not expecting murder at this party. (Unless you are the murderer! Your character sheet will tell you if you are the murderer. It will tell you if you are the victim. If it doesn't say anything, then you are an 'innocent bystander' Hah!)

Memorize your character sheet: There are a lot of people at the party. More than likely, you will know a few of them. You might not know anyone else. Learn the characters and your character's relationship to each of them. We will take Polaroid pictures of everyone (mug shots) and put them on a sheet with everyone's name. Danny has also told me that he will give everyone name tags. (Having been in a scenario with 31 other people and knowing only 3 of them by name, I discovered that not knowing anyone is actually a little easier to deal with. Don't try and learn real names. Just learn the character names.)

Pack the right things: Some of the bios call for props. If you need one and can't get it, then let us know about it as soon as possible. If there are other things that you think you should have, then feel free. Again, use your judgement. ALL PROPS MUST BE FAKE! If you want to bring a gun, that's fine as long as it is obviously fake! If you want to bring drugs, that's fine as long as they are obviously fake. Remember, it must be clearly fake! Anything that is faked (a bag of oregano for 'pot', sugar for 'cocaine', a hypodermic filled with some clear liquid, etc.) must be labelled with something that tells what it is. (This is in case you are searched or you decide to 'lose' something.)

Play off of everyone else: It's easier to get into character by reacting to others in character, especially those who are stronger players. Try and pace your activities; you don't have to do everything in the first half-hour. Remember, everyone else has things they want to do as well. It might be better to let things develop for a while.

Keep your bio close by: You'll probably want to check it at some time. Simply say that you want to take a "Reality Check" and step away.

Keep your bio close by (part 2): Don't leave your character sheet lying around. If you see a character sheet sitting around, try not to read through it (unless it's your own!). It will really foul things up if the page saying "you are the murderer" is left face up on the couch for all to read. It's best if you keep it on you at all times.

Come in character: Please come completely in character - from props and histories to dress and attitude. It's OK to step out for an occasional "Reality Check" as needed. It's more fun when everyone stays in character as much as possible.

Don't worry about personal impressions: Everyone is playing a character. If there is someone you don't know or haven't met, don't worry. You probably won't have time to talk out of character during the party. Play it as if you knew them. Just play your character and let it all hang out! Remember, that if someone yells and screams at you, (hopefully) they are yelling at your character. Don't be offended. React as your character would.

Most importantly: RELAX. Work with and off of the other characters. Have fun. Be creative. Finally, don't forget your sense of humor. (...and read your character sheet again!)

Game Agenda

Timing: Sometime between the start and the end, someone will be killed. Don't try and anticipate it! Just relax and don't worry about it! Remember, your character doesn't know that something is going to happen. (Unless you are the murderer or the victim.) The victim must play it as if they don't know their fate.

The victim will "come back" as police detective Lieutenant Modelski. He or she will be in charge of the murder investigation. The Lieutenant will be in charge of the interrogation (more on this below). Lieutenant Modelski will be given some additional information in his or her packet.

There will be no 'unofficial murders' until the 'official' murder has taken place: You may have a great reason for "killing" another character. Murder is not an easy thing, nor is it a common solution. If you can't give the GM a very good reason, it probably won't be allowed. The personal repercussions of such an act are extremely compelling reasons not to make such a choice. Murdering someone in a house with a detective present and surrounded by police is something that you're extremely unlikely to get away with. Furthermore, we've worked very hard to set up a murder for those who want to play detective. It's a hard enough task without the confusion of a second, probably unrelated death. There are also no comeback characters other than the detective. If someone else dies, there is no one for them to play.

Therefore, we must ask that you not even consider doing someone in until after the 'official' murder takes place. Once this has happened, the GMs will entertain the possibility. In order for you to succeed, you must:

1. See a GM first. Even if you arrange with someone to murder them, it's going to fail if it's not cleared by the GMs.

2. Explain how you intend to do the foul deed. More importantly, you'd better have an absolutely compelling reason to do this. If you can provide this, we may allow you to carry out your plans. It is highly unlikely we will allow a secondary murder.

If you are given an OK, then the GMs will help you to arrange when and where to do the deed. That way, when the "body" is found, the investigator will be able to find out what's happened.

Interrogation: Asking everyone what they know about the crime can be very time-consuming. We are going to try and streamline this process as much as possible. Please be brief. If you don't know anything, say so.

We are going to give the official Detective some processes to speed things up a bit, because they can be a bottleneck. This shouldn't stop you from doing your own investigation, if you're so inclined.

The 'Off-limits' room: One room will be marked as 'not being there'. This room is for coats and things. Please do not go into the room unless absolutely necessary. Do not hide anything in the room. It will probably be a real disaster area, so please ignore it.

Debriefing: At a reasonable time, we will stop the action and bring everyone into one room. We will go around the room once and ask everyone to accuse the person or persons they believe committed the crime, giving their reasons. The actual murderer will lie. When all of the votes are tallied, the killer will reveal himself or herself. Then, we will go around the room, revealing the unrevealed dirt about the various characters.