How long do murder mystery games take to play?

We’re sometimes asked, “How long do murder mystery games take to play?” And the short answer is that they typically take 3-4 hours.

Playing Curse of the Pharaoh, a murder mystery game

This is the longer answer, as the actual time can depend on a few factors.

The factors affecting how long murder mystery games take to play

We normally suggest allowing about 3.5 hours, the actual time can vary depending on how many players you have, the game’s structure, and who your players are.

Number of players

The biggest factor in the length of a murder mystery is probably the number of players that you have in the game.

In our experience, a twenty-player game will take longer to play than a ten-player game, and this is often nothing more than it takes longer to find the people you need to resolve your plots, simply because there are more people in the game!

Structure

Some games have structured events that can affect their timing.

For example, The Reality is Murder includes a final, filmed vote, and as this affects everyone, it will add to the game’s length.

If you serve a meal as part of your murder mystery party, that will extend the game’s length as your players will need to eat – and if it is a formal sit-down dinner, they may be prevented from talking to the players they want to talk to. (We suggest finger food instead.)

Your players

Finally, some players will expand on their characters and enjoy roleplaying so much that they don’t focus on the plots or their goals. If your players are like this, then you may find that your games take longer.

Similarly, if you have players who are very focused on their goals and solving the murder, then the game will be shorter.

The game itself

Some games are deliberately written to be longer or shorter than usual.

While we don’t have any longer games, we do have some games that can be played in under an hour!

Click here for our 60-minute games.

Ending a murder mystery game

Ultimately, though, it’s best to try to end the game when everyone feels they have done as much as they can. This is an art rather than a science, and we often do it by reading the energy in the room – if the room is buzzing, then don’t stop the game!

(We’ve written about that in detail here.)

Note that you shouldn’t feel disappointed if a game doesn’t last as long as our suggested timetable. In our experience, it’s better to end a game slightly early rather than let it drag on.

Playing Way out West, a murder mystery game

Before and after the game

And don’t forget, there’s more to a murder mystery party than just the murder mystery itself.

Before the murder mystery

We allow at least 30 minutes before the game for players to arrive and settle in. Your guests are likely to want to meet the other guests and, if they are old friends, catch up.

And if they haven’t read their character packets yet, then you need to give them time to do that.

After the murder mystery

And once the murder mystery game is finished, players will need to relax and unwind. Often, they will want to discuss the game with each other and re-live their favourite moments.

You might also want to award prizes for the best costume or best roleplaying.

This is when we, as hosts, often find out what was actually going on, as we’ve often missed so much of the game.

We typically allow 30 minutes for winding down, but it can easily take longer, depending on when your players need to leave.

Playing The Reality is Murder, a murder mystery game

Our typical timetable

30 minutes: Meeting and greeting, small chat and a final reading of character booklets before the game starts.
2.5 hours: The murder mystery game itself.
30 minutes: Post-game wind down.

So that’s about 3.5 hours for the whole party.