A Speakeasy Murder

Cover to A Speakeasy Murder, a 1920s gangster-themed murder mystery game.
(12 customer reviews)

£42.99

A Speakeasy Murder is a downloadable 1920s gangster murder mystery game for 15 to 32 guests and one or two hosts. It is set Fat Stan’s Speakeasy, Chicago, at the height of Prohibition. Written by Becky Channon. Recommended for ages 18+.

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A Speakeasy Murder is a murder mystery game for 15 to 32 guests and one or two hosts. It is set in a Chicago speakeasy, in the 1920s. Download the free introductory pdf file.

A Speakeasy Murder is a dazzling evening of evening of Prohibition, showgirls, gang-wars and murder! Your guests will be in the middle of the action, and it will be up to them to wheel and deal to get what they want. Will they achieve their goals, keep their secrets hidden, and survive A Speakeasy Murder?

"The story was so much fun! We had close to 30 people and all were praising the event all night. It was a great interactive experience that we would definitely do again!"
Taylor Coleman, United States

See stories and pictures from A Speakeasy Murder

Read the Chicago Courier

Anybody who is anybody is here at Fat Stan's Speakeasy tonight. Al and the band are desperately belting out their jazziest tunes, Lola and the girls are singing and dancing like their lives depended on it, and Tony the barman is handing out Stan's Specials like there's no tomorrow.

Which there won't be, for poor Scabface Martins. He was one of Fat Stan's pals, and a very popular guy down at the Speakeasy. A masked hoodlum in a long black cloak burst into the room during the interval after Lola's big number, and the poor sap was peppered with so many bullets he looked like a swiss cheese.

The only way in or out of the Speakeasy is through the secret door from Dora's Dress Shop, and the doorkeeper swears that nobody has come through that door in either direction for over an hour. So it figures it musta been someone in the Speakeasy that plugged Scabface, and even worse: they're still in here now!

Officer Pilkington is one of the regulars, so everyone's waiting for him to work out who dunnit. Too bad he's as dumb as a sack of bricks. The only thing he's managed to do right so far is to lock the exit and search the back rooms for hidden hoodlums. He found nobody.

Fat Stan is determined that everything should carry on like there ain't no problems: so the remains of poor Scabface have been put in the Janitor's cupboard and, after a quick cleanup by Pickles the cleaner, the show is carrying on with fevered intensity. But who coulda wanted Scabface dead? Which one of the crooks, bums and no-hopers that make up the Speakeasy's staff and guests is the filthy lowlife that plugged him? And do they plan to strike again?

A Speakeasy Murder lasts for about four hours and is suited to an evening. It is often played over a meal – a finger buffet if possible, to allow guests to circulate and talk in private.

Note that A Speakeasy Murder is a bit more complex than some of our other games. If you’ve not hosted one of our games before, you might want to allocate a bit longer to prepare for it and to read through how it’s going to work.

"Ever since playing Cluedo as a kid I have wanted to be in a 'real' murder mystery. I made it a goal within my 30 before 30 bucket list, and so for my 28th birthday was able to live out my childhood dream!
A Speakeasy Murder did not disappoint- it was all of our first times playing a game like this, and we all got a bit confused (doorkeeper included – whoops!) but everyone had so much fun and we are planning on doing murder mystery every winter. Thanks for the twists and turns! A great evening!"
Laura Dallaston, New Zealand

 

Expert
Suitable for expert hosts.

Includes rules for the use of poison.
Includes rules for the use of poison.

Includes rules for combat.
Includes rules for combat.

The free introductory pdf file contains an introduction to the game, a cast list of all the characters, and a copy of the Chicago Courier.

Cast of characters

The Management

  • Fat Stan Belluccio – the big boss and speakeasy owner
  • Florence Belluccio – his wife
  • Jimmy ‘The Weasel’ Smith – Fat Stan’s right-hand man
  • Alicia ‘Angel-Face’ O’Riley – Florence’s sister
  • Tommy ‘The Horse’ Davies – one of Stan’s cronies

The Staff

  • Pickles – the all-around dogsbody
  • Tony – the bartender
  • Sammy Snake-Eyes – the poker-faced head croupier
  • Al – the pianist
  • Sasha White – the double-bass player, always wears shades
  • Bobby White – the saxophone player, also wears shades
  • Lola – a singer, the star of the speakeasy
  • Mitzy – Lola’s backup singer and dancing girl
  • Tillie – a dancing girl
  • Phyllis – a dancing girl

The Clientele

  • Officer Pilkington – a Rotten Cop
  • Velma Du Bois – a notorious socialite and good-time girl
  • Alfonso ‘Linguini’ Marino – a well-known gangster
  • Sugar Sands – a famous singer and Linguini’s current squeeze
  • Benny ‘Ankles’ Johnson – Linguini’s right-hand man
  • Mayor Trelawney – a politician
  • Kit James – the Mayor’s very tidy and serious secretary
  • Sofia Meers – the Mayor’s companion
  • Trilby Madison – a smart, fashionable writer, here to research a biography on Stan
  • Laurie Evans – Trilby’s equally fashionable co-writer
  • Oswald Murphy – a famous Hollywood film producer
  • Ava Monroe – a star of the silent pictures in Hollywood
  • J. D. Oakey – Oswald’s personal assistant
  • Sly Swanson – a debonair gambler: a big hit with the ladies!
  • Reno Edwards – a newcomer on the scene
  • Roxy MacDougall – a rich client, owns a department store
  • Lady Patricia Fortescue-Smythe – an ageing English aristocrat

A Speakeasy Murder is for 15 to 32 guests:

  • 15 guests (6 male, 5 female, 4 any)
  • 16 guests (6 male, 5 female, 5 any)
  • 17 guests (6 male, 5 female, 6 any)
  • 18 guests (7 male, 6 female, 5 any)
  • 19 guests (7 male, 6 female, 6 any)
  • 20 guests (7 male, 6 female, 7 any)
  • 21 guests (7 male, 6 female, 8 any)
  • 22 guests (7 male, 6 female, 9 any)
  • 23 guests (8 male, 7 female, 8 any)
  • 24 guests (9 male, 8 female, 7 any)
  • 25 guests (9 male, 8 female, 8 any)
  • 26 guests (9 male, 8 female, 9 any)
  • 27 guests (9 male, 8 female, 10 any)
  • 28 guests (9 male, 8 female, 11 any)
  • 29 guests (10 male, 10 female, 9 any)
  • 30 guests (10 male, 10 female, 10 any)
  • 31 guests (10 male, 10 female, 11 any)
  • 32 guests (11 male, 11 female, 10 any)

You also need one or two hosts, to organize the party and ensure everything runs smoothly. (We recommend two hosts, particularly if this is your first Freeform Games murder mystery party.)

How Freeform Games murder mysteries work

A Speakeasy Murder is unlike other murder mystery games. Although the game starts with a murder, each character has several goals they must try to accomplish. While they may want to solve the murder, A Speakeasy Murder contains plenty of other plots and secrets to keep everyone busy. A Speakeasy Murder isn't scripted, and lets the players decide how to achieve their goals and thwart their enemies.

"I would love to play again!"
Bez (playtester)

On the evening of the game the guests are met by the organizer, the Doorkeeper, and welcomed to Fat Stan's Speakeasy.

They then receive their detailed backgrounds – including dark secrets, objectives and money. The fun then begins as they form alliances, blackmail each other, steal items and maybe even try to murder one another! Along the way they may uncover some of the mysteries of A Speakeasy Murder. Who is smuggling hooch, and who is brewing moonshine? Who are The Chimera and Balthazar? Who carried out the St Swithin's Day Massacre? Who wants to be a Hollywood talkies star, and who once robbed a train? And, of course, who killed Scabface Martins?

Finally, the game concludes and everyone finds out how they did, and what secrets everyone else was concealing.

Recommended for ages 18+

We recommend A Speakeasy Murder for those aged 18+, as it is themed around drugs, alcohol, gambling, and affairs.

Extra characters

Sometimes you have too many guests and need more characters. So most games have free extra characters (written by us or previous hosts) included in the download when you purchase the game.

  • 'Ginger' Roberts – freelance reporter in search of the Big Story. (Any)
    (by Freeform Games)

Please note that we haven't always tested these – and they may not tie in exactly with our games.

"Thank you for a great site, fantastic games, good service and very quick reply. Keep up the good work." Ole Martin Brodwall, Norway

Cast Iron Guarantee

We offer a Cast Iron Guarantee on all our murder mystery games. If you're not completely satisfied with A Speakeasy Murder then please let us know within 30 days and we will refund you. See our full terms and conditions, and our refund policy.

Trouble downloading? If you have trouble downloading the game files, please first check your spam folder. If you still can't find the download email, contact us with the name of the game and the email address you used to purchase it, and we'll resend it.

12 reviews for A Speakeasy Murder

  1. LYSSIA (verified owner) –

    This game was intense. It was impeccable written and crafted with so much detail. We were wholly unprepared though for the amount of work this would require.

  2. Ryan Jacobs –

    We had such a great time playing A Speakeasy Murder! It was admittedly pretty complex and took the first-time players some time to really catch on, but once they did, everyone had a really great time. I would suggest to anyone thinking about playing this game to have as many players as possible! It got a little confusing keeping track of which characters WEREN’T there, but still enjoyable nonetheless. We will definitely be getting more games from Freeform!

  3. Audrey –

    Our group had a blast playing this game! We knew it would be an undertaking since this is advertised as a more complex game but the info is presented in a way that’s easy to understand. Our whole group got into character, which really helped. Everything you need to play is provided and it’s a complex story that helps keep everyone involved.

  4. Janet G. –

    It’s a bust. A group in our park wanted to do it, and after reading the instructions and “part” they said no it was too confusing and would not participate. Didn’t even print it off. Would love a refund as it was expensive. Thanks

  5. Stuart Antrim –

    We played A Speakeasy Murder at our nudist park, which gave members a chance to dress up for a change. Ha! Well-done start to finish! The killer turned out to be one of our residents who is on the autism spectrum, and believe it or not, NOBODY figured out who it was! And everyone had a BLAST! Repeat customer for sure.

  6. Dina Mancini –

    Last night, we hosted a party with A Speakeasy Murder for our 20th anniversary and we had the BEST time. We have friend groups that don’t all know each other and this was the perfect way for people to mingle with people they don’t know. Everyone got into character and did a great job. Because this was my first time hosting a game like this and it was so large, I had two friends help me cohost and we divided up the tasks. All in all, it was a great time. Thank you!

  7. Monique Swirsky –

    A Speakeasy Murder review and suggestions: What an incredible game! By far the best murder mystery I’ve ever hosted – this is so perfect for my group of friends who are big board gamers or LARPers. Everybody had plenty to do so it was a really engaging night! Nobody ended up correctly guessing the murderer, who did an awesome job with their role and everybody else was so shady. In the other murder mysteries I’ve done I think it would have been pretty disappointing if nobody could figure out the murderer correctly, but given that there was so much else to do and people had other goaIs to accomplish, nobody minded that they couldn’t figure it out.
         I had 15 players (supposed to have 16 but one backed out day of so I didn’t have Tillie but I did have Reno) and I think that as just one host, that’s all I could manage. Any more people and I would have needed another host. My night was the perfect amount of busy for me, I always had things to do, but nobody was waiting for me to help do anything. There are a few things I would change if I did it over again, but this is pretty nitpicking, overall I wouldn’t change much because it was such an awesome game.
         I would start officer Pilkington off with an item that would help him restrain people to arrest them – like handcuffs. Constraining people was pretty hard so I might do something to make that easier. Or I might give players suggestions on how to be creative with that to begin with because they had a hard time. That’s more player error though. I would add in more rules for how ghosts work. I decided on the fly that since they could still talk to people that they could share information up to 10 minutes before their death. That way if the murderer wanted to hide the body, they couldn’t just tell everyone who murdered them. I also had them just discreetly write ghost on their name badge. That way people talking to them may or may not realize they’re just a ghost. This worked well enough, but without having more detailed rules it was a little clunky. Our ghosts still had a fantastic time continuing to play so I’m really glad that was a mechanic. Reno’s character was a pretty interesting one to have. I think their ability to cleanse the wicked is a bit OP/unrealistic/ruins other people’s game play. On the fly I changed it so that if you were converted it just meant that you couldn’t choose to drink any more alcohol and did need to try to help Reno, but you didn’t necessarily immediately support prohibition: that way, the players who were converted early on could still work on their own goals.
         I think another way you could change that is to have no conversions before happy hour. Another thing I would have done was clarify for the players before the start that there may or may not be multiple guns in the game. Apparently a lot of my players thought that if they came across any gun, then that gun was the murder weapon used on Scabface. That was mostly a player error. Another big player error was that Sasha forgot that they could decode the map, they thought they needed Bobby to do it who wasn’t in the game. This caused a lot of frustration for everyone chasing the lead and thinking that there were no players in the game that could help them (Lola died right after happy hour so she was out).
         I loved the horse race mechanic. Somebody in my game early on picked a random horse to spread a rumor about, and it happened to be the actual winner of the horse race! So everybody wanted to bet on the winner and Sammy ended up not trusting anyone including Stan, since it seemed crazy that everybody could know the winner. That being said, Sammy had a hard time finding time to do anything other than deal with people trying to bet. This was a pretty difficult character to play and my player did a fantastic job – but I would note that you need to give it to somebody very good at multitasking. One way you could change that is by making it so that bets can only be placed at certain times, there could be an announcement for that or it could happen only before happy hour.
         I checked in with my players throughout the game to see how they were feeling about the difficulty. If some people were struggling or finding things to easy to the point of making it far less fun for them, I would give them a little guidance, drop or take away helpful items, or change things up. 10/10 would play again!

  8. Angela James –

    My husband & I completely rented an old hotel, converted its lobby into a speakeasy, involved the staff in our game, and ran A Speakeasy Murder all weekend! Guests loved that they always had things to do, that there were ‘easy’ parts as well as more challenging roles, and that even if people didn’t figure out how the murderer was, they could still talk smack about accomplishing other goals (like killing a rival, finding a lost heirloom, or making some money…)

  9. Jesse Felzien –

    Over the last couple years since our friend invited us to a play-through of Curse of the Pharaoh we fell in love with your games and have since gone to two more of your mysteries run by our friend. Last year my girlfriend hosted Dead Man’s Chest and for our New Years Eve party last year I hosted A Speakeasy Murder Mystery. I just wanted to thank you for writing up some awesome games, I’ve never seen a person frowning by the end of any of your mysteries (well if you don’t count excessive drinking).I could tell you all of the escapades in our mysteries, but mostly I just wanted to thank you all again.

  10. Amy Diaz –

    We ran A Speakeasy Murder last weekend with 22 guests and 1 host. This was our fourth Freeform Game and the largest one yet. A great time was had by one and all, including our brand new guests. I think this one was my personal favorite for the creative costumes our guests came in.

    I asked each of our guests for their “mug shot” before we started play and put together this compilation. I thought you would enjoy it!Thank you for another excellent game.

  11. Amy Diaz –

    We ran A Speakeasy Murder last weekend with 22 guests and 1 host. This was our fourth Freeform Game and the largest one yet. A great time was had by one and all, including our brand new guests. I think this one was my personal favorite for the creative costumes our guests came in.

    I asked each of our guests for their “mug shot” before we started play and put together this compilation. I thought you would enjoy it!Thank you for another excellent game.

  12. Mark Wolff –

    My wife and I just did A Speakeasy Murder (Halloween 2014) in our home for 32 guests. We had a BLAST. We are already planning to do another of these games next Halloween. Our friends are still talking about the party. We have a huge list of things we will do differently next time to make it even more fun for them and easier for us.

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Q & A

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Will the game be worse if I only have 15 guests? Would it be better to choose another game? Laura Howells asked on 24 September 2024

Hi Laura, thank you for your interest in A Speakeasy Murder! The game is designed to work just as well for any number of guests from 15 up to 32. Of course, if you have 15, then there are characters and plotlines of the game that you will not be using. But you can just ignore those -- it will still be a solid and enjoyable experience for 15 guests.

 Freeform Games answered on 25 September 2024 store manager
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What if I have up to 100 persons invited? Can everyone have a character? Carie J Gundersen asked on 20 September 2024

Hi Carie, thank you for your interest in A Speakeasy Murder!
If you need more characters than are included in the game, you would need to create them yourself for your extra guests. We have some tips about how to do that, here under the heading 'Tips about adding characters'. We talk there about adding lots of characters to two of our other games, Casino Fatale and Hollywood Lies -- it would be similar for A Speakeasy Murder.

 Freeform Games answered on 21 September 2024 store manager
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