Pam Hoffmann

Murder mystery games by Pam Hoffmann.

Pam Hoffmann has spent her career in college law enforcement, where attention to detail, problem-solving, and managing the unexpected are all part of a normal day.

Her journey into murder mystery gaming began when one of her former student workers, Jeremy Gustafson, invited her to play Murder at Sea. While the evening was great fun, Jeremy accidentally left Pam’s character locked in the brig for most of the game after misreading the rules – a fact she continues to remind him of years later.

Inspired by the experience, Pam began hosting murder mystery events for her student workers. What started as a one-time activity quickly became a tradition, giving students a chance to step into outrageous characters, uncover secrets, and accuse their friends of murder. By the later games, students were actively campaigning to be cast as the murderer—a sure sign that the tradition had become a success.

Pam and Jeremy first collaborated by writing additional characters for Freeform Games’ Court in the Act and Murder on the Dancefloor. Those
projects convinced them they wanted to create a mystery of their own. Their first published game, Death at the Derby, was inspired in part by Pam’s rural upbringing and lifelong love of horses.

Although Death at the Derby took several years to complete—and survived two cross-country moves, career changes, and plenty of pauses along the way—the experience taught them a great deal about writing murder mysteries. They continue to collaborate on new projects, with
several games currently in development.

When she’s not working or plotting fictional murders, Pam enjoys quilting, card-making, gardening, reading, and other creative pursuits.