Do I need a license if I want to charge an entry fee?

by Diane

I would like to hold a murder mystery game in our country town in Australia. Can you tell me if I was to charge people an entry fee to come along, would I need a license regarding copyright? And if so, where would I get this license from?

My response:

Most of the publishers have a commercial license (normally about five times the price of the regular game, but the publishers do vary) which allows you to run the game and charge a fee.

Once you've decided which game you are interested in, I suggest you contact the publishers directly, and they'll sort you out.

(Do mention me!)

I've written more about commercial licenses and running murder mystery games for profit here.

You may also find these tips for hosting a murder mystery game as a fundraiser useful as they cover tips for successfully running a large game.