Murder mystery questions for a party of 20

I was hoping you might be able to help me please. We're looking to organise a work dinner for approx 20 people in May, which would be accompanied with a murder mystery party.

We were just wondering whether your games are entirely scripted, as we aren't entirely sure certain members of the team would be willing to 'get to know their characters' and ad lib?

We also wondered whether there would be a lot of printing involved, as I am aware that we would need to download all the kit. Do you have a rough idea of how much printing we'd be looking at for a game for 20 people (ideally one where the host can play?)

I look forward to hearing from you.

My response:

Thanks for your question.

First, to find a game for 20 people I suggest you check this page, which lists lots of games for 20.

All of the games on my site are unscripted (well, apart from the solution and some in-game announcements). Normally it takes about 20 minutes for someone to become familiar enough with a character. You can either do that at the start of the party, or in advance.

As for printing, I estimate that a typical game, with all the character backgrounds and clues may be 100-200 sheets of paper. So it's not a huge amount.

As for one that a host can play, in most of these games the host really does have a different role than the other players. But if you're careful, you can run The Auction or The Last Gasp as a player (just be careful when you're printing out not to read too much).

But if I were you I'd run something like Hollywood Lies and make sure the event is a success.

I hope that helps.