How to Play a Murder Mystery
What is a Murder Mystery?
First off, let's understand what a Murder Mystery is. The information here is written with the translator's current knowledge of the world of TTRPGs and Murder Mystery community, mainly originated from Japanese TTRPG scenarios and live streams/VOD.
Murder Mystery is a genre of tabletop role-playing games, where participants and a Game Master(GM) roleplay into characters already prepared in advance and solve mysteries surrounding a certain story. Each character usually has their own motive and goals/missions that they must achieve while also figuring out the true culprit of the incident. And as for the true culprit, they must avoid getting suspicion and manage to successfully escape the crime scene. It is akin to jumping into a world of a detective novel.
Dating back from the first half of the 19th century, Murder Mystery was originally enjoyed face-to-face offline. In recent years, though, many scenarios has been designed to be played online. In the Japanese community, many scenario authors recently released scenarios oft to be played or even be required using the help of a virtual board game rooms like CCfolia and Udonarium.
Most Murder Mysteries are, just like the name, a story to reveal a murderer, but there are also scenarios that doesn't involve murders. (Example: Moe's "Season When Sunflower Blooms" where you'll be playing as dogs and need to find the culprit who stole their Treats.)
The Charm of Murder Mystery
One of the most fun parts about playing a Murder Mystery, like mentioned above, is how you can immerse yourself in a world akin to a detective novel. You can taste how it feels like to be a detective by doing deduction and discussion with other players based on the available clues and information. Or if you got the true culprit role, you can taste the thrill of having to find your way to victory by hiding your crime, using the currently available information to your advantage.
Most Murder Mystery scenarios usually have a rule of who is permitted to lie and not, and usually the one who is allowed to lie is only the true culprit. While this might make it seem easy for other players to spot the true culprit, this is where characters mission makes the game even more interesting. Each player is given their own background story and motives, along with missions that are unique to them alone. These missions limit what the characters can and cannot do, and provide personal objectives which the players need to fulfill. When you don't know for sure who's the culprit and who's innocent, this will make certain actions of characters seem fishy, even when they're not necessarily the true culprit.
Another thing that makes Murder Mystery fun is that it's not all about searching for the big bad wolf, but each scenario tells their own unique story. Some are fun, some are touching, and some can make you jump out of your seat. You won't know what kind of Murder Mystery you'll be getting until you play one yourself. And since you can't play the game if you already know what will happen in the story, you can only play each scenario once in your life. It's similar to a movie, but one that you can alter the course of the story with your own hand.
How to Play a Murder Mystery
There's Murder Mystery scenarios which you can play online and offline, or even both. In Japan, there's even game stores that specifically sell Murder Mystery and TTRPG scenarios, and you can play offline with friends or strangers on the spot. But since I never played an offline scenario myself, I can only give examples of how to play them online.
1. Buying the Scenario
First off, you need to buy the scenario book. Aside from the Murder Mystery scenario stores, you can buy some online from BOOTH and other online shopping sites. There are some scenarios that are free too, one of them being itohaki's "Eida."
Not many scenarios had been translated to English, though. But as the community grows, who knows, maybe there will be those with official english translations released in the future.
Make sure you know if the scenario needs a GM or not. Murder Mystery scenarios mostly need a set number of players, so keep an eye for that.
After you confirmed the number of players required to play, time to gather up fellow players and a GM if you need one.
2. Tools to Aid You
If you're playing online, be sure that your device can access the necessary tools or sites. Most people nowadays use Discord for voice chats and scenario file transfer, so it might be good to install one before you play. If the scenario requires you to use a virtual board game room, most of the time they'll tell you to open CCfolia or Udonarium. Make sure your browser can open those websites before proceeding the game. Most scenarios that require those two usually need a GM to be played, and as players, you can ask for their guidance when operating the sites.
3. Playing the Game
So, you've got the scenario book/data already. And you've confirmed that all players can access the necessary tools needed to play. Time to actually play the game.
If you're playing as a GM, you need to read the scenario book thoroughly and understand the mechanics or rules that come along with the scenario beforehand. Should there be a rule that players need to know, be sure to inform them well.
Other than the need to deduct the true culprit, players will need to act accordingly to fulfill their missions. As players, you will be given your own character sheets which contain your character's background story and personal missions. As for the true culprit, they might have another goal besides the need to hide their crime as much as possible and escape.
Depending on the scenario, some will even give you a role; the detective, the suspect, the culprits, and so on.
After reading their character sheets, players can begin playing the game.
Rules to Remember When Playing Murder Mystery
1. Spoilers!
One of the most important rules to remember is that you need to be extra careful about spoilers. As previously mentioned, you can only play one scenario of Murder Mystery once in your life, since you can't call it Mystery if you already know what'll happen in the story. You can't play a scenario you've watched on streams either. So if you tell someone what'll happen in the game, they too can no longer play that scenario.
Scenario authors will of course be overjoyed when they see you post your impression of their game online, but make sure your wording didn't give any hints as to what'll happen in the story lest potential players see them. Let them be surprised and savor the story first-hand!
If you want to write your impression online without having to be afraid of spoilering anything, you can use third-party apps that hide the content of your tweets unless people willingly click the link themselves. Some of the most recommended apps are Privatter and Fusetter.
Fan arts of scenarios can also potentially give spoilers, so if you wanna draw fanarts that give away parts of the story or give even the slightest of hints, you need third-party apps to share it. Privatter lets you upload pictures in their sites too, so you might want to check that out.
2. Rules
To be enjoyed to the fullest, players need to abide by the rules that the scenario had prepared. Some scenarios give unique rules that you can't find in other scenarios, but there are some universal rules that you must follow in all forms of Murder Mystery.
One of them is to keep your character sheet confidential. You must not show your character sheet to other players, and you shouldn't read it out loud that other players might know the content. If you're playing online, you can take advantage of the mute button and isolate your voice from others when reading out your sheets.
Another rule is more like an unspoken rule. Although it's up to you how much you want to roleplay into the character you're playing as, you mustn't make remarks that might bring the mystery atmosphere down. It might be best to keep comments that might break the world of the scenario to yourself, like criticizing the game aspects or other players' acting and roleplays.
If there're any rules that confuse you, or if you're unsure if your action is within the scope of the game, you can consult with your GM mid-game.
Lastly,
3. Have Fun!
Murder Mystery might seem complex at first, but once you get the gist of it, it's a game that tests your wits and lets you connect with other people in a way that you can't get from any other game.
If you're still unsure of how the game plays out, it might be a good idea to watch other people's playthrough. Of course, you need to watch the playthrough of scenario different than the one that you'll be playing. And remember that you can't play the scenario anymore if you've watched it, so choose the one you'll watch wisely.
I hope you'll find a scenario that resonates with your heart, and that experience will forever etch into your memory.
Enjoy!