Let's Misbehave

My Gemini twin and I always celebrate our birthdays together since they are 1 day apart. We spend countless hours of discussion planning it, starting in January usually. 

The planning is as much fun as the actual event; especially this year. We decided to have a 1920s murder mystery dinner, so I ordered a kit online. It was a pretty good outline, but once I saw it, I realized I could totally gin this thing up and make it even more fun.

And we're off!
We identified our 8 characters and the week before the party I gave everyone their character profile and the story script. Let's just say I rounded out those character profiles a bit. I have fun-loving friends... they all latched on to their characters immediately. In the days before the party they began acting on the storyline and contacting each other as their characters, mostly with innuendo and thinly veiled threats. You know, like real mobsters might make. The bad girl character shouted at 1 (of her 2) love interests as he was out for a walk one evening with his wife "Sam! Sam! What are you doing with her?!"

Tonight's it's the Grand Gatsby
It was a surreal feeling seeing armed mobsters and molls with feather boas coming down my driveway on a Saturday night. Everyone arrived in character and stayed in character the entire night. They had been instructed... tonight we're gonna misbehave... it's ok to lie, deceive, cheat and steal each other's phony money. And not just at the roulette wheel. Bribery and back-stabbing allowed.

The game was played by handing out 3 rounds of "clues," information that was supposed to be dropped among the other players. Round 1 was cocktails with the clues establishing the character relationships. During Round 2 and dinner, the clues served to escalate the various conflicts. At the end of Round 2 and dinner, one of the players was notified via his clue that he was the murder victim. He was instructed to look for his murder victim kit in the bathroom – a bloody knife headband and white face paint... because he's a ghost now, so of course he has to look the part. He took it to another level by moaning and Frankenstein walking.

After his shocking (and pretty hilarious) re-appearance at dinner, Round 3 begins... the accusation phase, somewhat dominated by the indignant murder victim who's now participating as a ghost. And interrupted by a phony gun shootout, due to an egregious betrayal between one of the bosses and his enforcer.

And at the end... prizes! Best costume, best performer, best sleuth. And there was a prize for the most money accumulated by the end of the evening. One of the mobsters made sure he won it by bringing his own million dollar bill... that's totally misbehaving.