How To Cast For A Zoom Murder Mystery Party?

Murder mystery parties have already been quite popular among friends and families for getting together and indulging in a group activity and having fun. But in the last year, we have seen the shift of actual murder mystery parties turning into a Zoom murder mystery party or Zoom murder mystery game.

Going online doesn’t change anything. The game remains the same, so do the rules. Almost every step of the murder mystery game remains the same even if it is hosted online using Zoom or any other video meeting app. There is still a possibility to have a lot of fun with it. 

There are different aspects of the game like choosing a theme for the game, choosing which game to play, assigning characters, or casting people in certain roles. Today, in this blog, we will discuss casting people or assigning characters to people participating in online murdering mystery games. The game is of course a lot of fun, but it is the process that makes it even more interesting. Casting is one step of that process that is a lot of fun. 

Casting

The casting is usually done by the person hosting the game. You can also choose to write names on small pieces of paper and then pick from them in order to assign a character. That is also a good way of casting. But what would be more interesting is to choose people and assign characters individually rather than picking a name from a bowl. This allows you to be more creative and quirky in your approach. It is a lot of fun if you already know all the participants personally. But not knowing the participants can prove to be challenging and equally fun.

Assigning characters

You can choose characters and then assign them to the people who are participating in the game. Each cast member is given a character packet that includes all the details of the character. They can give it enough time and study the character and the role it plays in fueling the story for the duration of the Zoom murder mystery game. The more a character is invested and prepared, the more enjoyable it will be for everyone. You can choose to assign characters based on people’s real personalities or go in the opposite direction and assign them characters that are nothing like their real-life personalities. 

Reviewing the character

But you need to make sure that the cast members review their character packets at least once before joining the game. This will give them an insight into the character. You can also release the suspect list for the game prior to starting the game. 

Having assigned characters beforehand will allow your cast members to get into the character not only emotionally and psychologically, but also physically. Cast members can prepare by collecting props, getting into costume, creating a set up related to the theme and characters of the game. 

Backdrop

The backdrop plays a really important part of this. When you mention the backdrop, you get an idea about the kind of music that was popular, the drinks that people had, the way people talked back then. These are tiny details that can be incorporated into the characters which will make the game more interesting for everyone. 

Details

Make sure that the characters or the cast members do not discuss any details prior to the game. This is something they must follow voluntarily. It will be better if secrets are kept secrets. This will make your murder mystery dinner at home zoom parties only more exciting and engaging. 

Conclusion

Apart from just assigning characters, when you release a suspect list, you can also ask everyone to make a guess and write the name of a character they think is the murdered. This can give chance for speculation and create doubts in the characters’ minds. But make sure this happens as a part of the group and not among members outside of the game. This is something you must be careful about.