The person who is dealt the Ace is the murderer. The person who is dealt the King is the police officer. The person who is dealt the Jack is the detective. If the person who has the Jack “dies”, the person who has the King becomes the detective. If the person(s) who have the Jack or the King both “die”, the person who has the Queen becomes the detective. However, remind everyone that they should keep whichever cards they have secret so no one knows who is the murderer, the police officer, or the detective.
“Murderer” “Detective” On the rest of the slips of paper, write “suspect”.
The murderer can also whisper quietly “you’re dead” to the victim. Alternatively, the murderer could clamp their hand over the person’s mouth to prevent the person from screaming, and then whisper “you’re dead”. The ‘victims’ can fall down dramatically or make dramatic dying noises. Try to be as dramatic and silly as possible.
If a player sees someone standing silently alone, they can ask them, “Are you dead?” The player should simply indicate yes or no, but they must tell the truth so it is clear whether or not you can yell out “Murder in the Dark!” One trick the murderer could try is hiding the person they just killed in a hiding place in the room or in another room. If the murderer successfully hides the people they “kill”, it will take longer for someone to discover the victims and allow them to “kill” people longer. However, this tactic could allow the murderer to get caught more easily as they are distracted with dealing with the “bodies”. Vote on whether the murderer is allowed to use this tactic as a house rule before you start the game.
As an extra to the game, you could try to find all the dead players in their hiding places and bring them into the room.
The role of the police officer is to enforce order while the detective tries to solve the murder. If you decide to do a pretend Q&A, have the detective sit in a chair in front of everyone and ask questions to all the alive players, such as: Where were you when someone yelled “Murder in the Dark”? Who do you think is the murderer and why? Once the detective has gathered enough information and decided who they suspect is the murderer, they say: “final accusation” and ask their suspect, “Are you the murderer?” If the detective guesses who the murderer is successfully, they win the game. But if they guess incorrectly, the murderer wins the game. [7] X Research source If the detective is killed by the murderer during the killing spree in the dark, they can be replaced by whoever had the King card. [8] X Research source If you are not using cards for the game and the detective is killed during the murder in the dark, the game is over and can start all over again.
