'The Railburn Affair' Synopsis
By: Allison Reiley
9 - 12 Guests
Canvassed in the Majestic Rocky Mountains, the Stanford Alpine Hotel basks in the graciousness of a by-gone era. It is 1936, and a well known railroad baron is found dead on the premises. The guests of the Hotel, the fashionable elite of the early 20th Century, are now all suspects.
An adult mystery party with lots of interesting relationships, captured in a Roaring 20's Party Theme that will entertain 9-12 guests.
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View Characters
>> Sample Game Materials
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Party Theme for This Game
Try an introduction to for free or buy full murder mystery game:
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- Host Instructions
- Guest Instructions
- Character Descriptions
- Character Motives
- Game Clues
- Print-able Invitations
- Email-able Invitations
- Invitation Tracking
- Name Tags
- Round 2 - Johnny's Song
- Round 3 - Johnny's Song
- Pre-Game Clues
- Suggested Recipes
- Tips from Other Hosts
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We had a blast. I had to rework some clues because we were missing an important character but with the ability to edit character clues it worked out okay! All in all a GREAT time was had by all.
 The F. - South Carolina
Sunday, January 24, 2010
We played this game at a department Christmas dinner and had a lot of fun. We were exactly 12 players and everybody dressed up in style and got into their characters quickly.
Antje H. - Barcelona, Spain
Thursday, December 17, 2009
We had a great time!!! This was our first year doing this. We would definitely come again! And we may host one of our own one day! Thanks for such a wonderful time!
Rob D.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Great game! Even after we solved the mystery people would randomly switch back to character and make Railburn jokes!! So hilariuos!
Megan C. - Orlando, FL
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The game was terrific fun, and a definite success! I booked two rooms in an old hotel, which suited the game perfectly. I almost worked closely with the manager who made sure the waitresses knew what was going on. Some players took a little time getting into character but once everyone was there in costume the sense of intrigue and the settings won them round. We even had a real policemen (called in as a favour by the Manager) call in which surprised everyone, including me!
The meal and the conversations were complimented by background music of the 1920s which I got from iTunes and put onto CD. It felt very authentic and the wine also helped relax the guests. All in all a very enjoyable evening, and a very interesting plot, which made everyone think!
Tips I would give others; The one thing I would do diferently if doing this again would be to have a buffet and not a sit-down meal. Making accusations across the table works OK, but there wasn't as much mingling and I think that helps to stir and cross-polinate the plot somewhat. Also, I recommend that the host has someone neutral to read the whole plot before the game as one or two characters don't have as much to do. I had to invent a character, and in doing so, I gave additional clues to those chracters who I was told had the least to do (and to do this I only had to read through part 1).
I recommend this game to anyone who was a very enjoyable and thoroughly unique night!!!
Jonathan P. - Bath, England
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The whole evening was a blast. The Murder Mystery game format was a wonderful setup for an evening of exciting interaction with friends and new acquaintances. And the hostess planned a delicious assortment of all types of food that truly made the evening a memorable experience. This was a superb New Year's Eve party. As long as you don't take the "game" too seriously you can have a lot of fun.
John S. - Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, February 21, 2008
A very, very fun game...
I've done two of these now. Both were hilarious!
Albert R. - San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
We had the party 4/21/2007. It worked out great...No one correctly guessed the murderer. Everyone had a blast and we all want to do another one!
Rolf G.
Monday, May 07, 2007
The Railburn Affar was so much fun. My guests had THE best time! Everyone was so excited just getting prepared for it. I decided to hire a caterer so I could enjoy the evening with my friends, otherwise I would have been working all evening. We enjoyed dead man's meatloaf as the guests really got into character. The other testimonials were really helpful in planning the evening. My dad arrived right before dinner playing the fictional Detective Harry Bottom, who led us out to the chalk outline (courtesy of my kids while my husband played dead earlier that day) of Mr. Railburn.
If I had to do anything differently, I would have learned the expressions from that time period and purchased name tag holders. I had to paper clip the name tags printed from the website on my guests. Also, I did not have time to make place card settings at dinner. This would have been better, because people tended to sit with their spouses. All in all, it turned out great!
Bonnie J. - Winter Park, Florida
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
What a Fantastic Time!!!! We had know Idea it would be this fun Infact I was worried that people would not play there roles. But as soon as they walked through the door it was on. It was a huge hit.....
We are making this a semiannul thing!!!!!
Thanks Mandi
Mandi A. - , Kennewick W.A.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
We had a great time. I would highly recommend this game and this website. I loved reading the suggestions from everyone.
My suggestion is COME IN CHARACTER. When people ring the door bell, they are the character, not themselves. It really starts the came off great.
I incorporated my children for the first few minutes too. My daughter answered the door and welcomed them to the hotel. My mother was in the study which was set up as the hotel front desk. That is where everyone received their name tags and was given the first PRE-clue. Then everyone came in for drinks.
After everyone arrived, my son declared loudly that there has been a murder and my assistant will explain what will happen next. My dad came in and declared that we all remain here until things get sorted out, etc. Then two at a time my son called the characters in to view the murder scene which was in our master bedroom. Our course we taped off a body and left a broken bottle next to it.
Each extra character was also dressed up. It enabled my husband and I to get the last minute details handled and be in character with our guests. Not answering the door. It was GREAT!
Christine A. - Katy, Texas
Thursday, February 08, 2007
I hadn't hosted a Murder Mystery since High School, so I was a little wary about doing one as an adult. I picked Host-Party.com because of their range of games, interesting stories, and online components. The party turned out to be great fun. It was well written and easy for everyone to get into. I will definitely try out another mystery!
Megan C. - Chicago, IL
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Railburn Affair was a Huge Success! Everyone came in costume, had a blast and I am sure that this game will be the talk for months to come. Very well written, and very easy to add characters and clues. The 1920's slang provided in the game materials was hysterical, I emailed a copy of the slang to all of my guests 2 weeks prior to the event and also had a copy at the party. All of our guests really stayed in character and used as much slang as they could. I would definitely recommend this Mystery to anyone. But as a warning the clues are a little sexual related so you will definitely want this for an all adult party.
Heath A.
Monday, October 02, 2006
As luck would have it, I had a severe migraine the day I was suppose to host our mystery party. I had to have my sixteen year-old son drive me to Urgent Care. Since the shot they would give would knock me out, I had to relay the entire plan to my son in 30 minutes. He hosted the party and it was a huge success. Every once and a while I would awake from my stupor to hear hilarious laughter! Bravo to your company! I am now ready to try again. Oh, by the way, I went to the flea markets in town and was able to purchase several magazines and sheet music from the party era (some of which I framed to hang around the house). I also purchased cds of popular music from that era. We have an old wooden radio without the "innards" that I set the cd player in. The music projected out of the fabric "speakers" very convincingly. Thanks again! It was the best party I ever held (and didn't attend)!
Martha A. - Fort Collins, Colorado
Thursday, August 24, 2006
This was a totally fun game. Althought I didn't realize how racey it could get. Normally it wouldn't be a problem but this was for my mom's 60th birthday and my 84 year old grandfather was also playing. Fortunately I made some characters that ineracted sexually married cousins and my brother and sister-in-law. Even though the content wasn't perfect, my family said it was the most fun we've all had together as a family (and that included my grandfather and his 84 years of family parties!!).
Thank you!!!
Jennifer V. - San Jose, CA
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Everyone had a great time. They can't wait until I host another party. In fact, we might have to go for a bigger group because everyone wants in.
Lucas C. - Metairie, LA
Sunday, February 26, 2006
We had a blast at this game. I used masking tape for the victim's outline since it was on carpet and had a neighbor pop in about 20 minutes after the guests arrived to pretend like he was the detective. He was awesome - flashed a fake badge and left us with some clues. Most everyone came in costume, and everyone was in character. I posted the newspaper clipping and various info around the house. I also split up the couples when assigning characters, specificially putting people that didn't know each as partners. The clues really don't matter. They direct you to thinking anyone could be the murderer. It just becomes a guessing game at the end. I'm logging on to buy another one for the spring!
Kurt A. - Laramie, WY
Friday, February 24, 2006
This was a super fun mystery and the first I've ever been to! I liked the 30's period and the diverse characters in the script. Great Fun!
Lushane - Fort Worth, TX
Monday, February 13, 2006
A fun time was had by all. The host and her husband had not participated in a murder mystery prior and so it took about 1 hour for people to catch on to how the game plays. We all had a great time "dressing up" for our charters. This is a good mystery for a bunch of first timers to play. Great job on the script, especially on Johnny's songs!!!
Chris H. - Tawas City, Michigan
Monday, February 06, 2006
The party was great. It was my wife's birthday, everyone was in costume and the party did not end till 1:00AM. (Started at 7:00PM) I have music from the 1930's playing and even did a guest party gift of a bottle of wine and made my own wine bottle labels for the occasion
Scott A. - Pensacola, FL
Thursday, February 02, 2006
The game was great!!! Everyone had a great time. It was amazing to watch everyone get into their charcters. I set up a "front desk" area with name tags and first round clues. I also had a "bar area" complete with a mini bar. I had the dining area set up complete with fine china and candles. Assigning your characters is the most important. Make sure the person you assign the character to fit their personality. We had a great time and can't wait to have another one.
Drew A. - Douglasville, GA
Thursday, February 02, 2006
We were hosts to the Railburn Affair, and I just wanted to let you know what a HUGE success it was. I can't remember when I've laughed so much. The game was easy to follow, the characters were wonderful and the guests all had a fabulous time. I have just purchased another game because they all want to do it again. Thanks so much!
Bushrod Hall B&B
Kyra C.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
This was my first murder-mystery game and I prepared it for my husband's family over New Year's Eve. I participated, as well. We had a blast! The setting was perfect, the individuals dressed their parts, and everyone was surprised in the end who the murderer was! We definitely want to do another party like this again. Thank you so much for the memories!
Tonya N. - Winter Park, Colorado
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
There were 14 of us for New Years Eve 1936 and everyone had a grand time. The costumes were wonderful. Everyone showed up in character and stayed in character for the duration. (6 hours) We never laughed so hard. This was my third time hosting, but the best because of the easy to use site. This will be our yearly tradition for New Years!!
Leslie B. - Shaver Lake, California
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Your site is awesome. I wouldn't change a thing. Very user friendly for hosts and guests. :)
The game was a hit. The script was a little sleazy (definitely day-time soap material), but most of our friends really got into character and had fun with it. We're already planning to do another!
Melodie T. - Auburn, WA
Sunday, January 08, 2006
We had a hilarious time! We played our game on New Years Eve and we had 11 people participating. It got off to a great start with everyone astounded at each others costumes. After the first ten minutes, "Lolita" said it was already the best New Years Eve she had ever had! We ended the first round after an hour and a half but it could have easily continued on for much longer. We started at 8PM and ended at 10 minutes to 12, just in time to see the ball drop. I played Sylvia but was also the Host and didn't want to spend alot of time in the kitchen. We cooked filets of beef earlier in the day, made sesame noodles and grilled vegetables all to be served at room temperature. I used your recipe for "Death by Chocolate" which was extremely easy to prepare and very delicious. Now I have to think of something to top this for next year!
Patricia B. - Palm Beach, Florida
Monday, January 02, 2006
This Party was AMAZING! This was the second Murder Mystery Party I have held, but this one was the best. The other one was by a different company and was not written and prepared as well as this one was. It was awesome to be able to have a lot of flexibility with the characters and have options of what I want to do. It was also nice to be able to remove a character at last minute because not all are used, in case someone cancels last minute. I was fortunate enough to use all 12 characters. Everyone got really into it and had so much fun dressing their part. It could not have gone any better. I would recommend this game to anyone. I chose this one especially because it was set in the 1930's and I wanted to do one that was set back several decades. It was perfect and the mystery was great. Only one of 12 people made a correct accusation on who committed the murder. I can't wait to host another murder!
Stephanie E. - Syracuse, New York
Saturday, December 31, 2005
We and the 12 we invited TOTALLY ENJOYED this game! All came in costume and were primed for a fun evening. We used the menu for our murder mystery, used the clues and the online notification. Everyone had a great time! Thanks! And now, we hope to do another one over the holidays.
Steve A. - Council Bluffs, IA
Sunday, December 04, 2005
This mystery provided for a great evening that we are all still talking about. The game served as a springboard for some hijinx and blackmail photographs! The mystery was tough to piece together and I actually don't think anyone correctly solved the case.
Thanks for a great product and I hope to host another mystery party in the future!
Curtis C. - Danville, VA
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Great Party! Can't wait till the next one :)
Sreya P. - Lynn, MA
Friday, November 18, 2005
What a cool idea. Lotta fun.
Frank . - Jackson, Mississippi
Sunday, November 13, 2005
My girlfriends and I had the most wonderful time with this murder mystery. The costumes turned out to be fabulous and the mystery unfolded nicely. Two people actually guessed correctly. I would definitely recommend this party to anyone.
Kristen K. - St. Joseph, MN
Saturday, November 12, 2005
This game was alot of fun. Everyone at the party had not played a murder mystery before,so I welcomed everyone to the Hotel laid out the general rules and it took off from there. I only had nine guest, so I had to make afew changes to the characters. Lolita also became Chastity, because I didn't want to right out Chastity. So everywhere Chastity's name was I replaced it with Lolita. Everyone had fun. I will for sure play again.
Megan N. - Tennessee
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The party went really well. I used all twelve characters and had to give two of the guys girl's characters - but they pulled it off superbly! What a great evening.
Chenara F. - Cape Town, South Africa
Sunday, October 16, 2005
We played this game during a camping trip, which limited the set decorations, but everyone brought costumes, which ranged from clever to hilarious. My mother-in-law was nervous about "remembering her lines", but I told her there was no script, and to just go with it. She surprised herself by getting so in to the Chastity Reynolds character, that she "didn't know where the words were coming from". Everyone did a great job in their roles, which created a lot of energy and a great, great time!!
Barbara - Reno, Nevada
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
This game was so much fun; everyone got into it and seemed to really have a blast. Some characters were a little difficult to find costumes for with the limited time we had to prepare for the party, but this mystery worked really well as a dinner party! Lots of fun...
Jennifer W. - San Antonio, Texas
Thursday, May 12, 2005
We had a great time with this mystery, I would recommend it to others.
Joy R.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Everyone had a great time and are looking forward to doing another one. As host, I thought the packaging of the product (Web Site Ease, Name Insertion in Printed Matter, and Information Download) was first class. The menu suggestion was excellent and tasty.
We are definitely booking another party with Host-Party.Com.
Lucas T. - Metairie, LA
Monday, February 28, 2005
This was my first time hosting and my guest line up was a talent agent, an exec producer, a set designer, a fashion pr rep, a teacher, an entrepreneur, 2 film makers, 2 writers, and a few actors. So I had a tough crowd to say the least but everyone really got into character and their costumes were amazing from a full tux w/top hat to an old nurse uniform complete w/1930's salvation army cape. We didn't have an extra person to be the detective so my fiance' dressed up as a deputy marshall and we filmed him beforehand stating no one was to leave and to explain who they were and their relationship to the victim. Johnny's clues got an ovation. It had been raining so we made the crime scene our bedroom which we made into a hotel room and altered the clues to fit. We used masking tape to outline the body and left a bottle and some leather gloves nearby. I was shocked in the end each person suspected a different character for the murder, only one guessed correctly. The best advice is to relax, let things just happen and have fun.
Allex M. - los angeles, ca
Monday, February 14, 2005
We played the Railsburn Affair for our work Christmas party. I have never had so much fun in my entire life.
The night went along smoothly, with everyone really relating to there character. It was good to see all the serious people let their hair down and have fun!!
Certainly recommend this one!!
Elliott H. - Sydney, Australia
Sunday, February 06, 2005
"The Railburn Affair" turned out to be a great party and we had a lot of fun hosting our first murder mystery. All our guests came in costume and we added various roles to each character (i.e. Jake Daniels helped make drinks, Maria Lawenta helped serve appetizer). It was harder to guess who the murderer was than when we had expected and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We will definitely do this again sometime.
Dan . - Seattle, WA
Monday, January 17, 2005
We had a great time. This was our first murder mystery dinner. Every one really got into the costumes and characters.
Jennifer L. - USA
Friday, December 31, 2004
This was our first murder mystery of many...the trick to a successful event is the group that you choose. This was a great starter!!!
Jacki F.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
This mystery game was a lot of fun. We had a great time, especially when all those who hadn't ever been to a murder mystery game before really got into it.... The game was a good one for introducing the game to them, it was easy and a lot of fun to host. I would have liked another round or two of clues, but it still was a great time. We'll definitely do this again!
-The Kobielskys
Karma A.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Amazing. I met my wife for the first time at this party and we had such a great time that when our kids are older we'll make sure that they host murder mystery parties too!
0 C.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
First time for me as host of a Murder Mystery, The Railburn Affair was fun I added two extra characters and wrote scripts for them. It was a fun filled evening, everyone told me how much they enjoyed it, even some guests who did not have a part thought it was great and are hoping to join in the next time. I noticed that after the invitations were sent out by e-mail interest in the idea really took off and the guests took to their characters. A couple of questions that I had about entering the information using the internet program were answered very quickly. During the party I noticed that the guests were interacting with each other more than usual and having a lot of fun. Very Pleased would be words I would use to sum it up!
Joe B.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Fun game! Everyone got into character and had a good time. Only one person was able to solve the mystery. Great way to introduce friends.
Gisela S.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Overall it was an enjoyable evening, and a successful first murder mystery for myself.
Thank you!!
Meghan
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Our group of 12 had a night of absolute hilarity and hijinx! We made a dummy up and laid 'Lawrence' out in corpse pose with a broken champagne bottle nearby. Lolita's business cards were stuffed into his pockets.
Each of the participants created a piece of 'evidence' relating to their character beforehand, which was conspicuously left lying around during round 2. Amber Bookly made up her birth certificate; Maria La Wenta a letter from a Hollywood acting agency, addressed to Lawrence; Josh a 'coaster' from a gay bar with a handwritten note scrawled over it.
I also wrote a 4 page mini newspaper which was distributed prior to the first round, detailing the murder and featuring an article on each of the characters. Of course, most of the reporting was completely fabricated although some facts were kept!
A totally wonderful night - lots of fun and laughter.
Laurie C.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
This was fun and exciting for everyone. I wish it could have lasted longer!
Anna M.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Unfortunately the game I purchased did not work out for my event. Host-party.com refunded my money, as promised--the guarantee is real. I strongly urge anyone even remotely considering trying a game to purchase it from this company--it's probably the only one you can truly trust.
Leann .
Friday, June 20, 2003
We all had a wonderful time! Everything went very well, our guests came in costume, and the whole evening was played out in our characters. Even after the murderer was found out! We will be doing this again, only with more players!
Bonnie K.
Saturday, June 07, 2003
Story was great! Everyone had a fantastic time.
Jane W. - Maine, USA
Friday, February 21, 2003
Gathering to play the “Railsburn Affair” was an extraordinary event for me and my friends. None of us had ever played a murder mystery game before, which made the event very exciting. As a novice to the mystery game world I had many questions in preparation for the party. The service and helpful e-mails from the owner of the host-party.com site were fantastic and allowed us to make all the necessary arrangements for a great party. Despite the fact we were non-native English speakers, everyone managed to play the game with little difficulty. I recommend this game and site to anyone who is interested in hosting a murder mystery party!
Inga D.
Friday, February 21, 2003
This was my first time participating in a Murder Party, and I was delightfully surprised. The clues and the solutions all fit so well together. I loved the fact that we could improvise as well on individual characters actions and words. The fact we could get onto the website so easily made it great for everyone to know what was in store for them at the MM party. The night was unforgetable.
Lissa B. - Superior, Colorado
Thursday, January 02, 2003
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