
How to Write a Laughter Murder Game
Writers, if you’re looking for a way to be creative and entertain your friends without producing an actual written story, this is for you!
The Laughter Murder Game is a low-effort version of a dinner party murder mystery game. Guests play characters in a setting, but rather than solve a mystery, they simply try to “survive” the night—by not laughing. That’s right, at this party, you laugh, you die! Obviously, the game is written to be as silly as possible, because therein lies danger. When the game is over, only one person will still be alive, and they win a prize.
I wrote this game for a neighborhood Bunco (dice game) group’s Halloween party, where we didn’t have time to get into a detailed mystery and play out clues—which meant I didn’t have to write a detailed mystery or clues! It was a great time with 12 women trying very hard not to laugh themselves…to death.
Anyhow, here’s how to kill your friends.
Players
At least 4, probably not more than about 12
Place
Wherever the group is gathering. It works best in person, but can be on video chat. Note this is a loud game.
Characters
You can make up original characters for this game (instructions below), but it also would work well with:
- D&D characters
- Characters from a fandom you all like
- Fursonas
- People making up their own characters on a theme (let’s all be mad scientists, superheroes, or spies, etc)
- The goofy pirate characters I made up for my own game (list below)
Have your guests cosplay if they like!
Writing the game
1. Create a setting.
For whichever characters you’re using, create a reason they’re all at the party tonight, and why they might be trying to kill each other.
For example, your D&D group has been dropped into a suspiciously lovely magical forest with no supplies and everybody thinks it’s somebody else’s fault. The Good Omens apocalypse has arrived unexpectedly at three-thirteen in the morning and the first thing on Earth to be destroyed was caffeine. The spies’ mission was ruined because someone at the party leaked all the secret passcodes to a magazine as what was actually quite a good poem and is probably a shoo-in for a major prize, but now the codes are all over the internet.
Remember, it doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to be funny, because funny is deadly. In my case, I wrote an original pirate-themed setting:
On October 16, 1705, the dreaded pirate ship Rolly Jogger overtook the brig Dutchman’s Britches, a vessel making its way across the sea with a cargo of gold and jewels to be traded for spices. During the fight, at an inopportune moment, the Dutchman’s Britches went down, briefly exposing its jewels. The pirates made off with the treasure, and all hands on the stricken ship were lost.
For ten years, various parties financed expeditions to find the precious cargo taken from the Britches, but none were successful. Ten years later, on October 16, 1715, all of those who might lay claim to the treasure gathered for a party hosted by the very pirates who had stolen it! According to the pirates, they wanted to split the treasure evenly, 12 ways. But at dawn on the following day, only one member of the party remained alive to claim the entire booty. For the other 11 guests had been murdered!
Tonight you were given the identity of one of the women at this fatal party. Your mission is to be the sole survivor and claim the treasure as your reward!
2. Name your characters and say how they fit into your setting.
Remember to be as silly as possible. Here are the ones I made up (feel free to use or amend these however you like):
The Widow: Mrs. Titania Ramsbottom. Mrs. Ramsbottom is the widow of the captain of the Dutchman’s Britches, Capt. Goosey Ramsbottom, who perished at sea after the pirates’ attack. A pompous and unloving woman, would she murder the rest of her family in order to live comfortably on the treasure her husband was killed for?
The Daughter: Miss Betunia Ramsbottom is the only child of Capt. and Mrs. Ramsbottom. A spoiled and snobby young woman, is she yearning to be rid of her overbearing mother and snag some jewels to boot?
The Spinster: Miss Vuella Knickerson is the never-married sister of Mrs. Ramsbottom. A nasty old woman, when she is not present, her last name is pronounced “Knickers-on” to make fun of her probable virginal status. Is she eager to get rid of her equally unpleasant sister and niece?
The Baroness: Mrs. Mergatroid Snifflehead, Lady Noseflute. Lady Noseflute is the widow of Baron Noseflute, who was the owner of the Dutchman’s Britches and paid the salaries of all the men who died on the ship. Mergatroid is a social climber whose husband passed away shortly after their wedding. Did she murder him to inherit his fortune? And could she be interested not only in the jewels from the Britches but in revenge on the men in her husband’s employ who failed to protect the treasure? And what of the rumor that she lost far more than jewels when the ship went down…perhaps someone close to her was on the ship as well?
The Pirate Captain: Miss Januarica Waistknott led the attack on the Britches and has brought the treasure to the party tonight, supposedly so that it can be divided evenly among those who have claim to it. Could she possibly be planning instead to rid herself of any other claimant to it?
The Pirate Captain’s Sister: Miss Februrarica Waistknott is a dreamy woman unsuited to hard work. She has made her living by attaching herself to her confident and aggressive sister Januarica. But is that personality all a front, hiding a truly sinister woman who could commit cold-blooded murder in order to have her fortune set for life?
The Pirate First Mate: Miss Champagne Bottleneck is the one responsible for having kept the treasure successfully hidden for 10 years. Does she resent the captain for offering to share it? Does she feel that the only way to truly keep it hidden is to murder everyone else who wants it?
The Inspector: Mrs. Euphemia Flattfoot and The Superintendent: Mrs. Umprella Gnarltoe
Many at the party are astonished to see two upstanding members of law enforcement at the gathering. But ten years ago, Inspector Flattfoot and Superintendent Gnarltoe were the land-based contacts of the pirates, giving them critical information about the movements of the Dutchman’s Britches and its jewels. However, it’s a big risk for these ladies to attend the meeting tonight. Despite the lure of a share of the treasure that they risked their jobs for, now everyone at the party is aware of their involvement, all potential witnesses. And beyond that, the relationship between the two women has become strained. Either one has motive to kill everyone else attending—but would a member of the police force, even one who once aided pirates with vital information, have it in her to graduate to cold-blooded murder?
The Survivor: Miss Kidney Beanbrayn. Nine years ago, Miss Beanbrayn was found wandering on a deserted island before being brought back to civilization. After living for many years unaware of her true identity, she now claims to be the long-lost Miss Sinusita Snifflehead, the daughter of Lady Noseflute. It has been rumored that Lady Noseflute had a daughter, and that she may have been present on the Britches when the ship was lost. Apparently that rumor was enough to cause the pirates to invite Miss Beanbrayn to the party tonight. But could Miss Beanbrayn really be a survivor of that accident? Or could she be claiming relation to the Baroness out of greed? What will the Baroness think when she sees her?
The Nurse: Miss Paisley Amplechest. Miss Amplechest is the nurse retained to care for Miss Beanbrayn after her ordeal. It is unknown who pays her salary. Could it be that she is in the employ of Lady Noseflute, charged with caring for the Baroness’s long-lost daughter out of sympathy, but without encouraging her claims to the family wealth? Or could Miss Amplechest be working solely for herself, convincing the pirates of Miss Beanbrayn’s claims, ensuring herself a share of the treasure as a loyal servant and guardian? And perhaps hoping to get close enough to the treasure of the Britches to take it all for herself?
The Hostess: (this was me) Mrs. Flutterby Smorgasbord. Mrs. Smorgasbord is the owner of the restaurant the pirates rented for the occasion. How much does she actually know about the purpose of this dinner? If she’s aware a fabulous treasure will be brought to her establishment, does she have any intention of ever letting it leave again? Should the guests be very careful about eating what she cooks?
Playing the Game
Depending on your group, people will either stay in character and follow the storyline or not. My group only sort of kept the story going, because we were also playing Bunco (though one of my friends forever after called herself Paisley Amplechest). But it doesn’t actually matter, because a group of friends will find things to laugh about anyway.
1. Party prep
If people are going to cosplay and/or make up their own characters, send them the details ahead of time.
2. Have a set game time, and rests.
If you make it so that any laughter anytime kills people, your game will be over before it starts. So have everybody chat as you’re getting set up, and then officially start the game. Also take breaks from gameplay as needed so people can talk freely without worrying about laughing.
3. The rules
Amend these however you like.
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- The game begins with everyone living.
- The method of death is a living person causing another living person to laugh. This may be accomplished by any means short of touching—no tickling! You may tell jokes, make rude comments, make faces, stay in character or not—anything goes.
- You are able to kill multiple people at once—slay them with one joke!
- If a living person laughs at their own jokes or comments, they don’t die.
- If you die, you become a ghost. You can still participate in the party, but you must wear the marker that shows you are dead (I gave people ghost stickers to wear on their chests).
- The dead can’t kill anyone. If a ghost makes someone laugh, that person doesn’t die.
- The game may end with a showdown between a few living people left. They will sit at a table and try to kill each other.
- The last person alive gets the treasure!
4. The prize. Because we were playing a pirate game, I had some plastic jewels to give out. But your prize can be anything you like, themed to the party or not.
Have fun and remember, don’t laugh!
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