This is a fun indoor game for group play with a dozen or more. It can be played as a warm-up activity or stretched out over a longer period, such as weekend work project.
One person gets to be the detective. They leave the room and go to an isolated “sound-proof booth.”
The rest of the group selects one person to be the criminal. Make sure the group doesn’t use their selection to stigmatize or single out someone who is a little bit on the fringe. Everyone in the room needs to think of an alibi, something simple (and easy for each person to remember) that explains where they were at the time the crime occurred. For example “I was putting my hair in pin curlers on the train” or “I was oiling my baseball glove in my third floor apartment.”
Once you have a criminal, the detective returns to the room and asks each person, one by one, to state their alibi. When each person states his case the detective interviews everyone a second time. Everyone needs to state their alibis in exactly the same way as before – except the criminal. The criminal gets to make one tiny change to her story.
The game continues until the detective catches the criminal in the act of lying.
Because there’s no real setup or preparation – though you could make this part of a fun mystery night using props and costumes, Detective is a great game for group participation that you can pull off in a pinch.
[Photo by Penarc]
