Murder mystery team building works when everyone has a role, the story stays simple, and the evening follows a day of real work. At our marketing offsite at Le Grand Sambam in October 2026, our Field Marketing Manager Doursaf Magtoufi ran a roaring twenties murder party: three victims, one killer, and a room full of very well-dressed suspects. Here is how the two days came together, and what we would use again for any team event.
As Doursaf Magtoufi, Field Marketing Manager at Naboo, puts it:
"I organized a murder party. Three people died. Best offsite ever."
Start the offsite with the work that matters
The first day focused on where we are going. Alice Grasset and Lucien Bredin opened with the company and marketing vision, then led two AI-native marketing workshops: building "the Brain" in the afternoon, then the "Agents" that run on it.
Starting with focused work changes the tone of the evening. People arrive at dinner having built something together, so the game feels like a reward, not a break from the day. It also keeps the offsite grounded: the fun supports the work instead of replacing it.
Doursaf summed up the two workshops like this:
"Ambitious, concrete, and honestly mind-blowing."
Pick a theme people can dress for
Our dress code was the Great Gatsby. A familiar era makes costumes easy: fringe dresses, feathers, and long gloves; suspenders, bow ties, and hats. Nobody needs a full outfit, and most people can put one together from what they already own.
Share the dress code early, with a few example looks, so people have time to plan. A clear theme also gives quieter colleagues an easy way in, because the costume does part of the talking.
For Doursaf, the costumes were the payoff:
"Seeing everyone go all in on the costumes made every hour of prep worth it."
Make dinner part of the game
Dinner was served in full costume at long shared tables. When the meal is part of the story, nobody has to leave the game to eat, and the talk between courses turns into questioning and alibis.
Long shared tables work better than small ones for this. Everyone hears the accusations, and the whole team stays in the same scene.
Set the scene with simple props
Then the evening took a darker turn. Crime scene tape across the floor and numbered evidence markers were enough to turn a living room into a crime scene.
You do not need a professional set. A handful of props placed before guests arrive does most of the work, and it gives everyone something to inspect and argue about.
Keep the plot simple: three victims, one killer
Our story had three victims, one killer, and a room full of suspects. That small cast keeps the plot easy to follow, even for people who have never played a murder mystery before.
Give each player a character and a short brief, reveal clues through the evening, and finish with a clear moment when the team names the killer. The goal is not a perfect puzzle. It is getting everyone involved.
Keep an instant camera on the table
An instant camera captured the evening as it happened: costumes, dinner, the crime scene, and the victims on the floor. The photos gave everyone a keepsake to take home, and ours later became the carousel we shared after the offsite.
Use day two to get to know each other
On day two, a fun facts session brought out some unexpected sides of each other, with plenty of laughs along the way. The facts were collected quietly before the offsite, so nobody knew what was coming.
It is a light format that works well after a late evening, and it carries the energy of the murder party into the next day.
And as Doursaf puts it in her post about the offsite:
"The real win? A team that says yes to everything, plays along, and makes it this fun."
Choose a venue that can hold the whole story
We stayed at Le Grand Sambam, a country house in Fourdrain in northern France that sleeps up to 49 guests. The workshop, the dinner, and the crime scene each had their own room, and with everyone staying overnight, nobody had to watch the clock.
When you plan your own murder mystery team building, look for a venue with a large dining room for dinner, a living space you can turn into a crime scene, and rooms for everyone to stay overnight. Naboo helps teams find and book venues like this for offsites and team events.
Frequently asked questions
What is murder mystery team building?
It is a role-play game where colleagues play characters and work together to figure out who committed a fictional crime. It is usually run over an evening, often around dinner.
How do you plan a murder mystery party for work?
Choose a theme with an easy dress code, give each player a character, keep the plot simple, add a few props to set the scene, and book a venue with space for dinner and the game. Running it after a day of workshops gives the evening a reason to celebrate.
Why choose a 1920s murder mystery party?
The roaring twenties are easy to dress for and instantly recognizable. Fringe dresses, feathers, suspenders, and hats are simple to find, so everyone can join in without much effort.
How many people can play?
A murder mystery works for small and large teams, as long as everyone has a character or a role as a suspect. Our whole marketing team played together in one evening.