Our mid winter parties were a huge hit this year with 7 events over June and July. It was a full on couple of months with eras spanning from the 1920's to present day and a range of characters and themes.

The season kicked off with a 1950's Mafia themed party for a 50th, held at the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron. Whilst we only used two rooms at the venue, it would make a brilliant walk through murder mystery venue - it even hosts it's own library with a roaring fire. It was the perfect spot for a death under the pool table!

Next stop was a 1920's Gatsby murder mystery party set in a country mansion. This was a smaller birthday party for a group of 9 and it was a pretty eerie spot to be driving to alone in the dark! It was a fun night with a family who got really into their roles!

The following night, it was back into a completely different character with Middlemore Hospital's mid winter Wild West party. Managing a group of 80 doctors, nurses and orderlies was no easy feat - especially when there has been a murder!

Some favourite costumes of the night included the lady with 10 children who had to bring two of them along with her (dolls tied to her body), the cowboy who bought along his horse and the bar girls who dressed up to the 9's.

The following weekend we were in the Wild West again with a party for SAM Computers. Another great crowd who really got into the swing of things!

For our next event, Twist went national as we headed up to Whangarei for the night to host a party for Kamo Intermediate School. A school hall couldn't be a more perfect venue for a back to school 90's party and for a bunch of teachers, these guys really knew how to party. We even had a dance competition as well as a king and queen of the disco award.

Following this was a Red Carpet murder mystery back in Auckland for a 30th birthday party. A lively crowd who had some outstanding costumes. One of the girls had even made her own costume for the night - I am always so impressed by the effort people put into their costumes!

To finish up the season, we hosted Coca Cola's mid winter function for their finance team - a yacht club themed party, suitably held at Five Knots Yacht Club. We had a surprise for the team with a "policeman" arriving with video footage from the murder scene. This really got things underway with a bang!

So for now, with several parties already booked between August and October, it's time for some more game writing and party planning. Stay tuned for a very exciting event in September that will be open to the public!

Twist Events donated a murder mystery party game to our local primary, Three King’s Primary School to be auctioned off at the school quiz night. Rob and Jennie won the auction and after some deliberation, chose to host a Great Gatsby, Roaring 20’s party.

They had never been to a murder mystery party before and so this was a whole new adventure for them! Jennie’s brief was nothing too “risqué” and so I wrote a party that was as straight-laced as possible for the Gatsby era – which was a pretty tough call to be honest! I dropped in the usual love affair and a bit of mafia involvement but ensured that there were no surprises to be sprung on the guests!

Rob and Jennie are architects and have designed their family apartment above their business premises. They decked out their venue with stylish lights and even a New York night scene projected on the wall. Jennie had some red lights set up in the room where the “murder” was to take place that flashed when a button was pushed.

Everyone put a fantastic effort into their costumes and turned up in character with American accents. The barman, “Chaz Adams” served up Long Island Tea cocktails as guests arrived and did a brilliant job of staying in role the whole night and manning the bar area!

Throughout the night, we had a marriage proposal, a ballet show, a few songs from the jazz singer, “Billy Ray”, two arrests, and a fair amount of Charleston dancing.

The best character award was given to “Sara Mendez” who kept up her Spanish accent and pouting throughout the game so much so that we forgot who she really was. None of the teams guessed the murderer but had some great theories about who had swung the champagne bottle, including an accusation that it was the tennis player, “Serena Sharples”.

Thanks to Rob and Jennie for providing such a brilliant venue and to all of their friends for keeping the game alive and creating really believable characters. It was such a memorable night!

Sarah approached us a couple of months ago asking if we could host a Murder Mystery Masquerade party for her 30th. I jumped at the chance to write a new game that would involve glamour and drama!

Sarah wanted to have a masquerade party and thought a mystery murder would add a nice twist to her party. She had already hired The Birdcage as a venue which created the perfect blend of chic and style.

The venue stylist, Party by Design, did an amazing job of accentuating the masquerade theme. A great touch was the mask table where people could choose a mask in case they didn’t have one of their own (this was a winner with the guys!)

The champagne and delicious canapés were served by two topless waiters from Strip of Meat – loved your work!

This particular game featured a double homicide and a very unlikely murderer who managed to keep her true identity secret by telling lots of lies. Our two victims had epic deaths, particularly "Leighton Upton" who continued to sip his champagne whilst “dead”.

A brilliant crew of people to work with, I couldn’t have asked for a more lively bunch!

Find the link to this party here: https://www.twistevents.co.nz/the-games-1

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Hosted by Twist Events

Stylist: Party by Design

Venue: The Birdcage, Auckland