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The bit of the hen
where nobody
checks their phone.
A hen party is usually three groups of people who have never met being asked to have a lovely time together. A murder mystery solves that in about ten minutes, because it gives every one of them a reason to interrogate a stranger. And nobody has to do anything embarrassing unless they want to.
A murder mystery works for a hen party of six to twelve because it makes people who have never met talk to each other immediately. The bride plays a character rather than hosting. It runs two to three hours, needs no props or costumes, and works just as well for guests who are not drinking. $39.
Hen party, hen do, bachelorette party: three names for the same evening. If you're after bachelorette party activity ideas that run longer than twenty minutes, this is one: the bride plays a character instead of hosting, one table of guests who mostly do not know each other yet, and everyone at it with a secret to protect.
It is an icebreaker
that is not an icebreaker.
The hen party problem is always the same. The bride's oldest friend from school, two people from work, a cousin and a future sister in law are all in a room being told to enjoy themselves. Everybody is being nice. Nobody knows anybody. Somebody suggests a game and the room quietly dies.
This works because the reason to talk is built into the thing rather than bolted on. You have a secret, and the only way to protect it is to make somebody else look worse. Within fifteen minutes the future sister in law is accusing the school friend of something, and the group has skipped four hours of polite conversation.
- No performing. The biggest fear at a hen is being made to do something in front of strangers. Nobody performs, nobody reads aloud, nobody stands up.
- No costumes required. Welcome if the group wants them, completely unnecessary if it does not.
- Works sober. A rare thing on a hen weekend, and worth knowing if somebody is pregnant, driving or just not drinking.
- One person pays. $39 total, not per head.
Check the wifi first.
This is the one practical warning and it applies to every rented cottage in the country. Holiday accommodation wifi is unreliable and you will find out at eight in the evening with eleven people in the room.
Every case includes the complete printable pack at no extra cost. Print it before you go, put it in the bag, and the night happens whatever the broadband is doing. It runs with no wifi, no phones and no television.
- Print before you travel. One booklet per guest and the host pack. Fifteen minutes at home beats an hour of panic in a cottage.
- A laptop is a television. If the house has no TV, the case runs on a laptop screen propped at the end of the table.
- First night, not last. Run it early in the weekend. It breaks the group in, and everything after it is easier.
- Six to twelve. If the hen is bigger than twelve, run two cases at two tables and compare verdicts afterwards.
Hen parties, answered.
Is a murder mystery a good hen party idea?
It works well for a hen party of six to twelve where the group does not all know each other, which is most of them. It gives the bride's school friends, work friends and future in laws a reason to talk within ten minutes, and it is an activity that does not require anybody to be drunk or athletic to enjoy.
Should the bride host or play?
Play. The host plays the victim, which is a quiet role, and the bride should have a character with a secret. Have the maid of honour or whoever is organising buy the case and host it, following the general hosting guide for the full run-through of the night.
Does it work for a hen weekend away?
Yes, and it is a good first night activity because it breaks the group in. Check the wifi at the accommodation first. If it is unreliable, print the pack that comes free with every case and run it on paper instead.
Is it suitable if not everybody drinks?
Completely. The game requires nothing but conversation and the app does not care what is in anybody's glass. It is one of the few hen party activities that is genuinely as good sober.
What are some unique bachelorette party games besides drinking games?
Most bachelorette games are quick, repeat themselves, and need everyone drinking to work. This is one evening, two to three hours, where every guest gets a private character and a secret to protect, and the app runs the whole thing so nobody in the bridal party has to be the games master. No costumes, no props, and the printable pack works exactly the same if the venue's wifi does not.
What is a good bachelorette party activity that works for a mixed group?
This works well precisely because a mixed group does not need shared history. Everyone starts cold with a character and a secret nobody else can see, so the bride's college roommate, her future mother in law and a cousin she has met twice are all doing the same thing at the same time. Nobody has to be naturally the outgoing one. The character does that part.
Make them all
suspects.
$39 for the whole group, delivered instantly, with the printable pack included in case the cottage wifi is what cottage wifi usually is.
Before the night
Planning the hens party invitation? Open a sample, put your own details on it, and borrow the wording.