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Twelve people.
The full table.
Twelve is the cap, and it is a cap for a reason: past twelve, private roles stop being private and the accusation round takes longer than the case. At exactly twelve the catalogue does something it does not do at any other number, which is give you a case written specifically for it.
Twelve players plus the host is the largest group the cases run. All twelve get a private role and a real secret. The Twelve Suspects of Christmas is written for a full table specifically. Plan for the longer end of the two to three hour range, because twelve people take longer to accuse each other.
One case is written for exactly this.
Most cases scale up to twelve. The Twelve Suspects of Christmas is written down from it: twelve characters, twelve agendas, and a solution that needs the full room. If you are hosting a big Christmas table, that is the one. It is also, by some distance, the most complicated night in the catalogue, and that is deliberate.
The two places a big night sags.
Twelve people is not twelve times the work. It is the same case with two specific stretches that need the host to lean in, and both are predictable, so you can plan for them.
- The opening ten minutes. Twelve people reading their briefs at once is a silent room. Do not panic and do not fill it. Give them four minutes, then start the first round on the screen. The silence ends the moment somebody has a reason to accuse somebody else.
- The accusation. At six this takes ten minutes. At twelve it can take thirty, because everybody wants to make their case. That is the best part of the night, so give it the room, but say up front that each person gets one accusation and one sentence of why.
- Feed them before the last act. A twelve person table gets restless. Break between the evidence rounds and the accusation, put food out, and let the arguing happen over it. The app holds the state through the break.
- Two hosts is legitimate. Nothing in the game requires it, but at twelve, a second person keeping drinks moving is worth more than any hosting tip on this page.
Cases that carry a full room.
These have twelve plausible people in one place with twelve different things to lose.
Every one of the 26 cases runs at 12. See the whole catalogue →
12 players, answered.
What is the maximum number of players?
Twelve guests plus the host, who plays the victim. Past twelve, private roles stop being meaningfully private and the accusation round outlasts the case, so twelve is where the cases stop rather than an arbitrary limit.
Which case is best for 12 people?
The Twelve Suspects of Christmas is written for a full table of twelve rather than scaled up to it. For a non seasonal night, The Masque at Carfax Hall and The Anatomy Theatre both carry twelve distinct agendas comfortably.
How long does a murder mystery take with 12 people?
Plan for three hours rather than two. The case itself is the same length, but twelve people take longer to question each other and much longer to accuse each other. Build in a break with food before the accusation.
Can we play with more than 12?
Not as players, but extra guests can join as observers. Observers see the shared screen, hear everything, and can heckle, but they hold no private brief and cannot vote. For a group over twelve who all want a role, run two tables on two cases.
Book the night.
Not the actors.
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