King Noah Murder Mystery
After using the Book of Mormon Murder Mystery last year, we were looking for a new one to use this year with our YW/YM. I couldn’t find one, so I used the one on your site as a basis for writing another one. I thought that you might be interested. Attatched is a copy of the one that I wrote. It is not as elaborate as the other one, but the YW and YM had a lot of fun and had no idea that it was from the Book of Mormon. At the end rather than doing a little skit, I had each of the tables look at the chapters in the Book of Mormon that the story was taken from and decide who the characters were and who the murderer was.
Kristen Homer
Caldwell, ID
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Introduction:
You are about to become a murder suspect and so is everyone else involved in this activity. You can prove your innocence only by proving that someone else is guilty. The people at your table must work together to solve the mystery. As the evening progresses, each person will receive an outline of their character and pieces of information that will be known only to them. You must be sure to
clearly and accurately reveal all the facts that you know about yourself and the other suspects in each round. You may not lie about the clues you are given. When someone reads a clue that places suspicion on you, then you need to read your clue, which will change the subject and raise suspicion on a different character. This activity is divided into three rounds. Round 1: First meal course and CLUE #1; Round 2: Second meal Course and CLUE #2; Round 3: Dessert and CLUE #3.
Do not go on to the next round until you are told to do so. (All tables should stay on the same schedule of starting and finishing.) At the conclusion of the three rounds, you should decide as a table who you believe the murderer is. The solution will be revealed after the final round. Remember, you are out to catch a murderer. Be inquisitive! Be aggressive! Be suspicious!
Now set the scene:
On Saturday night, a body that was badly burned was found in the neighboring woods and was later identified as Ned Kingston’s. Ned Kingston was the owner of the largest chain of hamburger restaurants in the nation
There are six suspects, all with a motive for the murder. They are: (Have each character stand as their characters are called).
Greg Eon: A fine upstanding member of the community and ex-employee of Ned’s
Laura Mason: Owner of the rival chain of hamburger restaurants
Peter Priest: An employee of Kingston’s who has stayed with the company for a very long time
Larry Kingston: Son of hamburger mogul Ned Kingston
Alice Perry: An ex-employee of Kingston’s
Penelope Parker: An ex-employee of Kingston’s
Give the leader at each table the envelope labeled CLUE #1. Tell them to pass them out to the appropriate character. Have them choose one character to go first reading their clue. The clue will accuse another character. Then that character can read their clue to try to cast suspicion at a different character.
Have them continue in this manner until each character has read their CLUE #1. Each table will play the game at the same time, but separately. As soon as each table is finished, you can serve your first course of food. After all the tables are finished eating, give the leaders at the tables the clue envelope #2. Have them read them just like the last clue. As they finish, serve course #2. After all tables are finished eating, give the leaders at each table clue envelope
#3. Have them read them just like the last 2 clues. As they finish, serve dessert. While they are eating their dessert, have each table decide who they think is the murderer. Have them choose one person as a spokesman and have them stand and tell who they think did it and why. Now reveal the murderer.
Directions for Table Leaders:
We appreciate your help in making this activity fun and successful for the sisters at your table. Help them to “get into” the activity by playing the part as much as they feel comfortable doing. We don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable, so they can just read their clue if that is what they are comfortable with. Your job is to hand out the clues to the appropriate characters at the beginning of each round.
Choose one character to begin each round by reading their clue
While you are eating dessert, have the sisters decide who they think the murderer is. Have them choose one person as their spokesperson. They will stand and tell who they think did it and why at the appropriate time.
Some additional helps:
As one character is accused, he/she should defend themselves by reading their clue. If it is not clear who should go next, just choose another character to read their clue until all characters have read their clues. Each table will be playing the game separately, but at the same time. As each round is played, another course of the meal will be served (appetizer, main course, dessert).
Clue #1
Greg: I know that Alice left the company on bad terms. She and Ned had different business views.
Laura: I know that Penelope was fired by Ned. She had always been a good employee to Ned.
Peter: I know that Laura has always been jealous of Ned and his company’s success. She always wanted to take over the business. Her and Ned often fought with each other.
Larry: I know that Greg never liked my dad or the way that he ran his business. He said that he was too corrupt.
Alice: I know that Larry and his father hadn’t been getting along. He didn’t agree with Ned’s immoral business practices.
Penelope: I know that Peter was Ned’s second hand man. I think that he secretly wanted to take over his business
Clue#2
Greg: I saw Penelope and Peter leave the restaurant with Ned early Saturday morning.
Laura: I found Ned’s body in the woods badly burned and immediately reported it to the police.
Peter: I know that Alice was fired and was forced to leave town. She took a couple other employees with her. I know that it wasn’t her choice to leave and that she felt forced to leave town.
Larry: I saw Laura fighting with my father on Saturday morning. She and a couple of her employees were after my father and his business.
Alice: I heard Greg and Ned fighting last Friday. It sounded pretty intense. Greg really didn’t like the way that Ned was running the business and thought that he should step down.
Penelope: I saw Larry arguing with his father about the way that he ran the company on Friday. Although, they were arguing, I think that Larry is a good guy and only wanted what was best for the company.
Clue #3
Greg: I believe that Peter is the murderer. He was always Ned’s right hand man and was often treated poorly by Ned. I think that he finally got fed up with him and killed him. Ned had gone off the deep and with some of his business practices. Peter has always secretly wanted Ned’s job. (Try to convince them that Peter is the murderer.)
Laura: I think that Alice is the murderer. Ned really hated her and was glad to see her go. I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back for revenge.
Peter: I think that Greg is the murderer. He was the one that was fighting heatedly with Ned and I even overheard him say that he was going to kill him. (Try to convince them that Greg is the murderer)
Larry: I think that Laura is the murderer. She has always wanted to monopolize the hamburger business.
Alice: I think that Penelope is the murderer. She had been a loyal employee who worked for Ned for several years, but when she refused to take a job overseas she was fired without compensation for all of her years of devoted service.
Penelope: I think that Larry is the murderer. He never agreed with the way that his dad ran the business. He thought that his dad was a corrupt man.
Conclusion:
Give the groups plenty of time to formulate a guess as to who is the murderer. Pass out Book’s of Mormon to the tables and have them read Mosiah 18 and 19. Tell them that the murder mystery that they have just participated in was adapted from a story from those two books. Have them look through the chapters and try to figure out who their characters were and who committed the murder. After some time, ask the groups who each character represented and who the murderer was.
Characters:
Ned Kingston: King Noah
Greg Eon: Gideon
Laura Mason: The Lamanites
Peter Priest: Those people that stayed with King Noah (Peter is the murderer)
Larry Kingston: Limhi
Alice Perry: Alma and his people
Penelope Parker: The people who stayed behind with their families
