It’s a dark, windy weekend night at the University of Chicago. You’re headed to an after-party at the apartment of the cunning Rick Martin, a promising PhD student at the university. You take a wrong turn and get to the apartment a few minutes late, only to discover your group of friends huddled around Rick’s dead body, shocked and confused. Can you unravel the secrets of the party-goers and identify the culprit, or will the killer walk away undetected?

How It Works

The Margin Call is an interrogation-based murder mystery. It can be played with 7 players + 1 host (for this game, the host can also play one of the roles without worrying about spoilers). Have more than 7 players? Extra players can join as Investigators! The Investigators will be allowed to question any character of their choosing at the end of each round, and will also be able to vote for who they think committed the crime.

To get started, click the “Buy Now” button to download the complete game pack for The Margin Call. The Game Pack includes the following files:

• Host Instructions (PDF)
• Player Instructions (Google Doc)
• Character Booklets (PDF)
• Clues (PDF)
• Name Cards (PDF)
• Individual Virtual Backgrounds (PNG)

The Margin Call is great for anyone looking for an immersive, interactive activity.

🔴 Format: This murder mystery can either be played in-person or virtually.

🎭 Acting Requirement: In interrogation-based murder mysteries, players are required to ask open-ended questions to each other in order to uncover clues and inconsistencies in the character's stories. This style of murder mystery requires more acting ability than a script-based murder mystery (but it can also be more fun for the right audience!).

👪  Large Groups: Large groups can play this murder mystery by breaking up into groups of 7 or 8. A group of 16, for example, could have two games going on simultaneously - one game with 7 Players (with the host for that team also acting as one of the players) and another game of 9 (7 Players + 1 dedicated Host + 1 Investigator). Otherwise, you could hire us to be the Host and let everyone play in either a Player or Investigator role. The possibilities are endless!

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Our Booking Policy

Reduce Participants up to 3 business days prior to your event

Full Refund

Reschedule up to 3 business days
prior to your event

Allowed

Add Participants at any time
prior to your event

Allowed

Reschedule within 3 business days
prior to your event

30% fee added to your final invoice

Reduce Participants within 3 business days
prior to your event

No Refund

Cancellation at anytime
prior to your event

No Refund

Frequently Asked Questions

What video conferencing platforms do you support?

We support all of the “Big Four” platforms - Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex by Cisco. Don’t use one of those platforms? No problem. If we can download it and it has breakout rooms, we can use it :)

What languages do your Hosts speak?

We can assign you Hosts that speak English, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia, Spanish, Russian, Polish, or Ukrainian!If you would like a non-English speaking host, you can request this at the checkout page. However, please do note that all of our game content is currently only available in English and Spanish.

Do I need to book your Host to run this activity or can I do it myself?

You can totally host this activity yourself! When you download the Game Pack (from the link at the top of this page), you’ll receive a comprehensive “Host Guide” along with the rest of the game materials. This Host Guide is a full set of instructions that you (or a friend) can use to Host this murder mystery, and we’ve created it to empower you to lead an amazing event even if you’ve never done it before!

If you’re still nervous about Hosting, or if you just want to enjoy the game and not worry about all the logistics, then we’re here to support! Just click the “Book Host” button at the top of this page, and we’d be thrilled to plan and host the activity for you, from start to finish.

How does the activity work if I add your Host?

If you book our host, you’ll immediately be guided to a checkout page where you’ll give us some information about your event - the date, time, timezone, etc. Once you checkout, we’ll immediately get in touch with you to share a calendar invite for the event and work with you on a few items for planning & logistics. We’ll then share the character information with each individual player a few days before the event to give everyone a chance to familiarize themselves with their character.

On the day of the event, our Host will join via video conference and will lead the activity from start to finish. Our goal is to make your overall experience as seamless and as fun as possible!

All of our Hosts are fun, energetic, experienced and ready to show you and your friends a great time!

What times are available to book this Activity?

Our activities are available for booking 24 hours a day / 7 days a week!

What if I book your Host and then need to reschedule or cancel?

If you let us know at least 72 hours in advance, then we’ll be happy to reschedule for free (woohoo!). However, if you let us know less than 72 hours in advance, then a 20% rescheduling fee will apply because we’ll have to compensate our hosts for rescheduling their time (it’s just the right thing to do).