Murder Party Kits
Case file · Bitter Creek Ranch, Wyoming Territory, 1882
verified New case
Shotgun Wedding at Bitter Creek murder mystery party game

170 printable pages. Print characters 1 to however many guests you have.

nightlifeBitter Creek Ranch, Wyoming Territory, 1882 • Wild West Wedding

Shotgun Wedding at Bitter Creek

"A ranch wedding, a barn dance, a shotgun, and an old sin coming home."

Guest count
8 to 20
Print 1 to however many
Duration
~2½ Hrs
Three murders
Rating
PG-13
Scandal, nothing explicit
Host
Host & play
Solution on a sealed page
Delivery
PDF download
Print at home
Casting
8 flexible roles
Man or woman
$29USD · the complete kit
Instant PDF download
Buy the kit
Includes: host guide, 20 character packets with sealed envelopes, evidence, play money, action cards, ballots, awards and invitations.
group_addScales to your guest list Characters join in order
8 GuestsThe core cast
12 GuestsCore + characters 9 to 12
16 GuestsCore + characters 9 to 16
20 GuestsCore + characters 9 to 20

Somebody cancels the morning of the party? Print one fewer character. The case never rests on anyone after number 8.

The story · read to your guests

Speak Now, or Forever Hold Your Peace

Bitter Creek Ranch, Wyoming Territory, June 1882. Kit Vance, the cattle baron's spur-wearing daughter, is marrying Beau Sterling, the banker's Boston-bred son, and the whole valley has turned out for the wedding and the barn dance. The homesteaders want the creek, the groom's old sweetheart has crashed the party, and the bride's outlaw aunt was pardoned only last week. And ten years ago, two brothers rode off from this very ranch and were never heard from again.

Your guests object at the vows, square off in the Fastest Draw, bid Bitter Creek dollars on pies, freeze for the wedding portrait and chase their own side goals. Then the shooting starts for real. After each murder everyone opens a sealed envelope with new secrets, new jobs and fresh gossip, and the dead come back as ghosts with nothing left to lose. By the time the bouquet is thrown, the clues point to one guest, and everyone casts a ballot: who did it, how, and why.

Setting: Bitter Creek Ranch, Wyoming Territory, 1882•Three murders•PG-13
The night at a glance

How the Party Runs

Three murders, three rounds of sealed envelopes, then the vote. The host guide has every line to read and when, so you only need to watch the clock.

Times assume doors at 7:00. Start whenever suits you and shift the whole night.

  1. 7:00

    Doors open

    Guests arrive in costume and check their guns at the door. Hand out packets, name tags and dollars, then read the welcome.

  2. 7:05

    Mingle

    Everyone reads their card and gets to work: grudges, bribes, gossip and the first action cards.

  3. 7:20

    The vows

    Speak now or forever hold your peace. Several guests have an objection ready, and the vows are put off until every one is settled.

  4. 7:50

    Murder 1

    The first body drops mid-party. Read the murder aloud and lay out the first evidence. Everyone opens envelope 1.

  5. 8:05

    Change partners

    The host calls the barn-dance mixer: grab someone new, and each new partner has to ask one question.

  6. 8:30

    Murder 2

    A second death. New evidence on the table, and everyone opens envelope 2.

  7. 9:00

    The wedding portrait

    Everyone freezes in a pose for ten seconds. Take a real photo too.

  8. 9:15

    Murder 3

    A third death. The final evidence and the final envelope.

  9. 9:20

    The hearing

    The host calls for order and puts the names on every tongue to the room. Then last call: trade clues and corner suspects.

  10. 9:45

    Vote and reveal

    Ballots in, a few accusations out loud, then the sealed solution, read slowly.

  11. 10:00

    Awards

    Closest Guess, Best Death and Best Objection.

The suspects

The Cast of Suspects

These eight are in every game. Each guest gets a character card with things to share, a secret to hide, goals for the night and three sealed envelopes.

Big Bill Vance
Core cast

Big Bill Vance

Cattle Baron, Father of the Bride

Costume suggestion:

A big hat, a long coat or a vest with a watch chain, boots, a shotgun (toy, umbrella or broom), a scowl.

'Lucky' Lil Monroe
Core cast

'Lucky' Lil Monroe

Card Sharp from Cheyenne

Costume suggestion:

A saloon dress or a sharp waistcoat, a feather in your hair, lace gloves, a deck of cards in your garter.

Professor Horatio Pettibone
Core castMan or woman

Professor Horatio Pettibone

Purveyor of Pettibone's Prairie Elixir

Costume suggestion:

A loud checked suit or a bright shawl, a top hat, spectacles, a bottle of 'Elixir' (any bottle with a label).

Everett Sterling
Core castMan or woman

Everett Sterling

President of the Sterling Bank, Father of the Groom

Costume suggestion:

Your Sunday best: a frock coat or a fine dress, a pocket watch or a cameo brooch, spectacles, a ledger.

Kit Vance
Core cast

Kit Vance

The Bride

Costume suggestion:

A white or cream dress (or a white shirt and a long skirt), cowboy boots, a veil, a bouquet with a rope tied round it.

Beau Sterling
Core cast

Beau Sterling

The Groom

Costume suggestion:

A city suit, a bow tie, a brand-new cowboy hat that's too big, shiny shoes, a handkerchief for fainting into.

Lottie McGee
Core cast

Lottie McGee

The Bride's Outlaw Aunt, Lately Pardoned

Costume suggestion:

A duster coat or a riding skirt, a gun belt (empty), a hat with a bullet hole, a wicked grin.

Jeb Pruitt
Core castMan or woman

Jeb Pruitt

Homesteader, Leader of the Creek Settlers

Costume suggestion:

Overalls or a patched dress, a straw hat or a bonnet, a pitchfork or a rolled-up petition.

group_add
Hosting 9 to 20 guests?

Twelve more characters join in order: Reverend Jeremiah Brimstone, Dusty Rhodes, Marshal Wyatt Cobb, Prudence Hale, Clementine 'Clem' Dupree, 'Gentleman' Jack Fortune, Ezra 'Cookie' Malone, Lord Reginald Ashworth, Sam 'Sparks' Morgan, Phineas Flash, Mabel Honeycutt, Gus Pickett.

All in the kit
What's in the kit

Everything You Get in the Download

170 printable pages. Print only the characters you need.

menu_book
Part 01

Host guide

13 pages: a prep checklist with honest timings, setup, rules, who's who, the night minute by minute with read-aloud murders and evidence, and the sealed solution. The host can play a character too.

mail
Part 02

20 character packets

A character card plus three sealed envelopes each, opened after each murder. A goals checklist and costume tips on every card.

wc
Part 03

Man-or-woman roles

Eight characters come in a man and a woman version, with their own names and portraits.

fingerprint
Part 04

Evidence and props

Typeset evidence for all three murders, a wedding gift for the gift table, and signs for the gun check, tack room and gift table.

local_atm
Part 05

Party extras

Bitter Creek dollars already counted into a bundle for each guest, 20 action cards, name tags, ballots, three awards, a welcome poster and bottle labels.

history_edu
Part 06

Invitations

One per character, naming who they'll play and what to wear.

Real pages from the kit

Look Inside the Kit

Nothing here gives the game away. Tap a page to see it full size.

Shotgun Wedding at Bitter Creek: real printed pages of the kit laid out on a party table
Real pages from the kit, printed at home: the cover, a character card, evidence, action cards and money.
Kit Vance's character card (secrets blacked out in this preview)
Kit Vance's character card (secrets blacked out in this preview)
Who's Who: print characters 1 to however many guests you have
Who's Who: print characters 1 to however many guests you have
Invitations name each guest's character and costume
Invitations name each guest's character and costume
Bitter Creek dollars for bribes, bets and pies
Bitter Creek dollars for bribes, bets and pies
Action cards force out secrets and shake up the wedding
Action cards force out secrets and shake up the wedding
Name tags with each character's comic-book portrait
Name tags with each character's comic-book portrait
Stress-free seating

Plays Seamlessly From 8 to 20 Guests

Print characters 1 to however many guests you have. Here's who joins as the list grows.

Up to Who plays Characters What changes
8 Guests The core cast Big Bill Vance, 'Lucky' Lil Monroe, Professor Horatio Pettibone, Everett Sterling, Kit Vance, Beau Sterling, Lottie McGee, Jeb Pruitt Every clue the case needs
12 Guests Core + characters 9 to 12 + Reverend Jeremiah Brimstone, Dusty Rhodes, Marshal Wyatt Cobb, Prudence Hale More schemes, deals and gossip
16 Guests Core + characters 9 to 16 + Clementine 'Clem' Dupree, 'Gentleman' Jack Fortune, Ezra 'Cookie' Malone, Lord Reginald Ashworth More schemes, deals and gossip
20 Guests Core + characters 9 to 20 + Sam 'Sparks' Morgan, Phineas Flash, Mabel Honeycutt, Gus Pickett More schemes, deals and gossip
Host questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people can play? expand_more

Anywhere from 8 to 20. Characters 1 to 8 carry the murders and every clue the solution needs, so print characters 1 to however many guests you have. Each extra guest adds a character with their own goals, so nobody's role is missing and no clue is lost.

What if someone cancels on the day? expand_more

Just print one fewer character. Because guests join in a fixed order and the case never depends on characters 9 to 20, the game still works at every headcount from 8 to 20.

What do guests wear? expand_more

Western is the easiest costume theme there is: jeans, boots, a hat, a bandana, a long skirt or a waistcoat. Every invitation suggests a costume made from things most people already own.

Do we need real guns for the Fastest Draw? expand_more

No. Cap guns are fun, but finger guns and a loud BANG work just as well. Every other gun in the game is make-believe, checked at a pretend gun table by the door.

Can women play the men's roles, or the other way round? expand_more

Yes. Eight characters have a man and a woman version with their own name, pronouns and portrait, and anyone can play anyone if your group likes cross-casting for laughs.

Can the host play too? expand_more

Yes. Nobody knows who the killer is, not even the killer until the final envelope. The host runs the timeline and can play a character, as long as they don't read the solution page until the end.

How long does it take? expand_more

About two and a half hours from doors open to the awards, with three murders spaced through the wedding.

Is it hard to solve? expand_more

It's designed to be fair and on the easy side: you can make a guess after the first murder and prove it after the third. Ballots score who, how and why separately, so even close guesses earn points.

Do I need a colour printer? expand_more

No. The pages are off-white with thin black frames; the colour is in the portraits and the cover, and everything reads fine in black and white.

Is it suitable for kids? expand_more

It's written PG-13 for adults and older teens: old sins, money, jilted lovers and gambling debts, nothing explicit and no gore.

New to hosting? Read how to host a murder mystery party.

arrow_forwardBuy the kit — $29