The 11 boys truly enjoyed the treasure hunting aspects and figuring out the clues. Surprisingly, they found the anagrams very easy. However, they struggled with the clues which were probably on the lengthy/complicated side for a boisterous group of 11 nine-year old. The package is easy to use and the tips are of great value - thank you for making it so simple for the parents.

The party WAS a huge success! Unfortunately, there were only half as many girls coming to the party as were originally invited (the curse of a summer birthday I guess - everyone was on vacation!) I had to make some changes like not putting names on the envelopes for them to decipher. I simply listed them as clue #1, etc...I also didn't do the Guess Who I Am game first. There just wouldn't have been time as I only was giving 2 hours for the party.

The girls all took turns reading the clues and then they would take a while to figure it out and then run to the location. They did need my direction on a couple of them (for instance, the clue in the car glove box. They considered that "outside" and didn't think anything would be hidden there).

I took your advice and made myself the "killer" but my daughter and 1 of the guests share the exact same 3 initials (M.E.D.) so I couldn't use the birthday girl as the "victim". I used her best friend instead. I knew she would not have a problem with that, she's like another daughter to me anyway. She now finds it funny to tell everyone that we know that I "killed her" at my daughters party!

They definitely had fun. As far as how easy it was to do this party, this was a breeze! I would not have attempted to do this on my own, so had I not found your web site, she wouldn't have had this kind of a party. Thanks for all the help and instruction. It was all very easy.

We used this for my daughter's 10th birthday party. Several of the girls told their parents it was the best party they had been to. They all really enjoyed running around and looking for the clues. They needed more help then I would have expected to figure out the clues so plan on being with them to assist. We had each girl decorate a clipboard to take notes and they had flashlights and magnifying glasses. In combination with a 'mystery dinner' that we found online this was a perfect 2 1/2 hour party.

Hi Leslie, We had the Detective Party last night and the girls had a blast. We decorated the house with yellow caution tape and made black footprints for the floor and blood dripping from the cupboards. I bought them all detective hats, mustaches, magnifying glasses and note pads and they all wore black and white with detective name tags that I made with labels. They worked together to solve the crime and had some good laughs along the way. I made my daughter the ghost and myself the murderer as you suggested and boy was she surprised to find out her mommy killed her. At the end she laid on the ground and put all the letters on her body with the knife to look like she had been killed. We got some fantastic pictures that were taken throughout the game. Thank you so much for the idea. I would love to do it again and would highly recommend it!!!

Hello, I am sorry to report but this party did not work for us at all. First, I spend a long time planning this party since I wanted it to be great, so I can't report that I saved any time at all on preparations. We had eight 9-yrs. old boys at the party. The all brought their detective gear but when we started playing four of them lost their interest right away, they said it feels like school that they have to sit and listen, so they did not play at all. The rest of the boys played for approximately 10 minutes, and then lost their interest. The clues were too long and hard to follow. One boy even got hurt because they were running around and pushing each other trying to find the clues. He cried for a while and then stoped playing. So at the end I had eight boys on my hands for three hours with nothing to do. My son and I were very dissapointed... I think it is a great itea, but it did not work for us.

[NOTE FROM BIRTHDAY PARTY GAMES LADY]I have to add here that this sounds like the classic case of choosing the wrong party for the wrong group of kids. If the group isn't going to enjoy an intellectual challenge and using their heads, don't do this party.

Great fun for all. Just complicated enough for these 8-9 yr old girls to be challenged. I made detective badges up ahead of time with each girl's photo to the side under their Detective Name with room for their fingerprint to the side of photo. When they checked in at the Booking Station surrounded by Caution tape, they had to first get rid of some of the ink onto a blank paper then they pressed their fingerprint onto the badge and inserted badge into an inexpensive plastic badge holder and pinned it on. I watched for the print of the predetermined "killer" on the blank paper, replaced the paper and cut it out when they weren't looking, then taped it to the inside of the front door which remained open. Turns out, all the girls wish they were the killer and couldn't figure out how I got her print. When they were sitting around the table at the end reprinting themselves trying to figure out who's print it was that was found, they worked really hard and actually figured it out. I was very very impressed with them and with the whole package. I wanted to tailor the clues so the girls went from one end of the house to another, and to fit our house, which took a lot of time and it wasn't really necessary. The badges, however, were a hit and were then pinned to their goodie bags so they could keep their gel pens and detective notebooks.

Hi there, Our party was yesterday and it was a HUGE success! I was planning a giant outdoor party when we got hit with terrible storms. All the things I had planned were a no-go. So I literally downloaded your package at the LAST minute and you saved my tail. It took me about 1 hour to print out.

I was pleasantly surprised at how excited the boys were about the whole thing. I just knew one of them would say “this is lame” or something and blow it for the group, but they were all totally into it. I actually walked down in advance to a neighbor’s house who was coming and took his fingerprint for the murderer. I told him I was taking everyone’s print before the party for clues, and that he wasn’t supposed to talk about evidence during the party. So when the time came, he wasn’t even sure it was his print because he thought I had done everyone. They thought it was hilarious that he “killed” my son, but I knew there wasn’t anyone too sensitive in the group.

I am pretty creative, and this is exactly the sort of party I would make up myself. BUT if I had done that it probably would have taken me over three hours to write everything and figure it all out. So I think you saved me at least three hours, and it was worth every penny, especially since I was having to switch gears at the last minute. Thank you so much for the party, you are very talented, and I’ve already told other friends about you. Can’t wait for the next one!

I had 14 girls in total, most of them 8, a few of them 9. I'd say about half of the girls were really into it -- but I think the clues were too tough for the other half and I think they got a bit bored as a result. Fortunately, the birthday girl was one of those who really loved it, and, frankly, that's all that truly matters. She had a great time.

It's worth pointing out that while the party does save the host a heck of a lot of time in figuring out a party, it still took me a substantial amount of time to pull everything together. Still, it was a good deal and a great idea. I would consider using another party package again.

The pre-planned party went off as a success. The clues were very convenient and easy to place, however some of them proved too tricky for 10 year olds...they had problems finding the initials that were by the clues. Overall the party was well received.

The girls were 10 years old but needed some guidance with the clues. This was challenging enough to keep them busy for a while. They had so much fun!