So you want to host a mafia murder mystery party? Out of ideas? Fuhgeddaboudit! Pressed for time? Well now look here, see, the Family’s gonna take care of you, kid!
You’ll find everything you need right here!
- “Leave the gun, take the cannoli!” – 15 mafia menu ideas
- “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” – 10 mobster decoration ideas
- “There are three ways of doing things around here: the right way, the wrong way, and the way that I do it.” – a curated list of the top 8 mafia murder mystery games. Don’t miss the end of the article to see our favorites! Simply choose one of these to save yourself hours of search time.
Even hitmen have to eat. Keep reading for our mouthwatering menu ideas!
15 Mafia Menu Ideas
“Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in…with their cooking!” While this isn’t exactly the famous quote from The Godfather, the guests at your mafia murder mystery party will be saying it when you serve any of these mouthwatering mobster meals!
But before diving right in, take a moment to consider an essential factor in choosing your menu: what format of game are you playing? Mix ‘n mingle, or a sit-down dinner? If you don’t know the difference, see our article on choosing the perfect menu for your murder mystery party for an explanation and comparison of the two formats.
Either way, we’ve got loads of ideas for both! Choose from the following menu ideas and your guests will be in gangster’s paradise:
Petty Crime Pastas
- Creste di Gallo. New England godfather Raymond Patriarca often dined at Adesso’s, where he ordered a very special creste di gallo made with veal stock, grilled chicken, Italian sausages, and both fresh and sun-dried tomatoes.
- Penne alla Vodka. A favorite of Staten Island’s Anthony Graziano. This penne pasta dish is all about the sauce: tomatoes, butter, cream, and a happy dash of vodka. Top it with crushed chili flakes and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
- Spaghetti Alla Mafia Di Sicilia. What sets this spaghetti dish apart? Fresh basil, rosemary, eggs, red wine, and olives!
- Al Capone’s Family Spaghetti. Equally passionate about crime and Italian cooking, legend has it that Al Capone had a number of secret recipes that have become public knowledge over the last decade. This spaghetti sauce contains tomatoes, parsley, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, and—wait for it—a good handful of walnuts!
- Dead Simple Spaghetti and Meatballs. Fine dining wasn’t for Carlos Marcello! He enjoyed the simplicity of heaped spaghetti with meatballs in a tomato sauce, served with grated cheese over the top. Dead simple, damn delicious!
Mafioso Meals
- Formosa Sticky Ribs. Whenever he visited the Formosa Café, gangster Mickey Cohen tucked into these sticky ribs. The basting contains salt and pepper, cinnamon, peanut oil, orange juice, sweet chili sauce, and sweet soy sauce.
- Green Pickles and Corn Beef Sandwiches. Charles “Lucky” Luciano caught onto this personal favorite through his Jewish associates. A fat corn beef sandwich with green pickles on the side, a simple but satisfying street food to fill up any street gangster!
- Joe Diner’s Shrimp Scampi. Up until the Gambino family turned on him, “Joe Diner” worked with the FBI as an informer—he got much of his info over the delicious meals he made for his fellow gangsters! Serve these jumbo shrimps over rice, with finely chopped shallots, sour cream, dried chives, white pepper, butter, and garlic.
- The Accountant’s Cheese Blintzes. Meyer Lansky, or “The Accountant”, loved to gorge himself on Jewish cheese blintzes. He liked his blintzes made with clarified butter, cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Served with applesauce or sour cream, of course!
- Chicken, Biscuits & Chicken-fried Steak. “Well now just how much Italian food can one man eat?” said John Gotti, known as the Dapper Don. A filling, no-frills plate of chicken, biscuits, and chicken-fried steak (served with a side salad or coleslaw) was all this don desired!
Prisonbreak Pizzas
- Noodle Pizza. A fun twist for the pasta lovers! Top this pizza with spaghetti or macaroni, red peppers, garlic, black and green olives, green chili peppers, eggs, and Italian herbs!
- The Meat Lover. Sliced Italian sausages, salami, and pepperoni. Add mushrooms, onions, and lots of black pepper to complete this meat lover’s dream!
- Frying Pan Pizza. Spread your pizza base in a cast iron pan, and heat to medium heat. While the base is browning, add your toppings. When the base is ready, put the whole pan under the grill for a few minutes—and voila!
- Savory Mafia Muffin Pizzas. Simply add cheese, red peppers, and sliced Italian sausages to your favorite savory muffin mix and you’ve got mini-mafia muffin pizzas!
- Puttanesca-style Focaccia Pizza. Use focaccia bread instead of a traditional pizza base! On top of the tomato base and cheese, add capers, red onion, anchovies, basil, garlic, and black olives.
Mmm! Hungry? Well, there’s no time to rest—this heist is only halfway! With the menu taken care of, you still need to make the place look the part. Keep reading for our decoration ideas!
10 Dastardly Decoration Ideas for a Mafia Murder Mystery Party Venue
Now that you’ve hijacked your guests’ tastebuds, it’s time to take their breath away too—with a magnificently decorated venue! With our simple suggestions, you can transform your living room into a gangster’s getaway.
Here are our favorite mafia murder mystery party decoration ideas:
- Cardboard cityscape. Paint boxes to look like skyscrapers and arrange them on tables or stack them against the walls to resemble the streets of a big, gritty, gangster-run city.
- Bootlegger bottles. Wrap your wine and spirits bottles in brown paper bags, tied around the neck with coarse string.
- Wanted poster placemats. Make a black and white placemat for each guest. Under the big, bold WANTED heading, put the character’s name and mugshot.
- Cigar bar. Hand out cherry cigars (or the real deal) to each guest as they enter—or set up a cigar bar in a corner of the room.
- Lots of crystal and glass! Make sure your bar/drinks area has lots of interesting glassware on display: tumblers, decanters, and interesting old bottles!
- Red, white, and black. A simple, powerful color scheme like this will create a powerful mood—and make your venue look like the poster of The Godfather. Try making a striking feature table with a black tablecloth. Scatter red rose petals, white feather boas, and playing cards across the top.
- Lots and lots of fake money. Scatter fake dollar bills all over the show, or stuff them in bags, suitcases, or boxes! You could also stack bundles of money on tables and shelves. Plastic diamonds and jewels will work too!
- Fake gold bars. Paint small, rectangular cardboard boxes gold (perhaps add glitter for the shiny effect) for quick ‘n easy stolen gold bars!
- Favors. Before saying goodbye for the night, give your guests little party favors like chocolate coins, lucky dice keychains, or miniature bottles of champagne.
- Specific setting. Chances are, your mafia murder mystery party will take place in a bar, nightclub, or speakeasy. So, transform your venue into just that! Set up a bar area for the drinks, have a cigar smoker’s corner, and have decks of playing cards on the tables.
Now that the food’s all sorted, there’s one more thing you need: the right game! Read on for our top choices.
Top 8 mafia murder mystery party games
Perhaps your mobster lifestyle means you don’t have time to find a costume, decorate a venue, and search and search for the perfect murder mystery…
Good thing you’re here, because we’ve got a list of great mafia murder mystery party games right here for you. Simply grab your favorite one.
Please note: We love Murder Mystery Parties. Besides giving advice we also write and sell games. In this article we feature our own games from our company Mysterando. Please check out our game. This is how we help fund this site.
Once Upon a Time in Sicily (by Mysterando)
Link: https://mysterando.com/product/once-upon-a-time-in-sicily/
About: 1950, Corleone, Sicily. The mafia families have decided to rebuild their empires of weapons, drugs, and protection rackets. In her family restaurant, Maria Dutto celebrates her birthday with an extravagant party. But behind the scenes, she’s trying to solve her father’s murder. Will you help her succeed?
Players: 11-20
Price: From $39.90
Don Carrasino and the Murdered Mobster (by Playing with Murder)
Link: playingwithmurder.com/don-carrasino-and-the-murdered-mobster-p-780.html#product_tabs_description_tabbed
About: You’re all in the employ of mobster Don Carrasino—and you’re all regulars at The Joint, a bar owned by the Don himself. While enjoying drinks over rounds of cards, the Don’s right hand man, Danny “Chuckles” Luciano choked and keeled over—dead! Furious, the Don has everyone present begin investigating!
Players: 8-16 or 17-100+
Price: From $39.95
A Speakeasy Murder (by Freeform Games)
Link: freeformgames.com/games/a-speakeasy-murder.php
About: Fat Stan’s Speakeasy is packed full of the city’s biggest names tonight. Al’s band belts out the hottest numbers and barman Tony can’t serve Stan’s Specials fast enough! But fate interrupts and poor Scabface Martins is gunned down by a mysterious intruder.
Players: 15-32
Price: From $49.99
Gatsby’s Last Secret (by Mysterando)
Link: mysterando.com/product/gatsbys-last-secret/
About: New York City, 1925—smack bang in the middle of the Roaring Twenties! In the smoky interior of the legendary Flying Flapper speakeasy, it’s another Jazz Age wild weekend. Glittering guests dance to the riveting house band and business at the bar is booming—thanks to mafia connections and the chief of police turning a blind eye! Midnight comes and goes. But then a piercing scream freezes the dancers. Frank Fitz, the infamous owner, has just been found dead!
Players: 5-9
Price: From $19.90
1950s Greaser Murder Mystery Party (by My Mystery Party)
Link: mymysteryparty.com/1950s-greaser-murder-mystery-party/
About: 1955 in Fontaine City. Street gangs race hot rods to impress the Pink Chicks on one side of town, while motorbike gangs and the Black Widow girls run the other side. All these rival parties are invited to the Friendship Sock Hop in a desperate attempt to solve the city’s crisis. They all RSVP yes. Will this be a night of reconciliation, or will it end in disaster?
Players: 8-16
Price: From $46.95
A Gangster Murder at the 1920s Speakeasy (by Shot in the Dark Mysteries)
Link: shotinthedarkmysteries.com/a-gangster-murder-at-the-1920s-speakeasy-murder-mystery-party-game/
About: 1922, one night at the Caterpillar Club, a speakeasy selling bootlegged booze. It’s business as usual…until the city’s most notorious mobster is found dead! Turns out, Bulletproof Bill Mahoney isn’t bulletproof after all…but you’ll have to keep things hushed up to prevent the cops finding out and closing down the Caterpillar Club!
Players: 6-18
Price: From $40.00
Murder at the Juice Joint (by Night of Mystery)
Link: nightofmystery.com/product/murder-at-the-juice-joint/
About: Prohibition and organized crime can’t stop The Juice Joint! The owner, Rosie Marie, plans a celebration bash – and you’re invited! What you don’t know is that someone on the guest list is on somebody else’s hit list. With a rambunctious cast of characters, this will be a night to remember!
Players: 6-20
Price: From $55.00
Tracy Gang (by Gozone Murder Mysteries)
Link: murdermystery.com.au/murder-mystery-games/tracy-gang-1920s
About: Aiden Abet and his Tracy Gang run a successful scam – and made a cool million dollars. But now his victims are hot on his trail! When the hidden money surfaces at the Tracy Speakeasy, murder soon follows.
Players: 2-60 or 120-300
Price: From $55.00
You might also enjoy some of our other articles:
- The ULTIMATE guide to hosting a murder mystery party!
- Our essential guide to playing the perfect suspect, victim, murderer, or detective
Disclaimer: We haven’t played every single one of the games discussed. However, after being murder mystery party fans, players, and hosts for many years, we’ve gathered heaps of helpful advice and tips on how to play. In writing this article, we’ve conducted internet research to put together our top choices. We use affiliate links to Amazon, etc. This is how we help fund the site.