A grand Art Deco ballroom on the eve of a wedding

The Diamond Ball

Twenty guests. One necklace. No time to hide it.

The Marchand diamonds are being displayed for one night only, ahead of a wedding that half the city has been invited to disapprove of. In the middle of the second dance the lights fails, the safe is opened, and a guest is found dead holding the case. Nineteen people dress beautifully for a secret they would rather keep.

Players12–20

Evening3.5 hours

HostingAdvanced

Written forAdults, 16+

The story

The Diamond Ball plays in three acts with a dinner break the script plans for. Times below assume a 7pm start; every kit includes a version for a later table.

Act I7:30 pm

The Receiving Line

Guests are announced and seated by table, which also assigns them a group of suspects. A toast from the bride's father is interrupted by a very private threat.

Act II8:15 pm

The Blackout

The room goes dark for ninety seconds. When the lights return, the safe is open, the case is empty, and a body is on the floor.

Act III9:30 pm

The Last Dance

Each table presents a theory. The host then reveals the two sets of clues only the killer knew to hide, and the confession is read.

The cast

Six to 20 roles are written; the kit scales down by folding the smallest parts into the host. Each character arrives with a public face and a private problem.

The hostess

Countess Marguerite van Dorn

Hosts the ball, owns the diamonds, and is selling the house.

The fiancé

Rafe Sinclair

Charming, in debt, and engaged to someone who can fix both.

The jeweller

Mme. Estelle Roux

Insured the diamonds twice and lost them once.

The guest

Inspector Ivor Crane

Off duty, uninvited, and exceptionally well informed.

Clues & evidence

Four of the nine clues

An invitation with a forged calligraphy flourish
A glove found inside the safe, not outside it
A valuation certificate for stones that are not the ones on display
A dance card with the same name written twice

Props unique to this kit

A velvet display case lined with the wrong stone size
A seating chart with two names switched
A telegram from the insurance office dated tomorrow

The host kit

The full running order, the invitation to send, prop build sheets, every player’s script act by act, and the sealed solution.

Read the free sample first — the guide, the invitation, one prop and the opening act — then unlock the rest with payment.

Preview the host kit →

In every kit

A full host script with cue cards and a sealed solution in the back
Character booklets for every guest, with secrets printed in three acts
Nine physical clues, wax seals, evidence tags and a scene-setting prop list
Printable invitations, place cards, a dinner menu and a matching playlist
A set of musical theatrics: cue strings for the host's announcements and the final round of reveals
A 20-minute host briefing call with one of our writers before your party

Practicalities

Unlocked on the page to print the moment payment clears. Everything is laid out for A4 and US Letter, so a home printer or a local print shop can run it off in an afternoon.

Dinner is not included — but every kit has a menu the story actually supports, and a vegetarian version of it.

Not sure it fits?

Write to hello@thedeadlysocial.com with your guest count and the room you have. We will recommend the right kit, or tell you honestly that another one suits better.

Also from the library

Another evening.

Last Call at the Vesper

The champagne is cold. The piano player is not.

8–12 players$32

The Midnight Regatta

Nine knots of wind, one dead owner, no way back to shore.

10–14 players$38

Ashes at Bellwether Hall

The will is read at midnight. Nobody waits that long.

8–12 players$30