How to Print a MortalCase Murder Mystery Game Without Wasting Ink or Paper

Printing is the part you'll be tempted to leave until the night before, and it's the part that decides whether game night starts on time. This guide gets you through it with the least paper and the fewest surprises: what to check on screen first, how to spot a duplex problem before it costs you 40 sheets, which pages deserve better paper, and how to keep a MortalCase Reveal sealed while you sort everything else.

You’ve bought the game, the files are sitting on your laptop, and the only thing between you and a finished kit is a printer you don’t fully trust.

A MortalCase murder mystery game arrives as printable files with 8 required Primary Characters and 12 optional Secondary Characters, so the size of your print job is set by who you cast, not by the size of the game. Read the files on screen first, then print one test page before you commit the rest.

Place printing inside the full murder mystery planning checklist so paper prep doesn’t become a last-hour job.

Review the files before touching print

Open each included document and read the printing instructions. Identify the host guide, character materials, evidence or event materials, voting items, and protected Reveal. Do not assume every PDF uses the same paper setting or that every page should be handed out at once.

Make a simple count based on your final character assignments. Every MortalCase game includes 8 required Primary and 12 optional Secondary Characters, but you only prepare the optional roles you’re using. A 12-player party doesn’t need packets for all 20 characters.

Never remove a Primary Character to save pages. All 8 Primary roles are required. Printing choices can reduce waste around the game; they can’t rewrite its structure.

I make 8 of the 20 characters required and leave 12 optional on purpose, so you print for the guest list you’ve got instead of the one you hoped for.

A boxed game would have made that choice for you before it shipped, and how printable and boxed games compare weighs the rest of that trade.

Run one test page with the final settings

Choose a page that includes ordinary body text and any important visual detail. Print it using the same printer, paper, scale, color mode, and duplex setting planned for the batch. Then read it in normal room light.

Check that text is sharp, margins are present, page numbers are visible, and nothing has been cropped. “Fit to printable area” is often safer than a manual percentage, but follow the file’s own instruction whenever it specifies a setting.

For duplex printing, confirm whether the printer should flip on the long or short edge. A 2-page test catches upside-down backs before 40 sheets do. If a reverse side contains information meant for another stage, print single-sided unless the instructions explicitly pair those pages.

Printing is the one job a MortalCase game asks of you, and it takes an evening. I’d rather tell you that now than have you find out at 11pm.

“Fun easy to download and play”

A smooth download is the beginning of prep. A test print is the small step that turns digital files into a dependable physical kit.

Choose paper by function

Regular white printer paper works for Character Guides, host notes, and many practical handouts. It’s easy to read, inexpensive, and comfortable to hold. Save heavier paper for pieces that benefit from durability, such as labels or items guests will handle repeatedly, if the game instructions support it.

Do not put card stock through a printer that doesn’t accept its weight. A jam wastes more time and material than ordinary paper would. Copy shops can handle heavier stock for a small subset while you print the rest at home.

Readability beats decorative paper. Dark, patterned, glossy, or heavily textured stock can swallow fine text and make notes difficult. If your theme uses color, bring it through envelopes, clips, folders, or table styling instead of placing private instructions on hard-to-read paper.

Hosting Monster Mansion: The Masquerade doesn’t oblige you to buy black paper, and your guests will thank you for clues they can still read by candlelight.

Use color where it carries information

Before choosing grayscale, inspect whether color distinguishes items, categories, or instructions. If it does, preserve it. If a page remains fully clear in black and white, grayscale may be a sensible option for that page.

Do not apply draft mode to the full job without testing fine lines and small text. Ink savings have no value if guests can’t read the material under evening lighting.

Print only the assigned character packets, plus 1 spare if your plan needs it. Keep the source files available on a charged device in case a role changes, but avoid distributing Character Guides digitally during play unless the product instructions call for it.

Assemble packets while the pages are fresh

Do not leave a warm stack in the output tray and hope you’ll understand it tomorrow. Separate materials immediately, check page order, and label each character packet. Keep host instructions and the protected Reveal in clearly different folders or envelopes.

A paper clip is often safer than a staple when pages need to be separated by stage. Use opaque envelopes for information that should stay closed. Label the outside with the character name and timing instruction, never with a spoiler.

This overview of the real preparation involved helps you budget time beyond the printer. Printing is one contained job; reading the host guide and arranging the room are separate jobs.

Build a backup that doesn’t double the waste

Keep the original download accessible, record your print settings, and know one nearby copy option. That’s usually more useful than printing a complete second game.

If a guest cancels, an optional Secondary packet stays unused. If a Primary player cancels, reassign the required role and print only what the replacement needs. Do not ask one guest to juggle 2 characters.

Hosting a game doesn’t require you to know the solution. Protect the solution while assembling the kit, follow the spoiler-free host instructions, and keep the Reveal sealed. Careful sorting lets you prepare and play.

I write the host material so you can run the night without learning who did it, if that’s what you want. It’s a choice you make, not a lock on the file.

Finish by counting labeled packets against the confirmed guest list. A tidy count, one test page, and a protected ending will save more than squeezing 4 unreadable pages onto one sheet.

Home printer or copy shop?

Use a home printer when the test page is clear, the machine handles the selected paper, and you have enough ink for a consistent job. Home printing makes last-minute role changes easier because you can replace one packet without traveling.

A copy shop is useful when your printer crops margins, struggles with duplex alignment, or needs expensive cartridges for a one-time batch. Bring the original files, the exact page list, the color choice, and one written instruction about single- or double-sided output. Ask for one proof before authorizing the full set.

Paper and ink are where the printing decision starts to add up, and keeping a murder mystery party affordable without it looking cheap covers the same trade-off across the rest of the party.

Do not email an unfiltered folder and tell the shop to print everything. Protected material, unused character packets, and alternate pages may be mixed with the pieces you need. Prepare a print list that names file, page range, quantity, color, stock, and finishing.

Collect the job with enough time to check it. Count packets, inspect page order, and compare the proof settings with the full output. A copy shop transfers the printing task, not the host’s responsibility for correct assembly and spoiler control.

After assembly, store the kit flat and away from food, drinks, pets, and curious guests. Put the host folder at the top and the protected ending inside it, visibly sealed. Character packets can be arranged alphabetically or in assignment order, as long as you can hand them out without opening each envelope. A simple storage choice protects the work you already did and reduces game-night sorting.