The game may be played with all players seated in a circle, or wandering around many rooms at a social event.
In one variant of the game, sometimes played by children as a class activity in elementary school, another player, unaware of the murderer's identity, is assigned the role of "detective".
Marx said he played the Murderer once, and wrote the deadly phrase on a piece of toilet paper.
His victim, Alice Duer Miller, pulled it down and properly "died" on the toilet, but grade-school dropout Marx was immediately identified when she was found; he had written "You are ded".
[1] In another variant of the basic game, a player may simply point to their suspect and call out their accusation.
The game starts by using the same number of playing cards as players, including one Ace and one King.
Once "the deal has been made" the player with the King turns over their card and begins the "interrogation."
The "Slit Throat" variation has players walking around in the Dark, wandering the halls and rooms of a building.
As people wander the halls, the Murderer kills people in the Dark by slitting their throat with a finger (or tapping them on the shoulder)[4] and tells them where to lay down and die, the Murderer then walks away from the victim as they proceed to lie down.
When somebody discovers a dead person they quickly move to turn on the nearest light and yell "Murder in the Dark".
A Detective may reveal themselves to lead the meeting by showing off their badge (King Identity Card).
The Detective may then decide to accuse a player of being the Murderer or close the meeting and continue the game if they are not ready to do so.
If the Murderer successfully kills off everybody, they turn on the light and declare themselves the winner and the game is over.