Murder mystery party · 8 to 20 players · A4 or US Letter
Murder at the Nutcracker: a Christmas murder mystery party.
It is Christmas Eve, 1934, and the snow has shut the Winterbourne Theatre in for the night. When the curtain falls on the season's final Nutcracker, Augustin Fairweather, the director, misses his bow, and somebody finds him dead in his dressing room, struck with the gold prop nutcracker. The gala on stage goes ahead anyway. Your guests play the company and the people at the gala, and one of them did it.
29.99 EUR for the printable party kit
Instant download · A4 and US Letter PDFs · personal use only
Each guest plays someone at the Winterbourne that night: the Sugar Plum Fairy, the stage manager, the conductor, the mayor, a theatre critic. A booklet tells them who they are, what to wear, which small item to bring, what they did during the interval and the secret they would rather keep. It also gives them gossip about the others and a mission for every round, so every guest has something to do.
You host and play a part as well. The envelopes hold everything you read aloud, and the answer is sealed in the last one, so you find out who did it at the same moment as your guests.
Over 3 rounds, 18 pieces of evidence reach the table, 6 at a time. Each innocent suspect is cleared by something you can point to. Before release, a program checked the clues at 8 players and at 20, testing each alibi against the timeline and making sure a single name is left at the end. We then ran the party with AI players at both sizes. After round 1 nobody was sure. After round 3, every detective named the killer, how it was done and why.
How the night goes.
- Guests arrive in costume, pin on a name tag and read their booklet over a drink.
- You open Envelope 1 and read the news aloud. The first evidence goes out.
- Then come 3 rounds of talk. Each round brings new evidence, and the 2 characters who die along the way keep playing as ghosts.
- Everyone, you included, writes down who did it, how and why.
- You break the seal on the final envelope, read the truth and show how it could have been worked out. The awards come last, Best Liar among them.
The host guide plans 145 minutes from the first guest to the awards, and dinner fits between any two rounds.
Free · for the TV
A host screen for the TV.
Plug a laptop into the TV and open the host screen. It follows the host guide's timetable one step at a time, with a large countdown for each round and a soft chime when the time is up. The envelopes have no clock, so you take as long as the reading needs. Press C and the TV shows everyone playing, with their portraits, so guests can put names to faces, and you can mark each ghost as the night goes on.
Scan the code on the screen with your phone and it becomes a remote: Next, Pause and the cast stay in your pocket while you play your part.
The screen holds nothing from the envelopes or the evidence, so it gives nothing away and you can still play.
Is it the right one?
- You want one game for the whole room at an office Christmas party or a big family Christmas.
- You are hosting and want to play, not just run the night.
- Your guest list keeps changing. Every size from 8 to 20 works, and Start here says what to print.
For a mystery to solve at the table instead of acting out, try The Storm Night, a police file for 1 to 4 players, or The Killer Booked a Sleeper, one clue a night through Advent.
Before you buy
Can the host play a character?
Yes. Nothing you read while getting ready tells you who did it. The answer stays sealed in the last envelope until the end, so you play the night with everyone else and fill in a voting card too.
What if I have more than 8 guests?
Yes, up to 20, and it works at any size in between. The host guide lists the characters to cast for each guest count, and Start here says which sheets to print. Every part you cast has a secret, gossip about the others and a mission for each round.
How much do I print?
For 8 players you print 48 sheets, and for 20 it is 71, all on one side. Start here has a table for every party size in between, so you print only the sheets your party needs. The kit comes as A4 and US Letter PDFs.
Is it suitable for children or a work party?
It is written for ages 12 and up, with no swearing and nothing gory, so it works for an office party or a family Christmas.
What happens to a guest whose character dies?
During the party, 2 more characters die. Their players stay in the game as ghosts. Each guest may ask a ghost one question, and the ghost has to answer truthfully from their booklet. Ghosts cannot be accused, and they still vote at the end.
Is anything shipped?
No. It is a digital download from Etsy. You print it at home, as many times as you like for your own parties.