Printable cold case · 3 questions · A4 and US Letter
The Storm Night: a cold case you solve at home.
Saltmere, a small seaside town in England, October 1987. The Great Storm cuts the power, and in the morning Peggy Allard, who owns the Gannet Hotel, is found at the foot of her cellar stairs. The coroner records an accident. In March 2026 workmen replacing a storm drain bring up something with the hotel's name on it, and the police reopen the file. They want three answers from you: what she was struck with, who did it and why.
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Instant download · A4 and US Letter PDFs · personal use only
You get the file as the police left it in 1987, plus what the review team has added since: 31 exhibits in all. There are police reports and witness statements, the post-mortem, maps of the town, the local paper, telephone and hospital records, Peggy's own inventory of the hotel, and transcripts of the people the team spoke to again in 2026. Read them in any order, and check what each person said against what the records show.
Everything you need is in the file. You don't need to know anything about 1987 or about police work, and nothing sends you off to look something up. A suspect board and worksheets come with it, so you can keep track of who was where and when.
The questions open one at a time: how she died, who killed her, and the number of the exhibit that shows why. Type an answer on the free companion page, which the Start Here page links with a QR code, and it tells you at once whether you are right. The same page gives hints and searches every exhibit for a word. If you would rather keep phones off the table, open the Sealed Solution instead. It has the same hints, the worked answers and the closing report, and its first page tells you how to read only the part you need.
When all three answers are in, the closing report takes you through the night step by step, with the exhibit behind each step.
A checking program goes through the case before every build. It confirms that every clue the solution relies on is in the exhibits as printed, and that the timeline leaves only one suspect whose movements nobody else can vouch for.
What you download
One case, four ways to print it.
- The case file, 53 pages: the 31 exhibits, a sheet of small items to cut out, a suspect board and worksheets
- The Sealed Solution, 8 pages: hints, worked answers and the closing report
The case file comes on plain white paper and on paper made to look aged, each sized for A4 and for US Letter. That makes four ZIP files, each with the Sealed Solution, so you only need the one you will print. The aged copy uses more ink. If your printer can't print borderless, each page gets a white edge.
Is this the right one?
- You like reading closely and catching the one detail that doesn't match.
- You want a game for an evening at home, alone or with up to 3 others, with nobody needing to host.
- Everyone playing reads English comfortably. The case is a lot of reading.
For a party where one person hosts and the whole table solves pencil puzzles, try The Midnight Carnival, a printable escape room.
Questions before you print
Can I play it alone?
Yes. One player can solve it, and so can a group of up to 4 sharing the printed file. Nobody has to host, so everyone gets to play.
Do we need a phone or the internet?
No. Every clue is in the printed file, and the Sealed Solution has the hints and the answers. The free companion page is there if you would rather type your answers and have them checked.
Is it gory?
No. The post-mortem report reads like a real one, in plain clinical language, and there are no pictures of the body or of blood. It suits ages 14 and up.
Is it a real case?
No. Saltmere, the Gannet Hotel and everyone in the file are made up. The storm is real: the Great Storm hit the south of England on the night of 15 October 1987, and the file includes a Met Office chart and summary from that night.
What if we get stuck?
Each question has three hints. The first is a nudge, and the third names the exhibits that settle it. Take them on the companion page or in the Sealed Solution.