Murder mystery advent calendar · 24 doors · A4, US Letter or tablet
The Killer Booked a Sleeper: a murder mystery advent calendar.
Christmas morning, 1957. Owen Pell, night conductor on the Midwinter Sleeper, lies dead in the guard's van, and a line in his notebook claims that someone on the December trains held a ticket in a false name. You open one door a night, and its clue clears more passengers off the register. After door 24, one name is left: the killer's booking.
7.49 EUR for the printable calendar
Instant download · A4, US Letter and tablet PDFs · personal use only
The register is the sleeper's passenger manifest for all 24 runs. Each line gives a ticket number, a name, the night, the station where the passenger boarded, a berth, a dinner sitting and the luggage. A door card adds a piece of the story and one clue: a night the killer could not have travelled, say, or a car they never slept in. Cross out every passenger the clue rules out and leave the rest.
You choose a level by the register you print. Light lists 1,000 passengers and Full lists 4,000. Both levels share one deck of door cards, and every card gives the count each register should show when you open it, so you catch a slip a day later instead of on Christmas Eve.
Near the end, 4 doors also open a piece of evidence each, among them a dining-car bill and a telegram. If you get stuck, the checks file holds 3 hints for every clue, each saying a little more, a table of check numbers that tells you whether your passenger is the right one, and the solution.
Free sample · no email address
Try door 1 free.
The free file has the clue guide, a practice register of 60 passengers and the card for door 1. Door 1's story is the real one, but its clue is for practice, so the sample spoils nothing. Read the clue, strike out every passenger it rules out, then compare your count with the upside-down answer under the card.
If you like it, the full calendar is on Etsy (opens in a new tab).
Is it the right one?
- You like logic puzzles and want a short one each evening of Advent.
- Two of you solve at different speeds: one takes Light, the other Full, and you share the door cards.
- You want something to give in an envelope. The extras have a gift card, a departure board and 24 envelope tags, each also in a low-ink version.
For a whole case in one book, try The Killer Paid in Cash, a hotel register of 4,000 guests at Christmas 1987.
Before you buy
Do I have to print everything?
No. Print the door cards and one register, Light or Full. The checks and the extras are optional. The tablet PDF needs no printing at all: its contents page links every door and register page, and an index links every surname to its page.
How long does each night take?
On Light a night takes 2 to 8 minutes, about 80 minutes for all 24 doors. On Full a night takes 2 to 22 minutes, under 3 hours in all. The early doors take longest, because the register is still full.
What if my count does not match?
Every card gives the number of passengers that should still be in your register when you open it. When yours is off, recheck the previous door before going on. Every clue also has 3 hints, and each says a little more than the one before.
Is the free sample part of the case?
Door 1's story is, but its clue is not. The sample uses a practice clue on a practice register, so it gives nothing of the real case away.
Which paper sizes do I get?
All of them: one purchase includes A4, US Letter and tablet PDFs.