Christmas murder mystery game · 6–14 players · about 2 hours
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Every Christmas Eve the Ashworths gather at Hollybrook Lodge, and every year Reginald Ashworth makes a speech. This year he announced he was selling the family department store and rewriting his will. Forty minutes later, during the Secret Santa, he was found dead in the study. The roads are closed. Nobody is leaving before morning.
- ✓ 14 characters, 6–14 players, change the count on the night
- ✓ Each guest gets a private link: character, secret, objectives, clues
- ✓ Host dashboard runs the rounds; a TV screen shows the evidence
- ✓ Nothing to print. A print view with clue cards is there if you want paper
- ✓ Three rounds of 20 to 30 minutes, then the vote and the reveal. Host it as many times as you like
The victim
Reginald "Reg" Ashworth, patriarch, owner of ashworth's department stores. Found on the study floor at 11:40 pm, struck from behind with the cast-iron Christmas-tree stand from the boot room. Red felt fibres under his fingernails.
The suspects
The first 6 are the core cast. Add the rest as your guest list grows, and swap any optional character for another to fit your group. 7 she/her · 6 he/him · 1 they/them. Anyone can play any character.
Core · she/her
Holly Ashworth
Reg's daughter, runs the flagship store
The heir who actually works. Ran the flagship store for ten years and was told tonight it is being sold.
Costume: A red dress or a dark suit, one piece of good jewellery, a stern expression.
Core · he/him
Noel Ashworth
Reg's son, the CFO
Chief financial officer of Ashworth's. Sweating, and it is not the fire.
Costume: A cashmere sweater, an expensive watch, a drink in hand.
Core · she/her
Ivy Ashworth
Reg's second wife
Married Reg five years ago next week. The family has counted every day.
Costume: Something glamorous, a big ring, a shawl.
Core · he/him
Dr. Gabriel Frost
Reg's oldest friend and physician
Has spent forty Christmases at this lodge. Pronounced the death, and has opinions about it.
Costume: A tweed jacket, a bow tie, reading glasses on a chain.
Core · she/her
Merry Pemberton
Owner of Hollybrook Lodge
Has hosted the Ashworth Christmas for thirty years. Found the body.
Costume: A Christmas apron, a cardigan, a ring of keys.
Core · he/him
Kris Tannen
Reg's driver, and the lodge's Santa
Drove Reg for twenty years. Plays Santa for the family every Christmas Eve. Everybody's favourite.
Costume: The Santa jacket, a belt with bells, boots, a beard you take off early.
Optional · she/her
Belle Ashworth
Holly's daughter, home from college
Nineteen, bored by the family, not by the buyer's analyst.
Costume: A college hoodie, earbuds around the neck, a Santa hat worn ironically.
Optional · he/him
Rudy Kessler
The buyer's analyst
Drove up from Boston to get signatures. Snowed in with the family he is buying out.
Costume: A suit with no tie, a laptop bag, snow on the shoes.
Optional · she/her
Aunt Ginny Ashworth
Reg's sister
Has had three sherries and remembers everything, including 1975.
Costume: Pearls, a sherry glass, a shawl, a knowing look.
Optional · she/her
Pastor Joy Whitfield
The village pastor, up for the carols
Came for carols and a cheque for the church roof. Got a locked-in Christmas Eve instead.
Costume: A clerical collar, a Christmas sweater, a hymn book.
Optional · he/him
Tomas Reyes
The lodge chef
Cooked the Christmas dinner. Went to the boot room for logs at exactly the wrong time.
Costume: Chef's whites, a tea towel over the shoulder, a burn on one hand.
Optional · they/them
Officer Pat Lindqvist
The snowed-in local officer
Came to warn about the road and stayed for dinner. Now the only law on the mountain.
Costume: A uniform jacket over a Christmas sweater, a radio that does not work.
Optional · she/her
Eve Sorensen
Reg's assistant
Typed every letter Reg sent for twelve years. Typed some he did not know about.
Costume: A neat blouse, a lanyard, a folder held to the chest.
Optional · he/him
Uncle Frank Ashworth
Reg's brother, the family failure
Three businesses, three bankruptcies, one brother who paid for all of them.
Costume: A rumpled blazer, a cigarette behind the ear, a hip flask.