A free Christmas murder mystery game for work
A free, printable Christmas murder mystery for 8 to 30 coworkers: eight suspects, detective teams, three clue rounds and the solution. Play it in about 75 minutes at the office party or on Zoom.
The Snowglobe Murder at Frostwick Toys is a complete Christmas murder mystery you can run at work for free. The toy company’s CEO is found in the stockroom during the Ugly Sweater Parade, and eight coworkers had a reason. Eight people play suspects, everyone else solves it in detective teams, and the clues are fair: a sharp team can crack it before the reveal.
Setup: players, time and what to print
- Players
- 8 to 30: eight suspects, everyone else plays detective in teams
- Time
- About 75 minutes, including the reveal
- Where
- Any party room with tables, or Zoom or Teams with breakout rooms
- You need
- The printed kit, a pen per team and a timer
- Prep
- 15 minutes: print, hand out suspect cards ahead, read the solution
Who plays what, from 6 to 30 people
- 6 or 7 players: Everyone is a suspect. Leave out Wren with 7, and Wren and Ivy with 6.
- 8 players: All eight suspect cards go out. Everyone also tries to solve it.
- 9 to 14 players: Eight suspects, plus one or two detective teams.
- 15 to 30 players: Eight suspects, plus detective teams of 3 to 5 (up to six teams).
- Over 30: Run two copies in two rooms with two hosts, or book a host for the whole group.
Bigger than 30, or nobody wants to host? A live host can run Clue with a Twist: Winter Fun!, a winter murder mystery your teams solve in breakout rooms.
Host pages, suspect cards, clue cards, a detective sheet and the solution.
Rather have a host run the mystery?
With 20 or 30 people, a live host keeps every team in the case, nobody learns a script, and you get to play instead of running the clock. Each game runs about an hour on a video call, works for hybrid teams, and books about 2 weeks ahead (December dates go first).
Clue with a Twist: Winter Fun!Starting at $39 USD / person
Elf Escape ChallengeStarting at $34 USD / person
Murder Mystery Escape Room - The Psychiatrist$650 flat
Reserve online with a 50% deposit, or get a full plan within 24 hours.
The opening story for the host
It is the Friday before Christmas at Frostwick Toy Co., a family toy workshop in an old brick warehouse. The whole staff has stayed late for the holiday party: hot cocoa, a photo booth at the foot of the mezzanine stairs, an ornament-making table and the famous Ugly Sweater Parade.
Every year, CEO Nick Frostwick plays Santa. At 7:45 he climbed the stairs to the mezzanine stockroom to change into his suit, promising "a big announcement about the future of Frostwick" at 8:00 sharp. Everyone has heard the rumor: Nick is selling the company to the Gloworth Group, a giant toy chain.
The sweaters tonight are spectacular. Celeste Frostwick, Nick's cousin and co-owner, is in her famous green sweater with a blinking star, the one that won Brightest Sweater last year. Cal from the warehouse has a tree covered in blinking lights. Holly wears gingerbread, Marcus wears reindeer antlers, Ivy wears candy canes, Noelle wears snowflakes, Wren's sweater has a pixel-art snowman, and Jasper, as always, wears plain navy.
At 7:50 the lights went down and the parade began. At 8:00 there was no Santa. At 8:10, Bernie the security guard went upstairs and found Nick on the stockroom floor, the heavy brass Snowglobe Award cracked open beside him. Nick Frostwick will not be handing out presents this year.
The doors are locked until the police arrive. Nearly everyone at this party had a reason to be angry with Nick, and one of you is lying. Your job is to find out who.
House rules
- Read only your own card, and keep it private until the reveal.
- Innocent suspects may dodge questions about their secret, but they never lie about times or places on their card.
- The killer may lie about anything except their name.
- Detectives can ask any suspect anything. Suspects answer in character.
- Nobody is knocked out. Everyone plays to the reveal, the killer included.
- Costumes are optional. An ugly sweater is plenty.
The 8 suspect cards
Give one card to each suspect a few days ahead. Ivy and Wren are optional; Celeste's card always goes out.
Playing, not hosting? Stop reading here. Everything below gives the game away.
Celeste Frostwick
Co-owner and Head of Sales, Nick's cousin · Green, with a blinking star sweater
Who you are: Nick's cousin. You own 40% of Frostwick and you have sold more toys than anyone in its history.
Your secret: You are the killer. You set up the sale to the Gloworth Group, and Gloworth promised you the president's job once it closed. At 4 pm Nick told you he was calling the sale off and would say so at 8:00. At 7:53, with the lights down for the parade, you went up to the stockroom to change his mind. He refused. You grabbed the brass Snowglobe Award, it cracked, and silver glitter water soaked your left cuff. You came down at 7:59, scrubbed the cuff with paper towels in the restroom and threw them away. You may lie about anything except your name.
During the parade: Say you sat at the ornament-making table for the whole parade, and that is where the glitter on your sleeve came from.
What you know:- Cal and Nick had a loud argument on the loading dock on Wednesday.
- Jasper has taken calls from Gloworth's lawyers all week.
Play it: Gracious and composed, the family face of Frostwick. Gently steer suspicion toward Cal and Jasper.
Holly Ashford
Head Toy Designer · Gingerbread sweater
Who you are: You have designed Frostwick's wooden toys for 22 years. The rocking reindeer was yours.
Your secret: You assumed the sale would end your wooden toy line, so this week you quietly accepted a job at a rival toymaker. You start in January and have told nobody.
During the parade: At 7:48 you went up to the stockroom for your prototype rocking reindeer. Nick was there, half into his Santa suit, humming. He winked and said, "Big news at 8. You're going to like it." You came down at 7:51 and stood at the display table until 8:10. Don't mention the trip upstairs unless someone asks about the stairs or the photo booth.
What you know:- Nick looked happy at 7:50, not like a man about to sell his family's company.
- Celeste skipped the gift exchange at 7:30 and spent it texting in a corner.
Play it: Warm and proud of her toys, jumpy because she knows she was upstairs.
Jasper Lin
Finance Director · Plain navy sweater
Who you are: You run Frostwick's books. You think holiday parties are a poor use of a Friday.
Your secret: You don't want the sale: Gloworth's finance team would replace yours. You have been writing a private memo to talk Nick out of it.
During the parade: From 7:45 to 8:01 you were outside on the loading dock steps on a phone call. Say it was your sister. It was Gloworth's lawyer, and you would rather nobody knew.
What you know:- At lunch Celeste told you, "After tonight, everything changes for me."
- Cal has been loading boxes of misprinted toys into his own car.
Play it: Dry, exact and a little superior. Answers questions with questions.
Cal Moss
Warehouse Manager · A tree with real blinking lights sweater
Who you are: You run the warehouse and the loading dock, and you are very proud of your sweater.
Your secret: For a year you have sold boxes of misprinted toys online and kept the money. On Wednesday Nick caught you and said, "We'll settle this after the party."
During the parade: You walked in the parade. From 7:50 to 8:05 you waited in the walkers' line beside the stage, then strutted across it. Plenty of people saw you.
What you know:- On Wednesday Nick said he would "tell C first" about something big at the party. You assumed C meant you.
- Holly came down the mezzanine stairs just before the parade, carrying a wooden reindeer.
Play it: Loud and jokey, and defensive whenever anyone mentions the loading dock.
Noelle Baptiste
People and Culture Lead, tonight's party planner · Snowflakes sweater
Who you are: You planned every minute of tonight, and you emceed the Ugly Sweater Parade.
Your secret: This morning you saw the Gloworth papers on the printer and told three people before lunch. You are the reason the whole office believes the sale is happening.
During the parade: You were on stage with the microphone from 7:50 to 8:05, calling up the parade walkers one by one.
What you know:- You set up the ornament-making table yourself, with gold glitter only. Silver clogged the glue pens, so you threw it out.
- From the stage you could see the ornament table. During the parade only Marcus sat there.
Play it: Upbeat and organized, and mortified that her party became a crime scene.
Marcus Webb
Marketing Director · Reindeer antlers sweater
Who you are: You run Frostwick's marketing, and you would rather make ornaments than walk in a parade.
Your secret: Gloworth asked you to secretly write the press release announcing the sale and offered you a job. You said yes. The draft is in your bag.
During the parade: From 7:45 to 8:10 you sat at the ornament-making table gluing gold glitter onto a lopsided star. Your hands are covered in it.
What you know:- At about 8:01 Celeste came out of the restroom next to the ornament table, tugging down her left sleeve. She smiled and said, "Glitter everywhere tonight!"
- Jasper told you this week that the sale would be "a disaster for finance."
Play it: Friendly and creative, a bit sheepish about the press release.
Ivy Lindqvist
Nick's Assistant · Candy canes sweater · leave out with 6 or 7 players
Who you are: You have run Nick's calendar for six years and you know his moods better than anyone.
Your secret: Last month, sure the sale would happen, you applied for a job at Gloworth. Nick saw the email on the shared printer and never mentioned it.
During the parade: You handed out photo booth props from 7:40, but from 7:52 to 8:02 you were in the supply closet hunting for more Santa hats.
What you know:- At 4 pm Nick asked you to hold his calls because he was meeting Celeste. Through the door you heard Celeste say, "You'll regret this, Nick."
- At 7:48 you saw Holly go up the stairs. She came back down a few minutes later, smiling.
Play it: Loyal and upset, and quietly sure she knows more than she is saying.
Wren Castillo
IT Specialist and tonight's DJ · A pixel-art snowman sweater · leave out with 6 or 7 players
Who you are: You keep the laptops running and, tonight, the music.
Your secret: Last week you accidentally deleted ten years of company holiday photos. You are quietly rebuilding the archive from people's phones.
During the parade: You were at the DJ booth all night. You dimmed the lights for the parade at 7:50 and brought them up at 8:05.
What you know:- You cued Nick's entrance song at 8:07. Nobody came down the stairs.
- Jasper came back in through the loading dock door at about 8:01, still on his phone.
Play it: Laid-back and a little distracted, worried someone will ask about the photos.
The detective sheet (one per team)
Detective teams get no secrets, just these questions to start them off and a space for notes.
- Where were you between 7:50 and 8:05, and who can say so?
- Did you go up the mezzanine stairs at any point tonight?
- What did you think about the Gloworth sale?
- When did you last talk to Nick, and what did he say?
- What are you wearing tonight, and does anyone have a sweater like it?
- Who here had the most to lose at 8:00?
How to host it at the office party
The host narrates and keeps time instead of playing. Read the solution before the party, and only you.
- Two or three days before: Give each suspect their card privately, by email or a sealed envelope, and ask them to read only their own. Detectives need nothing in advance.
- Set the room (10 minutes): Suspects get name tags and sit at one long table or stand at stations around the room. Detective teams of 3 to 5 sit together, each with a notebook page and a pen.
- Open the case (5 minutes): Read the story and the house rules aloud. Remind everyone that the suspects' sweaters were in the story.
- Introductions (10 minutes): Each suspect gets 30 seconds: name, job and where they say they were during the parade.
- Rounds 1 and 2 (15 minutes each): Read the round's three clues, then start the timer. Detectives question any suspect. In a big room, send one detective per team at a time so suspects aren't mobbed.
- Round 3 (10 minutes): Read the last three clues. This round is short because the case comes together fast.
- Accusations (5 minutes): Every team and every suspect writes down a killer, a motive and a weapon. Collect them before you reveal anything.
- The reveal (10 minutes): Read the solution, score the accusations, then let the room vote for best performance.
The three clue rounds
Read one round at a time, then start the timer for questioning. Each round narrows the suspects.
Round 1: The stockroom
“Bernie has called the police. While you wait, here is what he found upstairs.”
- 1.1Bernie found Nick at 8:10 on the stockroom floor, Santa jacket on, beard still in its box. The brass Snowglobe Award lay beside him, cracked, its silver glitter water spilled across the floor.
- 1.2The stockroom is on the mezzanine. The only way up is the open staircase beside the photo booth: the freight elevator has had an Out of Order sign on it since October.
- 1.3In Nick's Santa sack: his speech cards for 8:00. The top card is torn in half. The half that is left says, in Nick's handwriting, "Tell C first."
Round 2: The photo booth
“The photo booth camera faces the stairs, and every strip it prints is time-stamped.”
- 2.1At 7:52 Nick texted Wren, the DJ: "Cue my song 2 minutes after the parade ends." He was alive at 7:52.
- 2.2The 7:48 strip shows Holly, in her gingerbread sweater, walking up the stairs. The 7:51 strip shows her coming back down with a wooden reindeer, smiling.
- 2.3The 7:53 strip shows someone climbing the stairs, face hidden behind a hanging garland, in a green sweater with a blinking star. The 7:59 strip shows the same sweater hurrying down, left arm held away from the body. No other strip between 7:45 and 8:10 shows anyone on the stairs.
Round 3: The motive
“The police have arrived, and they are sharing what they found.”
- 3.1Under the stockroom desk: the other half of the torn speech card. Together the halves read: "Tell C first. I'm not selling. The Gloworth deal is off. Frostwick stays Frostwick."
- 3.2On Nick's phone, a message he sent Celeste at 4:06 pm: "I know you're angry. It's still my decision, and I'm telling everyone at 8."
- 3.3At 8:20 the cleaning crew emptied the restroom next to the ornament table. In the wastebasket: a wad of damp paper towels full of silver glitter.
The solution and scoring
Collect every accusation first, then score them.
- 3 points for naming Celeste Frostwick as the killer.
- 2 points for the motive: Nick was calling off the sale, and Celeste had been promised the top job at Gloworth.
- 1 point for the weapon: the brass Snowglobe Award (bonus nod for spotting the silver glitter).
- If most accusations miss Celeste, the player who played Celeste wins outright.
- Then the whole room votes for best performance by a suspect.
Show the solution (host only)
It was Celeste Frostwick. Everyone believed Nick was selling to Gloworth, so it looked as if the people who would lose from the sale had the motive. The truth was the reverse. Nick had decided not to sell, and Celeste, who had been promised the president's job at Gloworth, needed him stopped before 8:00.
At 7:53, with the lights down for the parade, she climbed the stairs in her blinking-star sweater. Nick would not change his mind. She struck him with the brass Snowglobe Award, which cracked and soaked her cuff in silver glitter water. She hurried down at 7:59, scrubbed her sleeve in the restroom and came out joking about glitter.
How the clues prove it
- Nick was alive at 7:52, when he texted Wren, and was found at 8:10.
- The stairs are the only way up, and the photo strips show just two trips: Holly, back down at 7:51, before Nick's text, and the blinking-star sweater, up at 7:53 and down at 7:59.
- Only Celeste wore a green sweater with a blinking star. Cal's lights are on a tree, and he was waiting beside the stage for the parade.
- Celeste said she sat at the ornament table, but Noelle could see it from the stage and only Marcus was there.
- The ornament table had gold glitter only. The silver glitter on Celeste's cuff and in the restroom paper towels came from the broken Snowglobe Award.
- The torn speech card and the 4:06 message show the sale was off and that Celeste knew it. She was the one person who lost everything at 8:00.
How to play it on Zoom or Teams
Same cards, same clues. Six changes keep a video call moving:
- Send cards privately. Email each suspect their card a day ahead, or send it by direct message. Never post cards in the group chat.
- Rename everyone. Suspects add their character to their display name ("Holly, Toy Designer"). Detectives add their team number.
- Keep suspects in the main room. Run each round as a hot seat: every detective team asks two questions per round, out loud, to any suspects it picks.
- Give teams a huddle. After each round, open breakout rooms for 4 minutes so detective teams can compare notes. Suspects stay in the main room.
- Show each round as you read it. Share the clue pages from the printed kit so nobody has to take notes word for word.
- Take accusations by private chat. Each team sends the host a killer, a motive and a weapon in a direct message before the reveal.
With 40 or more people on video, hot-seat questioning gets slow. A hosted virtual murder mystery splits the group into breakout teams and keeps every team busy at once.
More for the holiday party
Prefer puzzles to suspects? A host runs Elf Escape Challenge, an hour of festive riddles and silly tasks. Planning the whole party? See virtual holiday party ideas with live prices.
