The Last Sleigh Ride
Murder mystery dinner for 6 to 10 players in the Christmas village at the North Pole
- Players
- 6–10 players
- Duration
- approx. 3 hrs
- Difficulty
- Tricky
- Ages 12+
- Cast: 2 male, 3 female, 5 any gender
- 4 optional roles
- Host plays along
Content notes: Death by poison (only hinted at), Theft and family secrets
One-time purchase · digital download (PDF)
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What's it about?
Christmas Eve at the North Pole. Northern lights burn above the rooftops, the reindeer stand in harness, and at midnight the sleigh is due to leave, as it has for three hundred winters. But just before it is time to harness up, Santa is found in his armchair in the map room, as if asleep. He never wakes up. By the oldest law of the village, no sleigh flies while a wrong goes unanswered.
You play the people and elves who were in the house, the workshop and the stable that evening and have prepared the holiday together for decades. Every character saw something, and every one guards a secret. Over three rounds you compare routes, times and documents, three props come to the table, and twice the old village healer brings news. At the end everyone makes an accusation, then the sealed solution is opened.
The case is tricky and can be solved from the materials without guessing. The tone is fairy-tale and Christmassy with a dark undertow; the death is only hinted at, so the kit suits ages 12 and up. The host plays along, since the host guide contains no solution. The full cast is ten; with six to nine players some roles stay empty, and sealed files explain what is read aloud instead.
The kit comes as a Print version with one role booklet per character, to print and fold yourself, and as a Digital version in phone format for sending. Both contain the same case.
The characters
Margaret Claus
Santa’s wife, mistress of the house
Margaret runs Santa’s house, tends the Christmas roses in the winter garden and cooks salves and drops for people and animals in her herb room. In the village everyone calls her Mother Claus. Tonight she is hosting the Christmas Eve feast.
Brunhild Anvil
sleigh smith
Brunhild has reshod Santa’s sleigh three times already and riveted every harness in the stable with her own hands. Tonight she is helping with the loading in the workshop.
Ambrosius Quill
Keeper of the List, archivist
Ambrosius keeps the Great Book, which records who was nice and who was not, and makes the fair copy in stardust ink. Together with the reindeer master he carries one of the two keys to the Star Room.
Tannwig Nimble
head elf, master of the toy workshop
Tannwig runs the workshop and knows when every single toy was built and for whom. Tonight the sleigh gets loaded, and Tannwig counts every parcel twice.
Jule Bellchime
bell-ringer and keeper of the seal
Jule rings the village bells and every year seals the finished List with green fir wax. No sleigh takes off without Jule’s midnight bells, and wherever Jule goes, the brass bells on the jacket hem jingle along.
Sigrun Hornlund
reindeer master
Sigrun grew up in the reindeer stable and knows every animal by name, above all the old lead stag Northstar. Tonight she harnesses the reindeer to the sleigh, and whoever gets in her way hears about it.
Ruprecht Rimefrost
Knecht Ruprecht, Santa’s companion
Ruprecht came to the village from the south twenty years ago and rides with Santa every year, carrying the sack and the switch. He speaks little and chops wood when something is weighing on him.
Flocke Silversnow
post elf, brings the wish letters
Flocke fetches the world’s wish letters from the Northern Lights Post Office and sorts them for the archive. Letters arrive until the last minute, and Flocke carries each one into the house.
Ilvi Starwatch
star reader, navigation
Ilvi reads from the stars and the northern lights which way the sleigh must go, and gives every course exact to the quarter point. Tonight Ilvi is watching the sky through the glass roof of the winter garden.
Krümel Sugarglaze
head kitchen elf, gingerbread bakery
Krümel bakes the village’s gingerbread and every year cooks the cocoa the Old Man drinks before the flight. Without Krümel’s kitchen there would be no feast, and Krümel likes hearing that.