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There Might Be No Christmas
£39.95
Add intrigue to your next party with this mystery game, set at a the North Pole.
Format:
30 Minute Mystery
Setting:
The North Pole
Time:
30+ minutes
Ages:
Family / Children
Players:
Play with Printed Sheets or the App
Hosts have the choice of playing the game with printable documents or using the PWM Party Assistant app
View app gameplay guide
Play In-Person or Over Video Chat
You can host this game in-person or over video chat. The game is built to be run either way!
Santa’s presents are gone! We need them back tonight!
Backstory
Your guests will play the roles of various inhabitants of the North Pole, including elves, reindeer, snowmen, and other creatures from Christmas folklore. Santa Claus has summoned everyone to his workshop. The normally jolly old man has a stern look on his bearded face as he solemnly tells us that his workshop has been broken into and his magic sack of Christmas presents has been stolen! Without the sack, there can be no Christmas.
Solving the Mystery
Santa has called everyone to gather because they are under suspicion of theft! One of the helpers is responsible, and the group needs to find out who. There’s no time to spare; it’s Christmas Eve, and if the sack of toys isn’t recovered soon, Santa won’t be able to deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls!
There are 8 primary characters in this game. Read the "How to Play" section for instructions on how to play this game with more than 8 people.
* = Optional character
- Donner: One of Santa's eight tiny reindeer, Donner is well known for his frequent complaints regarding the difficulty of the Christmas sleigh flight.
- Ivan Blizzard: Lead Foreman at the Toy Factory, Ivan is an enthusiastic go-getter whose utter devotion to Christmas has never been questioned.
- Ernest Winters: One of Santa's elves, Ernest's enthusiasm for Christmas has notably waned in the past six months.
- Kristina Kringle: Also known as the Christmas Fairy, Kristina Kringle was once a famous holiday icon; some suspect that she is bitter that Santa Claus has stolen her glory.
- Caroline Claus: Mrs. Claus is Santa's wife and second-in-command; she is one of the most beloved inhabitants of the North Pole.
- Tonya Baum: A beautifully decorated singing Christmas tree planted outside the Toy Factory, Tonya is a gentle soul who always has a kind word and a Christmas carol for any passersby.
- Jacky Frost: An animated snowwoman brought to life by an enchanted hat, Jacky Frost is responsible for imbuing all of Santa's toys with a dash of Christmas magic.
- The Krampus: Santa's least-beloved helper, the Krampus is the monster who brings coal and switches to the children on Santa's "naughty" list.
Extra Players
- *Investigator: If you have more than 8 players, additional players have the option of playing the role of "Investigators". In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
What's Included
This game kit includes: Hosting guide - Guidebook that takes you through all the steps for running the game Character sheets - Information sheets for eight unique characters and one generic "Investigator" character Name cards - Printable name cards that can be placed in front of players for in-person games (optional) Introductory Handout - A brief description of the game that can be sent to your guests ahead of the event (optional) Invitation template - Printable template that can be used to send paper invitations to your guests (optional)Our line of 30 Minute Mysteries is specially designed for fast setup and easy play, whether your playing in-person or virtually over video chat.
All you need to do is:
- Gather a group of players
- Distribute character sheets
- Follow the party guide instructions
If you’re playing in person, you have the option of printing out the hosting script and character sheets, or you and your guests may view them on your electronic devices.
Best of all, the party facilitator can choose whether they join in the game and solve the mystery along with the other guests!
Playing the Game
While this mystery has 8 primary characters, it is designed to accommodate any number of additional players. See the “Expanded Game for Large Groups” section below if you have more than 8 players.
Each of the players will be assigned a character and given a character sheet that explains who or what their character is, what information their character knows, and how their character should respond to events that occur during the game.
The game will progress in rounds.
Round One will start with the party’s host or hostess reading a script that explains the nature of the mystery that is afoot. After the introduction is read, each player at the table will share a piece of information from their character sheet, which will often be met by a response from another player.
Round Two begins with the host sharing a clue that should shed further light on the mystery. After the clue is revealed, the players will once again go around, providing another piece of information.
Round Three, the final round, begins with the host sharing the last clue. The players then go around the table a final time, sharing their last piece of information.
By this point, the players should have enough information to piece together a theory about who was responsible for the crime. Everyone will vote for the culprit, which the host will then reveal. Any player or couple who correctly guessed the identity of the killer is declared a winner.
From start to finish, the game typically requires half an hour to complete.
What Do I Need in Order to Play?
Our 30 Minute Mysteries are specifically designed to not require very much in the way of supplies. All you need is:
- Playing area
- In-person – Table to sit around or large playing area where the guests can sit in a circle
- Virtual – Video chat room (links to 3rd-party providers like Zoom included in game)
- A group of players (minimum 8 people)
- Access to a printer or electronic device (so you can distribute game materials)
Expanded Game For Large Groups
If you have more than 8 players, there are three ways that you can accommodate everyone:
- Investigator Role – Using this method, eight guests play the primary characters while the remainder of the guests each play the Investigator role. Players in this role are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
- Teams – Each primary character can be played by 2 or more people that work together as a team. This works well if you’ve invited several couples to your event, but also works if you break up your guests into eight larger teams of 3 or more guests.
- Multiple Groups – If you have 16 or more guests, you can break them up into groups of 8 players and run multiple instances of the game on their own. This method is best for large events (e.g. fundraisers) where each table of people can play through the game independently. This method goes well with the Investigator method, which allows you the flexibility to add more than 8 people to any group.
Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.
Kitkat –
Headline Easy to use, loads of fun!
Nickname Kitkat
We had a lovely time playing this game for a work event. It was straight forward, simple to execute and a lot of fun! This is our second event through Playing with Murder and we will definitely do it again!
Queen Leaf –
Headline Fun Times for Family
Nickname Queen Leaf
My family played this game over a video call and everyone seemed to have a great time. We’ve played mystery games from other places before, and even though I was the host I also wanted to play, so I wasn’t sure entirely what the structure would be. Not all mystery games let the villain know they are the villain – in this one they did. Almost everyone dressed up somehow which really added to the fun. We plan on doing another mystery party for New Year’s Eve. I think I may have accidentally bought the original, rather than virtual, version of this mystery so it will be interesting to learn what the differences are.
ENGC –
Headline A Fun Alternative to a Live Holiday Party!
Nickname ENGC
Theme Highlights Players created their own "costumes" to portray their character's persona. A special invitation was sent to members to join the party.
The Emerald Necklace Garden Club’s Holiday Party on December 10, 2020 included the virtual “There Might Be No Christmas” mystery game. It was a big hit with both members who played the characters and the “investigator” audience! The players created their own “costumes” to portray their character’s persona. It was great to have a fun alternative to the club’s traditional holiday luncheon to wrap up a difficult year of programming!
Wendy –
Headline Excellent family fun!
Nickname Wendy
The party went great! Used it at a family Christmas event with multi-ages. (7 – 68)
tracyd –
Headline Great game!
Nickname tracyd
We played this with our girl scout group during our winter cabin camp out and it was a hit!
Debby –
Headline Girl Scout party
Nickname Debby
Menu Highlights Christmas cookies
Theme Highlights I purchased a Santa sack, fake snow, and tree trimmings for clues.
My Girl Scout Troop of 5th graders used this for their Christmas party. They all seemed to enjoy it. The readings were easily worded and no spoilers with the holiday.
Ole –
Headline Pre-Christmas party event at the office
Nickname Ole
I was looking for a new activity for 10-15 people, could be done sitting down, required no prior knowledge/preparation from participants, a minimum of components and relatively short.
This scenario both promised and delivered on all of the above!
Our boss’s name is Claus, so I just had to tinker with the scenario to give him the role of Santa Claus by extracting parts of the facilitation/narration. Worked pretty well.
We had two investigators and in hindsight I should have handed them the “observations” as the clues were revealed. That should make the investigators more.. sherlocky?
A couple of weeks later there are still people who occasionally refer to each other by the name of their role.
Chrisy2 –
Headline A Fun "Who-Done-It"
Nickname Chrisy2
Theme Highlights hats and table tents
We played “There Might Be No Christmas” on Christmas Eve. I was looking for a new Christmas activity that would be fun for our grandchildren ages 5 -13. Age range for all players was 5-72. The kids loved it. Players got into their characters with hilarious voices, a lot off ad libbing, and lots of laughter. The hats added to the fun.
Christmas Merriment –
Headline Great time at our family Christmas gathering!
Nickname Christmas Merriment
We had a great time playing “There might be no Christmas” at our family Christmas gathering. We had ages from 5 to 75 and everyone enjoyed getting dressed up in costumes to represent their character. We had 14 people so some characters were represented as teams and we had one inspector.
Catherine –
Headline A great opportunity to be naughty.
Nickname Catherine
Theme Highlights The club was already set up ready for Christmas ( and Santa photos) so we used their props.
We ran There Might Not Be Christmas as a Toastmasters meeting. Everyone knew in advance to come in a Christmas themed outfit. It was our end of year Christmas meeting so was a great opportunity to just relax – I was the only one who had to do any preparation.
Ms. Johnson –
Headline Holiday Fun in the Gifted Classroom
Nickname Ms. Johnson
My 4th grade students absolutely love these 30 minute Mysteries! We can’t get enough.
Experienced Big Event Theatre Producer –
Headline A Complete Flop!
Nickname Experienced Big Event Theatre Producer
I am sorry to say that this was the worst mystery dinner party material I have ever used. Our family had had a VERY rough year and I wanted something fun for everyone. Without fail everyone in attendance thought it was awful and we had a room full of fun loving people of every age. It was a complete waste of my money. I am sorry to sound so harsh but there is nothing else to say. It was awful. I have thrown several full costume mystery dinner events and we had a great time. The material in this one was just awful and given the year our family had made it through it was very disappointing.
Ms. Marple –
Headline A wonderful family Christmas Party
Nickname Ms. Marple
Theme Highlights The house was already decorated for Christmas so we sat around the Christmas tree.
We did the “There Might Be No Christmas “. It was supposed to happen on Christmas Eve and that is when we played it. It was a family thing and we had ages 9 to 74. We needed 3 more parts so I decided on Ms. Marple, Lieutenant Columbo, and Jacque Closeau the 3 detectives. Our son played Inspector Closeau ( from the Pink Panther) so well that we all laughed historically. We loved the way our parts were written out for us to know what to say. It was great fun!!
Iwus –
Headline We saved the Christmas!
Nickname Iwus
Menu Highlights Ms Santa baked some of her best Christmas themed cakes. And we also had some Christmas Eggnog :)
Theme Highlights Costumes and some basic decorations bought from a local shop.
We had a really great time during our Christmas Party at work. There Might be no Christmas is easy to prepare and also it’s simple to introduce new players to rules and atmosphere of a mystery party. It’s definitely not the hardest and most complicated mystery scenario but it still provides a lot of fun 🙂
Glenda –
Headline Awesome!
Nickname Glenda
Menu Highlights It was a potluck
Theme Highlights I obtained some fun "costume" pieces for each character which helped everyone get into their roles.
We played this game for our office holiday party. It was awesome! We had so many laughs. Instead of inviting everyone ahead of time, this was sprung on everyone, and they each had to pick and play a character from a raffle bowl. They were all great sports and really enjoyed the game!
Kim C. –
We played this with small children ages 1-7. We dressed them up as the characters but the adults read the parts. It was very fun and the kids enjoyed it but definitely would’ve been better if the kids were older. We will definitely be doing this again!
elinettevb –
I hosted this mystery for our church’s small group Christmas party and it made for a super funny and enjoyable night for all. It was so easy to host as everything is scripted and explained step by step. The script was hilarious and we all enjoyed the format of the mystery, better than other traditional mystery formats we have done in the past. To get everyone excited about their roles, I announced we would be having prices for best actor and actress. This made for a little extra competition and lots of laughter. At the end of the mystery, everyone voted and awards were given to best actor/actress, as well as those who guessed correctly. The mystery was a bit easy to solve in our opinion but no one mind at all since we had so much fun. We can’t wait to try another mystery!
Roundtownbarbie –
Headline Best Office Holiday Party Ever :)
Nickname Roundtownbarbie
This event was held as part of our holiday celebration at work-office of more than 65 people. It was a rip-roaring success! Everyone commented on how fun it was and that it was the best party we have had in a long time! I had a part as one of the characters and my co-workers volunteered willingly and we all had a super time (I even had folks attend that usually do not participate)!!
Suzan –
Headline Loved the Mystery!!
Nickname Suzan
Played with 16, they partnered up. It was a huge hit. High School Girls loved it. They want to do another one and dress up for the part.
Diana Vasquez –
Headline Fun and laughter!!
Nickname Diana Vasquez
My boyfriend and I hosted a murder mystery dinner and in out case it was a missing Santa toy bag!! We had a blast, we laughed so much as some of the characters were like kindergardener’s reading the wrong lines!! I would definitely host another one. The only thing I would change is that we would eat all dinner courses except the dessert, play the game, then eat the dessert instead of eating one course and playing one part of the game, then eating another course and playing another part, etc.
RockyATV –
Headline Fantastic
Nickname RockyATV
We did this for a department party and it was perfect! Everyone had a blast and laughed so hard.
Corp Event –
Headline Lots of laughs at a corporate event
Nickname Corp Event
We did this at our team Holiday party (about 35 people) and it was very engaging and lots of laughs. The members that were selected to play active roles really got into their parts and were great at improvising which further engaged the “investigators”. We grouped investigators to work as teams by tables and they really got into it as well.
Cindy –
Headline Christmas Party Fun
Nickname Cindy
I run an after school program at a school with children from four to twelve. We decided to do a mystery party for something different. What a success!!! The children loved it. We had a few parents arrive early and the children refused to leave. We had lots of fun accents tried out and lots of fun acting. The children embraced their roles and thoroughly got into the storyline. After Christmas vacation I had several parents tell me how their children didn’t stop talking about the mystery they solved. We will definitely be doing another one soon.
ISG –
Headline Everyone had a great time this year!
Nickname ISG
At our Company Christmas Party this year, we used this as the entertainment mixer. It worked really well. We had two males and two females on each of the eight character “teams” to allow all 32 people to play. No couple was allowed to be on the same team so it worked as a great mixer. Some teams had one person who played the character throughout and others that all team players took lines. Both concepts worked well to get all involved. We will definitely try this again in the future!
Jessica –
Headline Christmas presents gone on a Christmas Party!
Nickname Jessica
It was such a successful Christmas Party with playing this game . We had a lot of fun..
We got some equipment for the roles like hats, masks, wings etc. and it was a perfect way to play it like we did. We were 39 people and I put envelopes under the seats without any purposes so in total 8 as there are 8 roles for “There will might be now Christmas”. So, we started the welcome, explained and then told them to look if they have an envelope under their seats, so these persons had to play the roles and put on their equipment’s. It was also so funny as a man had the role of the fairy and he had to wear wings and a face mask. It just went and we laughed so much.
Wanda –
Headline There Might Be No Christmas
Nickname Wanda
First time to do one of these and best time we have had as a family in a long time!
Cathy –
Headline There might be no christmas
Nickname Cathy
Played this on Christmas Eve. Exactly 8 if us, so it was perfect. I went to the Dollar store and purchased Costumes to wear to get all participants “into character”. Very easy to follow the script for each character. We all had a great time.
Christie –
Headline FUN AND LAUGHS
Nickname Christie
Family get together, we had lots of fun and everyone got into character. It was nice because it was not too long and just enough to keep our attention and we had time to get to church service.
It was great to include our teenagers.
Jean –
Headline There Might be No Christmas
Nickname Jean
This was a family get together that included both adults and children. First time mystery party for all but two, but after the first round even the kids got into role playing their part. All had a good time and can’t wait to do another.
Jennie –
Headline Church Christmas Party
Nickname Jennie
I was put in charge of the church Christmas party and wanted to do a mystery dinner (but not a murder mystery, because I didn’t want to scare any children). This worked out perfectly! Instead of passing out multiple packages to each table I recruited 8 "actors" from the church congregation to be each of the suspects and narrated myself in front of everyone (making everyone else investigators). I put the clues on each table in envelopes, so they could open them after I shared what we found to make it a little easier to retain the information and so they could review it after the round. The actors looked at their lines beforehand, but still did not know who the culprit was. We spaced out the mystery over the course of the evening – so at the beginning, I announced someone stole Santa’s sac of toys and we needed everyone’s help to figure out who. Once dinner started I announced the suspects, why each one was on the list, and went through round 1. After most people were through the food line, I announced that we found a clue and did round 2. After another 15 minutes or so announced we found another clue and did round 3. I allowed 15 minutes or so for people to make their guesses, and then shared the more funny guesses along with the correct answer with everyone. It was a lot of fun and I think people enjoyed doing something a little different.