Eleven Decembers ago they ruled it an accident. They shouldn't have.
ABOUT THREE
A Christmas cold-case mystery for 1–2 detectives. The morning after a circle of old friends held their fifth white-elephant gift swap, the chef who brought his own plum jam to every one was found at the foot of the cellar stairs, and the circle decided long ago who came back that night. Seventeen real-feeling documents and four answers to commit to: solve it in one evening, printed at the kitchen table, or in the digital edition on your phone.
Printable: instant download, 4 PDFs, nothing to assemble · Digital edition: opens in your browser, nothing to install
Refundable within 14 days until you download the files or open the case; after that the sale is final unless something is faulty (refund policy).
"Everything you need is in these pages. Nothing is missing. Some of it is lying."
Inside the file
The printable's four PDFs and the digital edition on a phone, each led by its video.
A murder mystery you read like a detective
No scripts, no host, no trivia. You get the documents from a death eleven Decembers old: a chef at the foot of the cellar stairs the morning after a gift swap, a ruling that he went down alone at about three and fell, and a friend the circle has blamed ever since. The file contains an official answer. Your job is to check it.
Seventeen exhibits
A sheriff's file and the statements in it, the swap's rules card and group chat, the night's photographs, a watch's health record, a cab company's trip record, and a modern forensic re-examination. Every exhibit either gives you a time, contradicts a time, or places a person.
Some of it is lying
Once the doors were bolted, the seven people the report names were the only people in the house, and most of this file is their word. Cross-reference the paperwork against itself and catch the official story failing its own arithmetic.
Built for one evening
Allow 60–90 minutes; some players finish sooner. Play solo or argue it out with a partner. Graduated hints, three tiers per objective opened one at a time, mean nobody gets stuck for good.
Two ways to play, one case
The same seventeen exhibits, the same four objectives and the same sealed solution. Pick the table you play at.
Printable
Four PDFs to print at home or read on screen: the case file with its timeline worksheet, a hints booklet with one hint per page, and the sealed solution behind a warning page. Spread the exhibits across the table and argue.
- Instant download, 33 pages of US Letter
- Yours to keep and print again
- Also sold on Etsy
Digital edition
The case in your browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. Read the exhibits on paper-styled pages, fill in a worksheet that saves as you type, open hints one tier at a time, then lock in your answers and the sealed solution opens.
- Nothing to print or install
- Play together: send your link and you both work the same file
- Stop any time and pick up where you left off
What's in the printable
Four PDFs, delivered the moment you buy: a download page opens right after checkout, and the same link lands in your email.
START HERE
Spoiler-free setup: how to play, print tips, and the spoiler map that tells you what to open when.
THE CASE FILE
The seventeen exhibits, your four objectives, and a timeline worksheet that turns reading into detection.
GRADUATED HINTS
Three tiers per objective, one hint per page: you never see more than you ask for. Using hints is playing correctly.
SEALED SOLUTION
Behind a warning page. Commit your four answers in writing first, then score your solve: Juror, Investigator, Detective, or Archivist.
How it plays
Read the file
Solo, two sittings works: Exhibits A–I with the worksheet beside you, then J–Q. Two of you? Split the file into its two starting bundles, then trade. Note every time you meet.
Work the objectives
When did he really go down? Was he alone? Did he fall, carrying the swap's brass trophy down? And who was on the cellar stairs with him: was the circle right about the friend it blamed?
Commit, then open the seal
Write your four answers down, or lock them in on the digital edition. Only then open the sealed solution and find out which of you the ruling fooled.
Good to know
Content note: a death on the cellar stairs, and heavy drinking; no gore, no sexual assault.
Common questions
How many people can play About Three?
One or two. Work the case solo, or argue it out with a partner over a date night. Our guide to a cold case date night for two walks through the evening.
How long does it take?
Allow 60 to 90 minutes; some players finish sooner. Two sittings work well: Exhibits A–I with the timeline worksheet beside you, then J–Q. Playing as two? Split the file into its two starting bundles, the official account, and the night's photographs and the keeper, then trade what you found.
Do I have to print it?
No. The printable edition prints at home on US Letter, one-sided, black and white is fine, or reads entirely on screen: four files, 33 pages, no app and nothing to assemble. The digital edition needs no printing at all: it plays in your browser.
What is the digital edition?
The same case, played in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install. The worksheet saves as you type, hints open one tier at a time, and the sealed solution opens once you commit your answers. Playing with someone? Send them your link and you both work the same file.
What do you have to solve?
Four objectives: when he really went down to the cellar, whether he was alone, whether he fell carrying the swap's brass trophy, and who was on the cellar stairs with him, including whether the circle was right about the friend it blamed. Write your four answers down (the digital edition has you lock them in), then open the sealed solution and score your solve as Juror, Investigator, Detective or Archivist.
What if we get stuck?
Turn to the graduated hints: three tiers for each objective, one hint per page in the printable and one tap at a time in the digital edition, so you never see more than you ask for. Using hints is playing correctly.
What ages is it for?
Ages 16 and up. Content note: a death on the cellar stairs, and heavy drinking; no gore, no sexual assault.
Do I need to play the other cold cases first?
No. Each cold case from the same true crime podcast's research archive stands entirely on its own. If you enjoy this one, Accident, Drink Involved and The Orpheum File are the others.
Is it connected to Twenty-Two Gifts?
Yes. Twenty-Two Gifts, a murder mystery party game for 8 to 20 players, is set at the same house eleven Decembers later, on the night of the sixteenth swap. This file is the night the story starts. It can be played on its own, and the party never answers this night, but if you will play both, play the file first.
How do I get it?
Instantly. The printable: a download page opens right after checkout and the same link arrives by email, four PDFs, nothing to install. The digital edition: a page with your case link opens right after checkout, and the same link arrives by email so you can come back to it.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 14 days of buying, as long as you haven't downloaded the files or, for the digital edition, opened the case. After that the sale is final, unless something is faulty: if a file won't open, pages are missing or the case won't load, reply to your purchase email and we'll fix it or refund you. Details are in the refund policy.
TWENTY-TWO GIFTS
The party game set at the same house eleven Decembers later, on the night of the sixteenth swap: a murder mystery for 8 to 20 players, printable or played on everyone's phones. The party never answers this night, so if you'll play both, play the file first.
Also in the archive, two more cold cases from the same podcast: Accident, Drink Involved, $6.99, and The Orpheum File, $6.99.
The file is waiting.
One evening. Seventeen documents. Four answers.
Refundable within 14 days until you download the files or open the case; after that the sale is final unless something is faulty (refund policy).
Not sure yet? Try a 90-second case first, free in your browser.