Cold Ledger Games has two mysteries set at the same lake house, ten winters apart. Accident, Drink Involved is a cold case for one or two players. The Tenth Winter is a murder mystery party game for 8 to 20. From today, Tuesday, October 20, they come together in one purchase, the Season 2 bundle, printable or as both digital editions.
Each is a complete game, and they are meant to be played in an order. This is the order, the reason for it, and how to plan the two evenings.
What are the two games?
Accident, Drink Involved is a true-crime podcast's research file. Ten winters ago, a young distillery threw its first year-end party at its founder's lake house, and after midnight its co-founder went through the ice of the frozen lake. The ruling: accident, drink involved. The Cold Ledger has released what it gathered, seventeen documents, among them sheriff's records and an insurer's claim file, and you commit to four answers before the sealed solution opens. Hints open one tier at a time when you are stuck. One or two players, about 60 to 90 minutes.
The Tenth Winter is set ten winters on, when the distillery throws its tenth party in the same house on the same lake. The founder has promised the room an announcement at the toast, and she never finishes it. Every guest plays a character. Four complete sealed versions ship in the game, each with a different killer, and one is picked blind, so the host takes a character too. The evening runs about three hours, or 90 minutes if every player reads their character and the shared evidence ahead of time.
Why play the cold case first?
The rule is short, and it is the one in The Tenth Winter's START HERE: the party can be played on its own, and if you will play both, play the case file first, because the party talks about that night.
The party is set ten winters after the death the file reopens, in the same house. The podcast's two-part episode about the first party is halfway out, and its researcher has been in touch with the people from that night. Whoever has played the file arrives knowing the night the room keeps coming back to. Why Tonight?, our article on what a reopened cold case gives a party, covers how the two deaths are set up to ask different questions.
Who needs to play the file?
Not everyone. The file is for one or two people, and the party is for 8 to 20. A plan that fits most groups: the host, alone or with a partner, plays the file on a quiet evening before the party, and the guests come to The Tenth Winter as their characters. If a guest has played it too, all the better.
The file also works as its own evening. How to Host a Detective Date Night at Home covers splitting the reading between two people, when to open a hint, and committing your answers in writing before the solution.
How far apart should the two evenings be?
As far apart as suits you. The file is one evening, and two sittings work fine. The party needs more lead time: each player gets their character ahead of time, and setup takes 30 to 40 minutes on the night.
For a party on Halloween, Saturday, October 31, send the invitations now and have each player's character out by Thursday, October 29; the file fits any evening before the party. How to Plan a Murder Mystery Party in Two Weeks counts the dates back from the party.
Printable or digital?
The bundle comes two ways at the same price, with the same two games either way.
The printable bundle is both games' files, each on its own download page: Accident, Drink Involved as four PDFs with the sealed solution behind a warning page, and The Tenth Winter as four PDFs and a ZIP of the twenty character guides, the casting sheet and the shared evidence. US Letter, one-sided, and black and white is fine.
The digital bundle is both digital editions, with nothing to print. The cold case opens in your browser, and two players share one copy on a link. The Tenth Winter runs as a room on your players' phones, in one room or on a video call (our remote-team guide covers the call). Your players never buy anything.
Accident, Drink Involved: A Cold Case for One or Two and The Tenth Winter: What You Get and How the Party Runs go through each game in detail.
What does the bundle cost?
The Season 2 bundle is $37.99 either way, against $41.98 for the two games bought separately at regular prices, and $30.39 in the Halloween sale through October 31. Each game is also sold on its own: Accident, Drink Involved and The Tenth Winter. Every Cold Ledger game is also in the Cold Ledger Games shop on Etsy.
The first pair works the same way
Season 1 is a cold case and its party game too: The Orpheum File, for one or two, and The Hundredth Episode, for 8 to 20, set in the same old theater fifteen years apart, in the Season 1 bundle. To try the style first, The 90-Second Case is free: one screen, four exhibits, three statements and one lie.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to play Accident, Drink Involved before The Tenth Winter?
No. The Tenth Winter can be played on its own. If you will play both, play the case file first, because the party talks about that night.
How many players does each game take?
Accident, Drink Involved is for one or two players. The Tenth Winter is for 8 to 20: characters 1 to 8 are required, and 9 to 20 join in number order.
How long does each one take?
The cold case takes about 60 to 90 minutes, and two sittings work fine. The party runs about three hours, or 90 minutes if every player reads their character and the shared evidence ahead of time.
What is in the Season 2 bundle?
Both games, as a printable bundle or as both digital editions. The printable gives each game's files on its own download page; the digital opens the cold case in your browser and The Tenth Winter as a room on your players' phones.
Can the host play The Tenth Winter too?
Yes. Four complete sealed versions ship and one is picked blind, so the host plays a character and, unless their own sealed card says they did it when the round starts, learns the answer at the reveal with everyone else.
What ages are they for?
Both are for ages 16 and up, with no gore and no sexual assault.
Play both nights
The cold case for one or two, then the party for 8 to 20. Printable or on everyone's phones.
The Season 2 bundle Accident, Drink Involved The Tenth Winter