Cold Ledger Games · A family Christmas

The Christmas Letter

Name: The Christmas Letter
Brand: Cold Ledger Games
SKU: CHRISTMAS_LETTER
Price: 34.99 USD
Availability: InStock

A family tradition. A paragraph nobody admits writing.

Every Christmas Eve the family's matriarch reads her yearly letter aloud before it is mailed to two hundred people: family, old friends and the hardware store's regulars. This year's draft has a paragraph nobody admits writing. She sets it down to take a call in the study, and is found there before dessert.

8–20 playersAges 12 and up90 minutes or a full eveningThe host plays too $34.99

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The Christmas Letter cover from Cold Ledger Games

Follow the letter's drafts, the printer queue, the mailing list and who had the laptop when. Find out who wrote it.

See how the night opens

Every game starts with this intro. Play it once everyone is there, with the sound up, and the night begins. It comes with both editions: the digital room plays it, and the printable links to it.

Inside the game

The complete printable and digital galleries, each led by the selected cover film and a look inside.

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The selected Season 4 cover animation, with paper, winter light and snow.

Inside the printable edition: what arrives, actual PDF pages with all text blurred, and the family promise for ages twelve and up.

The Christmas Letter cover, a murder mystery party game from Cold Ledger Games: cream and gold type on a midnight blue ground inside a thin gold frame, above a sealed cream envelope with a red wax seal. A family tradition. A paragraph nobody admits writing. 8 to 20 players, ages 12+, 90 minutes or a full evening.

Four killers, one file. Someone rolls a die and tells the host only the number; the host prints that one and plays too. The host materials' picker page, four numbers each naming the pages to print, beside a die. Unless your own sealed card tells you that you did it, you find out at the reveal. Three stay sealed.

Four PDFs and a zip, instant download; only the host prints. The first page of each, titles showing, text blurred: Start Here, 1 page; Host Materials, 72; The 90 Minutes, 98; Evidence Pack, 14. The character packs zip: the print pack, and the twenty guides one to a file for phones.

Before the party, no homework: nobody has to read ahead, the arrival act holds the reading. The host route's setup page, then three steps: print the evidence pack and one version, picked blind; fold every page of it unread; each guest reads their own guide at the arrival, on a phone or on paper.

Made for a family: eight to twenty guests, ages 12 and up. Family Christmas Eve, set between dinner and dessert; holiday parties, a 90-minute version for a hard stop; grandparents to teens; big family gatherings, up to twenty or two tables; office holiday parties; New Year's Eve, about three hours.

How the night runs, about three hours: arrival, 30 minutes, everyone reading their own guide; the reading and the call, 8; four waves of documents, 18 to 22 minutes each, then a private hint; a table conference, 8; accusations and a private ballot, 15; then the reveal. Twenty-six minutes held in reserve.

Got a hard stop? 90 minutes, its own version of the case, nothing to read ahead. The clock: welcome and intro at 0:00, your role, on the record, three rounds of lines, documents and talk, the recap and the hint, the table conference, accusations and the vote, the reveal at 1:18, awards at 1:22.

8 to 20, three ways, drawn as tables: one room of up to twenty players and one killer; two tables, each casting 1 to 8 afresh on a different version; or, from thirteen, groups of four or five. Two tables print two different versions, so neither spoils the other. Every group sees every document.

Twenty characters: eight required, add the others in order. The twenty character pages from the print pack, fanned in two rows, each showing only its character number, every other word blurred. No player is given a pronoun, so the cast fits any table.

Your character guide, printed or texted: who you are, your objective, and your words for the record. A guide's page on paper and the same guide on a phone, its section headings showing and every word under them blurred. Characters 1 to 8 also get a sealed card at the table.

Real records, not clue cards: thirteen documents opened in four waves, and a plan of the house. The family house plan on top, its room labels blurred, over three blurred documents from the evidence pack. Shared by all four versions: nothing in the evidence pack names the killer.

Invite your guests: the game's own invitation, in the evidence pack, with blanks for when, where and the host. Join the family for The Christmas Letter, a murder-mystery evening for ages 12 and up, eight to twenty players. It asks for no acting, no costume and no reading before the night.

Set the table: a ballot with its questions blurred, the statements sheet and the worksheet blurred, and the awards, all in the evidence pack: the Sharp Eye, the Best Poker Face and the Family Diplomat, decided by applause. One award is for the best poker face.

The fine print: instant download, four PDFs and one zip, nothing ships. Start Here 1 page, Host Materials 72, The 90 Minutes 98, Evidence Pack 14, the character packs one zip. Print one version, picked blind, on US Letter, one-sided; black and white is fine. A phone each, pencils and a timer. Personal use only.

Content note: ages 12 and up. A family Christmas Eve for grandparents to teenagers, with the death off-stage. Start Here's opening line: eight to twenty players, nothing graphic, no drinking. No acting required. Nobody plays Grandma or acts her death.

Also available, from the same family: this game on phones, and the cold case behind it. The digital edition, on everyone's phones with nothing to print, and the cover of No Letter This Year, a quiet mystery for one or two, sold separately.

Inside the digital edition: what arrives, actual game frames with private fields blurred, and the family promise for ages twelve and up.

The Christmas Letter digital edition cover: a cream envelope with a red wax seal under the title on a midnight-blue card in a double gold frame, a Digital edition plate, and a phone showing the game's host page. A family tradition. A paragraph nobody admits writing. 8 to 20 players, ages 12 and up, on everyone's phones, nothing to print.

You can play too: players join free and the room does the rest. Players join with a link and buy nothing; the room picks the version and never says which; each phone keeps its own guide private; evidence at your tap; a secret vote counted by the room. Unless your own sealed card tells you it was you, you find out at the reveal.

How long it takes: about three hours, or 90 minutes with a fixed end time, chosen when you start a room. Two phones: the host page's choice of format, and a 90-minute night's clock, from the welcome to the awards, in round 1. The 90 minutes is its own version: nothing to read ahead.

One phone each: players open the link or type the code, and you cast them as they arrive. Two phones: the room's door with its QR code blurred, and the host's player list, each guest's character blurred. Characters 1 to 8 are required; 9 to 20 join in order.

Eight sealed cards: during the reading and the call each goes to its own phone at once, sealed until its player lifts the fold. Two phones: a sealed card, unopened, the name on it blurred, and another player's room screen while characters 1 to 8 read their cards. Only characters 1 to 8 get a card.

The evidence, wave by wave: thirteen documents in four waves in the evening, seven in the 90 minutes, on every phone at once. Two phones: the evidence list in wave 1, every title blurred, and the evening's START page open, its words blurred. Blurred here, so nothing is spoiled.

The secret vote: each phone casts one ballot, and the room counts them. Two phones: a player's ballot, one name ticked, and the host's tally, ten votes to four, every name blurred. Then the reveal reaches every screen at once.

Family far apart, on a video call: players join with the link from anywhere, and each phone is its own character. A laptop showing a video call of twelve people beside a player's phone, the character and the guide blurred. You run the night from one phone.

Two tables at once: sixteen or more? Start two rooms on one copy, two games, each dealt its own killer. Two phones: the host's rooms, Table one and Table two, two 90-minute rooms, and Table one's players, nine cast. Until your copy has played three versions, two open rooms never share a killer.

Actual browser game screen beside the website delivery steps: checkout, purchase email and game link.

Good to know: the same game on phones, the printable party game rebuilt for the browser. 8 to 20 players, ages 12+, characters 1 to 8 required; about three hours or 90 minutes with nothing to read ahead; four endings, three sealed for later; any modern browser, online; your order number reopens the host page; players buy nothing.

Content note: ages 12 and up. A family Christmas, grandparents to teenagers: nothing graphic, no drinking, the death off-stage. Nobody plays Grandma or acts her death; no weapon detail anywhere in the game; nobody needs to act or perform a voice; anything the case asks you to remember is written down; no food or drink is needed.

Also available, from the same archive. Prefer paper? The covers of The Christmas Letter's printable edition, this party game printed at home, and of No Letter This Year, the cold case behind it, for one or two detectives. Play either without the other: each one stands on its own.

Made for your Christmas mystery night

The host plays a character

A version is picked blind. The host follows the written prompts and discovers the answer with the guests, unless their own sealed card says otherwise.

Two complete ways to play

Choose the 90 minutes, its own version with nothing to read beforehand, or a full evening of about three hours. Role sheets and the documents arrive during the short night.

A family table

For grandparents, parents and teenagers, ages 12 and up. Nothing graphic, no drinking, and the death takes place off-stage. No costume, acting experience or extra props are required.

Choose paper or browser

Printable — $34.99

Print the selected host pages and shared materials on US Letter. Black and white is fine. The character guides also come as individual phone files. The included 90-minute version has its own role sheets, documents, hint, ballots and reveal.

Digital edition — $34.99

Open a room from the host link. Players join free on their phones, each with a private role. The room releases the documents, keeps cards private and counts the verdict. Nothing to print; no paid account for each guest.

Instant delivery after purchase. Nothing physical ships. For personal use.

Your questions, answered

How many players can play this family Christmas murder mystery?

Eight to twenty people in one game, including the host. Eight roles are required and the others join in order. The printable and digital editions each cost $34.99 at regular prices.

Can teenagers and grandparents play?

Yes: ages 12 and up, with nothing graphic, no drinking and the death off-stage. The game is written for a family Christmas table. Either edition is $34.99 at regular prices.

Can we finish in 90 minutes without reading beforehand?

Yes. The 90 minutes is its own included version: role sheets at the table, three rounds of lines and documents, a private hint and a ballot. Nobody reads anything before the night. At regular prices, it is included in the $34.99 edition.

Can the host play without knowing the answer?

Yes. The printable uses a blind picker and folded sealed ending; the digital room picks the version without showing the host. The host plays a character. Either format costs $34.99 at regular prices.

Should I buy printable or digital?

Both tell the same story. Choose printable for paper props and guides, or digital for a room on phones with nothing to print. Each is $34.99 at regular prices; players joining the digital room buy nothing.

Can I buy both Christmas mysteries together?

Yes. At regular prices, the Season 4 Bundle is $37.99 per format, rather than $41.98 bought separately. It includes this party game and No Letter This Year, the cold case for one or two.

What if I need a refund?

You can request a refund within 14 days. The printable becomes final on first download; the digital edition becomes final once the host starts their first room. A faulty file or edition is fixed or refunded. See the refund policy for the full terms.

Refund policy

The other half of Season 4

No Letter This Year is the cold case for one or two: thirty years of family letters, and one year no letter was sent. Printable or played in your browser. Each stands alone; neither reveals the other's answer.

No Letter This Year — $6.99 Both games: the Season 4 bundle — $37.99

A family tradition. A paragraph nobody admits writing.

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