Who Kidnapped Santa | Virtual mystery
A non-murder Christmas themed mystery game formatted for virtual (or home) play for 6-10 players, ages 9 and up - and even younger ones can play along with help. Great for families!
Kid-friendly solution to the game, so no worries on ruining the magic of Christmas.
Play on Zoom, Google Hangout, or any video chat platform. There is a 6 player expansion pack available (purchased separately) with a spectator file to cover up to 100+ non-suspect players. This game takes about two hours to play. Instantly downloadable upon purchase - no waiting, no shipping fees, as there is nothing that must be shipped - you get everything you need to play instantly. The game can be played in two ways - at home with a group or via a video-chat service of your choice.
Helpful Links:
- Host character list
- Free, printable invitation
- 6 character, Expansion pack
- Murder Mystery Prop Emporium
- Direct your guests here - the corresponding pre-game site at Your Mystery Party
Mystery Synopsis:
The North Pole has entered a state of chaos and turmoil. It's two days before Christmas and Santa Claus has been kidnapped! The Chief Operations Officer of Santa's Workshop has called an urgent meeting at Santa's Cottage to investigate what happened and to put a search party together to find Santa Claus. Since he disappeared earlier this afternoon, the Christmas spirit has drastically diminished around the world. Hosts are canceling holiday parties, cities are denying permits for parades, prices in retail stores are skyrocketing, Christmas trees are browning without explanation, and children are flipping over to the Naughty List at record-breaking rates.
If this continues, nobody will even care about Christmas by the time it gets here! You are a resident of the North Pole and might have information on Santa’s disappearance. You will attend this meeting with bells on. This is where your story begins.
You Will Receive:
- Host instruction file - including bonus games, player instructions, and a timeline sheet (abbreviated instructions) for your event. Menu suggestions are included with home party instructions.
- 10 character packets (PDF files) to send to your players in advance of the party. They include instructions, a character bio, and three rounds of game play (optional pre-game, round one materials, round two materials). These have scripted dialogue, clues for sharing, and points for discussion.
- Solution keys for the game and game challenge - host can easily play along without spoiling the game.
- Editable text field player contact sheet for pre-game.
- Three videos by Noel Holly, the COO of Santa's Workshop, to play to start the game, start round two, and give the solution. May be downloaded from your account or streamed from YouTube or streamed from Vimeo. We also give you a password-protected website with the videos.
- Optional alternate ending file to cap off the story-lines after the game.
- Free invitation (optional to use).
- Free pre-game website (optional, but suggested).
- Host character list for 4 required players - optional to view. If you are playing with 6+ - you won't download this file.
If you wish to host this (or any other) game for profit, in public, &/or as a benefit to your business/organization or brand - you will need a commercial license - click here.
- Minimum age:
- 10 and up for difficulty. If you have smaller children play along, that would be fine with someone to assist them.
- Difficulty rating:
- Straightforward, 3/10
- Gender of character roles:
- All characters are gender flexible.
- Number of players in the main game:
- 6-10 (can be played with 4-5, but you'll need to have the packets available for the missing required players.)
- Expandable or expansion pack?:
- There is a 6 unique (non-suspect) expansion pack. And, you can have additional spectators play along. The spectator file comes with the expansion pack purchase.
- Date of publication:
- December 2020
Reviews
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Fun with the family
We played this with my extended remote family. Had a good time. Definitely recommend any younger players play on a team with an adult.
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Santa saved New Years
Having realised that our usual sociable New Year wouldn’t be taking place, we decided we needed to do something to sustain our family of 4 (incl 13 and 9 year olds) through until midnight. This was the perfect thing. We decided to keep to us 4, rather than Zoom with friends. V easy to organise, none of us needed to know the kidnapper in advance, so all could enjoy the game. This is the 2nd time we’ve used my mystery party: 1st for a birthday party with 10 kids. They’re brilliant: we’ll use them again! Thank you.
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Family Fun
I was surprised how well our family members got into character and how well some of them matched up! We had fun but it was too long for us to finish during the time we had allowed. Also - I should have made name tags as they had a hard time remembering who was which character.
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Who kidnapped Santa !!
Was used as a work Christmas party event. With Covid no face to face so had our Christmas party via zoom. We had a blast. Everyone came dressed and had virtual backgrounds that matched their character. Example Pinky Gumdrop background was an actual egg nog factory! Works amazing when everyone is committed to the character. We had one person who wasn’t completely on board but quickly joined in when he saw how much fun everyone was having. Great event for the price, well thought out and easy to follow as the host and/or guest. Just know as host you need to have some prep time at least a couple days before the event. And if you can give your guests at least a week notice, will allow them to prep a costume.
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Staff Party Fun!
Got this for a virtual staff Christmas party and we had a blast!
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Great Fun
I hosted a game last week with 10 people, it was such fun, age ranges from 8 to 75, worked perfectly on Zoom, highly recommend
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Fun Virtual Christmas Party Idea!
Our Girl Scout Troop, ages 11-12, played this virtual mystery party in lieu of our normal Christmas Party festivities. The girls really got into their characters and even dressed the part! It took us two hours to play and we met on Zoom. Everything ran smoothly and is very well planned out. The videos were a great addition, and I would highly recommend this virtual mystery party option!