Name: Is Santa Slayed?
SKU: santa
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.00 (17 reviews)

Story and Characters for this Christmas Murder Mystery Game

Attempted murder has struck the North Pole. Our famous Mr Claus has been poisoned with a mysterious sleeping potion.

Unexplained acts of vandalism have happened. Santa's sleigh has been damaged, the toys in the toy workshop have disappeared, the Naughty and Nice Lists have become jumbled and spies from the rival South Pole PLC have been spotted.

Jolly old Mr Claus called a North Pole Crisis Meeting to discuss these terrible issues.

On the day of this meeting, he fell into a magical sleep.

Is Santa Slayed? Or will YOU save him and let Christmas happen again?

Instant download gives you a Christmas Murder Mystery Party that is challenging for adults and also suitable for families. Magic abounds, intrigue is afoot and it is up to YOU to solve the murder mystery so Santa can survive and Christmas may yet happen.

Our Version of the North Pole

In our game, kindly Saint Nick was entrusted by The Guardians of the Earth to deliver presents to good children, using his magical sleigh and team of flying reindeer.

He is married to Mrs Claus, a former New York model and has a niece or nephew called Jinxy. (Larger party versions also have an extra niece or nephew called Merry).

The magical North Pole community includes a team of elves who make presents in the toy workshop. There is a magician and apprentice magician whose job it is to use magic to help Santa's operations.

And then there is the terrifying talking polar bear - Bear's ancestors were given the gift of speech by Mr Claus and have repaid this gift by running Claws for Claus Security, maintaining the Invisibility Field around Santa's North Pole operations.

Then of course, there are the reindeer, another animal whose ancestors were given the gift of speech by the generosity of St Nicholas.

And finally, in an unashamed steal from Charles Dickens' "The Christmas Carol", there is Grouchy Scrooge, the hated Head of North Pole Productivity and Accountability.

With such a mix of characters, what can possibly go wrong? ...

This Christmas murder mystery party game has a festive mix of traditional characters, with Mrs Claus, Jinxy Claus, elves and reindeer

and

others you - might - find in a wonderful magical kingdom such as that found at our version of the North Pole!

Polite notes: please check how many wish to play BEFORE purchase. The two optional/minor characters are fully integrated and are suspects but have slightly smaller roles.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party Game: 6 - 8 Players

Gender of 6 essential players: 1 female, 5 neutrals
Gender of 2 optional (minor) players: 2 neutrals
Number of suspects: 6-8

Essential Female Suspect

Mrs Claus – Santa's glamorous wife is a former New York model and a terrible cook, even though she is Head of North Pole Catering!
Darling, I love my wonderful husband soo much.

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Magician Tinsel – in charge of The North Pole Magical Services and claims to be the inventor of the Christmas Eve Sleeping Potion. NOT the expert magician that some would wish for.
Waves wand when annoyed: I'll turn you into a toad!

Grouchy Scrooge – Head of North Pole Productivity and Accountability; miserly, anti-fun, anti-Christmas and hated by all.
Baaaah fun! Baaaah inefficiency! Baaaah Christmas! Wretched children.

Jinxy Claus – Santa's mischievous niece / nephew, in charge of the Santa Express train and wanting to modernise North Pole operations.
Loves telling bad jokes. Oho! Oho! Oho!

Elfie – Head Elf in charge of the North Pole Toy Workshop for over 300 years; hates modern technology and wants every toy made absolutely perfectly by hand.
I’ve been running this workshop for over 300 years, thanking you kindly.

Bear – Polar Bear heading the "Claws for Claus" North Pole Security team; maintains The North Pole Invisibility Field to protect Santa's operations.
Threatens with claws when annoyed: Say that again and I'll eat you - I'm feeling rather hungry right now!

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Deerie Deer – Rights for Reindeer representative; assists Bear with North Pole Security
Reindeer demand our rights! I'll have you know ...

Holly – Tinsel's magician apprentice; the brains behind the scenes and annoyingly conceited.
As the cleverest apprentice the North Pole has ever seen, I will TRY to stop Magician Tinsel making so many mistakes …

Murder Mystery Party Game: 8 - 10 Players

Gender of 8 essential players: 1 female, 7 neutrals
Gender of 2 optional (minor) players: 2 neutrals
Number of suspects: 8-10

Essential Female Suspect

Mrs Claus – Santa's glamorous wife is a former New York model and a terrible cook, even though she is Head of North Pole Catering!
Darling, I love my wonderful husband soo much.

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Grouchy Scrooge – Head of North Pole Productivity and Accountability; miserly, anti-fun, anti-Christmas and hated by all.
Baaaah fun! Baaaah inefficiency! Baaaah Christmas! Wretched children.

Jinxy Claus – Santa's mischievous niece / nephew, in charge of the Santa Express train and wanting to modernise North Pole operations.
Loves telling bad jokes. Oho! Oho! Oho!

Merry Claus – Santa's niece / nephew and cousin of Jinxy; assists Jinxy in running the Santa Express train and wanting to modernise North Pole operations.
Like Jinxy, loves telling bad jokes. Ho-Oh! Ho-Oh! Ho-Oh!

Deerie Deer – Rights for Reindeer representative; assists Bear with North Pole Security
Reindeer demand our rights! I'll have you know ...

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Chaser – Deerie Deer's militant trainee and the Reindeer Sparring Champion; assists Bear and Deerie Deer with North Pole Security; enthusiastically threatens anyone who transgresses!
My antlers are nice and sharp ...

Optional (minor) characters have smaller parts that suspects.

Murder Mystery Party Game: 10 - 12 Players

Gender of 10 essential players: 1 female, 9 neutrals
Gender of 2 optional (minor) players: 2 neutrals
Number of suspects: 10-12

Essential Female Suspect

Mrs Claus – Santa's glamorous wife is a former New York model and a terrible cook, even though she is Head of North Pole Catering!
Darling, I love my wonderful husband soo much.

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Grouchy Scrooge – Head of North Pole Productivity and Accountability; miserly, anti-fun, anti-Christmas and hated by all.
Baaaah fun! Baaaah inefficiency! Baaaah Christmas! Wretched children.

Jangle – elf in charge of the Naughty and Nice Lists; a "young" elf who grew up in the 60s and loves hippy clothes and 60s' slang; has formed a festive band with Wrapper.
Hey, man, we're gonna have a real fab, hip, groovy number one hit, man ...

Jinxy Claus – Santa's mischievous niece / nephew, in charge of the Santa Express train and wanting to modernise North Pole operations.
Loves telling bad jokes. Oho! Oho! Oho!

Deerie Deer – Rights for Reindeer representative; assists Bear with North Pole Security
Reindeer demand our rights! I'll have you know ...

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Wrapper - Elfie's assistant; a "young" elf who grew up in the 90s and has a liking for rap and grunge; has formed a festive band with Jangle.
Yo dudes, our number one hit is gonna be fly dudes. RAD. Totally dope …

Murder Mystery Party Game: 12 - 14 Players

Gender of 12 essential players: 1 female, 11 neutrals
Gender of 2 optional (minor) players: 2 neutrals
Number of suspects: 12-14

Essential Female Suspect

Mrs Claus – Santa's glamorous wife is a former New York model and a terrible cook, even though she is Head of North Pole Catering!
Darling, I love my wonderful husband soo much.

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Grouchy Scrooge – Head of North Pole Productivity and Accountability; miserly, anti-fun, anti-Christmas and hated by all.
Baaaah fun! Baaaah inefficiency! Baaaah Christmas! Wretched children.

Jangle – in charge of the Naughty and Nice Lists; a "young" elf who grew up in the 60s and loves hippy clothes and 60s' slang; has formed a festive band with Spangle and Wrapper.
Hey, man, that's fab man ...

Spangle – cousin of Jangle and assists with the Naughty and Nice Lists; a "young" elf who grew up in the 60s and loves hippy clothes and 60s' slang; has formed a festive band with Jangle and Wrapper.
Hey, babe, we're gonna have a really hip, groovy number one hit, babe...

Jinxy Claus – Santa's mischievous niece / nephew, in charge of the Santa Express train and wanting to modernise North Pole operations.
Loves telling bad jokes. Oho! Oho! Oho!

Candy – elf in charge of the Candy Kitchen; cheerful but birdbrained.
Well helloo my little crunchy munchy pear drop, I'm Candy Cane and my little cotton candy brain thinks ...

Deerie Deer – Rights for Reindeer representative; assists Bear with North Pole Security
Reindeer demand our rights! I'll have you know ...

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Wrapper - Elfie's assistant; a "young" elf who grew up in the 90s and has a liking for rap and grunge; has formed a festive band with Jangle and Spangle.
Yo dudes, our number one hit is gonna be fly dudes. RAD. Totally dope …

Hosting Your Christmas Murder Mystery Party

It is written for adults but is family-friendly and suitable for ages 11 - 111. There are no references to affairs, sex, or drugs. For younger guests, no "Christmas secrets" are revealed. Please read below, however.

References to Eggnog

Jolly Mr Claus was drinking Eggnog on the morning he was poisoned; some other characters also like Eggnog. Eggnog can be assumed to be alcoholic or non-alcoholic as you wish.

Mild, Comic "Violence"

The level of "violence" implied in the dialogue is very light-hearted. Bear often threatens claws and threatens to eat people; Magician Tinsel and Apprentice Holly threaten to turn people into a toad.

Only Santa is 100% "Nice"

Nobody has a bad word to say about jolly old St Nick. That said, children must be old enough to cope with the central questions of this Christmas murder mystery: who poisoned Santa and will he survive? All characters have secrets and therefore none of these North Pole characters are perfect people!

Reading Ability and Concentration

If children are playing a role by themselves, they do need to be old enough to be able to read the party booklets and deliver their lines when the booklet shows it is their turn. They also need to be able to concentrate during the rounds. If someone with a low level of concentration plays an optional character, they could, if necessary, stop part-way through and the party could then continue without them.

View Sample Pre-Party Booklet

View Sample Party Booklet

How Our Murder Mysteries Work

Murder Mid-Party?: No. The victim is killed before the party begins so all players can keep the same role throughout the evening.

Host Plays a Character?: Yes.

Random murderer?: No. We carefully organize clues throughout the game so that only a particular person or persons can be guilty. We find that this gives a more satisfactory solution than whodunnit games where the killer is chosen on the night.

Format

Short optional initial mingling session – guests get to know the main themes of the evening and learn who is who while solving personal objectives.
Audio introduction is played.
Six rounds with a "flexible" script – players can substitute their own words, ad-lib, and don't know what others will say.
Optional interactive whodunnit round – many red herrings are cleared up as everyone declares their innocence and hams up their role for a final time.
Audio solution is played.

A sample set of initial mingling instructions can be seen on the last page of this Sample Pre-party Booklet.

A sample "flexible" script can be seen in this Sample Party Booklet and in the illustration below:

Example of a character's Party Booklet given for 'Is Santa Slayed?'; example shown is Holly's booklet.

Game Details

Party Themes: Christmas, Santa, North Pole

Game Setting: North Pole

Availability: instant download (pdfs + 2 audio MP3 files with a printed fallback + editable Word invitations & menus)

Essential Printing Required by host or guests (unless players use a device to read): invites, pre-party booklets and party booklets = six A4 pages per person (if double-sided) or 12 A4 pages per player (if single-sided). There are also eight pages of essential clues. We provide other optional files that players and hosts can print if they wish.

Files and Sizes:

Host Instructions zip = 1436 - 1496 KB
Pre-party zip = 4035 - 5590 KB
Party zip = 5572 - 9345 KB
Two audio MP3 files with a printed fallback (2550 - 3270 KB)
Optional zip file for decorations (17,731 KB) and menu place setting cards (5473 - 5531 KB)

Most documents are given as pdfs. The party invitations, menu cards, and Editable Food Labels are provided as Word files so that customers can edit them.

Game Time: 1.75 - 3+ hours (depends on party size and number of ad-libs); food and chatting breaks in addition

Age: adults and children 11+ (depending on reading age); fun for groups of adults - office parties and friends; family-friendly. (See Age & Sensitivities tab.)

Included With Your Murder Mystery Game Kit Purchase - All Ready for Instant Download!

Downloadable party pack for 'Is Santa Slayed?' includes low ink printing, decorations and audios

Attractive booklets and clues with low-ink requirements.

1 Comprehensive, Easy-to-Follow Host Instructions

We provide full, easy-to-follow host instructions so you can throw a festive mystery your friends will remember! In the suggested format, the host instructions are highlighted in blue.

View Host Instructions for At Home Party

View Host Instructions for Virtual Party

Host information provided for 'Is Santa Slayed?' = host instruction booklet and lots of helpful pages on decorations, food and drink, and party photos.

Example of a character's Pre-party Booklet given for 'Is Santa Slayed?'; example shown is Bear's booklet.

2 Pre-Party Information to Send to Guests

Pre-Party Character Booklets – Print or Email as You Choose. Just one fold and you have an attractive A5 booklet with borders and an easy-to-read font. The front page, a copy of North Pole News, gives easy-to-digest snippets of the mystery background.

View Sample Pre-Party Booklet

The invitation is supplied as a Word document with editable fields and a Christmassy background. The virtual version of the game also includes virtual game tips for all guests.

View Sample Invitation – In Person Parties

View Sample Invitation – Virtual Parties

3 Well-designed Party Kit

Character booklets for each player – these are suitable for both beginners and experienced crime-solvers! These neat A5 (Half Letter) booklets include the game instructions, round prompt cards, map, accusation sheet and optional interactive whodunnit round in one easy-to-print booklet for each character with a festive theme.

View Sample Party Booklet

Attractive Clues – enable evidence to be presented in bite-sized chunks. They are attractively presented with a festive background.

View Sample Clue

Award Certificates – there are certificates for the best actor, best costume and best solution; these are in a fun, festive style. Optionally, you can provide prizes as well. Splash out on a bottle of wine covered in a Kriss Kringle suit or some reindeer gingerbread. Alternatively, buy a small pack of festive ornaments and wrap up each individually for a token prize.

View Sample Award

Optional Name Tags – useful for the initial mingling.

Audio Introduction and Solution – carefully edited to be short and interesting. Two professional voiceover actors per MP3. Should you have any problems, there is a printed backup.

Example of 'Is Santa Slayed?' game kit decoration printouts and menu, place setting cards, place mats, wine labels and editable food labels. Also featured is the cute candy cane sleigh that can be assembled from the template provided.

4 Plenty of (Optional) Printouts

Turn your home into a wonderfully merry version of the North Pole with a comprehensive set of helpful printouts.

List of Game Printouts

Posters

North Pole Crisis Meeting
Rights for Reindeer
Christmas Saboteur Warning
Do Not Feed the Reindeer
Claws for Claus Security
Productivity and Accountability

Naughty or Nice List Posters

Are You Naughty or Nice?
We Promise to Be Nice
Desserts: Nice List Only
Drinks: Nice List Only

North Pole Candy Cane Signs

North Pole Sign
Mrs Claus' Kitchen
Little Elves' Room (Bathroom)
Santa's Cabin
Toy Workshop

Alternative House Signs (Different Design)

Little Elves' Room (Bathroom)
Mrs Claus' Kitchen

Arrow Printouts to Places and Events Mentioned in the Game

Claws for Claus Security
Santa Express
Elf Village
Naughty & Nice List Shed
Mrs Claus' Cafe
Reindeer Races
Productivity & Accountability Shed
Santa's Cabin
Toy Workshop

Toy Workshop Crate Labels

Teddy Bear Materials
Wood for Jigsaws
Wheels for Toys
Dolls' House Materials

Optional Dinner Table Printouts – Menus, Place Cards, Bottle Labels, Candy Cane Sleigh Place Cards

Editable menu card (supplied as a Word document) and place setting cards for each character.

Template for creating a 3D candy cane sleigh place card setting for each character. This template uses just one sheet of paper per place setting and can also be used for holding chocolates, petit fours, or small party favors.

Themed wine bottle labels for magical potions referenced in the game:

Santa’s Recovery Drink
Santa’s Energy Drink
The Night Before Christmas Sleep Drops

We Hope You Enjoyed this Murder Mystery Game and We'd Love to Hear From You!

17 reviews for Is Santa Slayed?

Rated 5 out of 5

Brigid Du Plessis (verified owner) – 28 December 2020

As usual, a lovely evening. We really enjoyed this festive mystery. It helped bring our family together when we couldn’t have our usual Christmas celebration. It is very cleverly put together, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Rated 5 out of 5

Megan (verified owner) – 22 December 2020

We had a great time with this game. This is the second mystery party I have done but the first one from Maple Mystery Games and we all had such a good time that we will be doing another for sure. The characters were fun and the theme was great for the season. We used Zoom for ours and it worked out great.
Rated 5 out of 5

Carolyn Ruffles – 16 December 2020

A fantastic, festive murder mystery. Fun characters, a highly entertaining script, lots of laughs and thoroughly recommended to get you into the Christmas spirit. A great way to spend an evening with friends or family. We all loved it.
Rated 5 out of 5

May Graham (verified owner) – 14 December 2020

We haven’t played it yet as we are doing it on Christmas night but I can highly recommend Jan and her customer service which is fantastic.
Rated 5 out of 5

Vincent – 7 December 2020

Very great! Played during a work event, everybody got into characters which made it very fun. The characters are amazing and it’s a real pleasure to discover “Is Santa Slayed” and its universe.
Rated 5 out of 5

Mark P – 30 November 2020

Wonderful entertainment. Well thought out characters and storyline. Entertaining whodunnit that’ll keep you guessing throughout. Highly recommended for a fun filled evening.
Rated 5 out of 5

Robyn – 28 November 2020

Absolutely amazing. We loved it! Really funny characters – we all really got into our characters which made it hilarious. Will definitely be doing another.

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Is Santa Slayed?

Story and Characters for this Christmas Murder Mystery Game

Our Version of the North Pole

This Christmas murder mystery party game has a festive mix of traditional characters, with Mrs Claus, Jinxy Claus, elves and reindeer

and

others you - might - find in a wonderful magical kingdom such as that found at our version of the North Pole!

Murder Mystery Dinner Party Game: 6 - 8 Players

Essential Female Suspect

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Murder Mystery Party Game: 8 - 10 Players

Essential Female Suspect

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Murder Mystery Party Game: 10 - 12 Players

Essential Female Suspect

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Murder Mystery Party Game: 12 - 14 Players

Essential Female Suspect

Essential Gender Neutral Suspects

Optional (Minor) Characters - Gender Neutral

Hosting Your Christmas Murder Mystery Party

Check Out Our Helpful Party Tips Specially Designed for Running our Mystery Game

How Our Murder Mysteries Work

Format

Game Details

Included With Your Murder Mystery Game Kit Purchase - All Ready for Instant Download!

1 Comprehensive, Easy-to-Follow Host Instructions

2 Pre-Party Information to Send to Guests

3 Well-designed Party Kit

4 Plenty of (Optional) Printouts

We Hope You Enjoyed this Murder Mystery Game and We'd Love to Hear From You!

17 reviews for Is Santa Slayed?

Keep Informed of Future Mysteries and Receive Discounts

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