Printable Cold Case Files

Unsolved murder mystery games in a box of documents. Read the evidence, test your theory and name the killer. Most files use three sealed envelopes; some come with a separate solution.

Good to know: The MurderMysteryTime subscription includes only the online games in the Cases section. Printable PDFs are not included and are sold separately. See the online membership.

The Blind Count: printable cold case file PDF cover$9.99
Cascadia Mercy Medical Center, Seattle · November 2017

The Blind Count

1–6 players2–3 hours24 documentsSeparate solution file

A nurse goes upstairs to a closed hospital wing in the middle of the night and never comes back down. By morning, six people have a story, and every one of them sounds true.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

Wolcott Court: printable cold case file PDF cover$9.99
Montbello, Denver · November 2012

Wolcott Court

1–6 players2–3 hours24 documentsSeparate solution file

A smashed patio door, a missing laptop, a quiet suburban kitchen. The police wrote “burglary gone wrong” and closed the file.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

The Owl Shift: printable cold case file PDF cover$9.99
Hollow Run Coal Co., Pennsylvania · September 1984

The Owl Shift

1–6 players2–3 hours24 documentsSeparate solution file

Deep under a Pennsylvania hill, the night crew digs coal. Up top, one man sits alone with the books.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

Tidewater Static: printable cold case file PDF cover$12.99
Pell Island, North Carolina · October 2003

Tidewater Static

1–6 players2–3 hours51 documents3 sealed envelopes

An AM radio owner stays on a barrier island to broadcast through a tropical storm and dies at her console. The sheriff blames the storm, but an ex-husband, a daughter, a morning host and a developer all had a stake in her little station.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

The Ninth Floor: printable cold case file PDF cover$12.99
Ravenwood Building, Minneapolis · January 2011

The Ninth Floor

1–6 players2–3 hours52 documents3 sealed envelopes

A managing partner goes out of a ninth-floor window into a snowstorm, and the police call it suicide. His firm calls it embezzlement, his wife has filed for divorce and an associate has just been told she will never make partner.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

The Night Desk: printable cold case file PDF cover$12.99
The Sonoran Ledger, Phoenix · July 1991

The Night Desk

1–6 players2–3 hours55 documents3 sealed envelopes

The managing editor of a family-owned Phoenix daily is found at the foot of the press-room stairs in the middle of the night, with the last edition running beside him.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

Code Blue at St. Brendan’s: printable cold case file PDF cover$12.99
St. Brendan’s Hospital, Baltimore · February 2014

Code Blue at St. Brendan’s

1–6 players2–3 hours55 documents3 sealed envelopes

The chief of cardiology at a Baltimore teaching hospital is kept in overnight after a routine heart test and dies on the ward before dawn.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

The Glass Furnace: printable cold case file PDF cover$12.99
Toledo, Ohio · August 1987

The Glass Furnace

1–6 players2–3 hours59 documents3 sealed envelopes

The owner of a riverside glass plant is found dead in his own furnace room, and the coroner blames the heat. A plant up for sale, a strike vote set for Monday and five persons of interest make that hard to believe.

Colour + Printer-Friendly editions

One-time purchase. Not part of the subscription.

How a cold case file works

Each file is a box of evidence from an old, unsolved case: police reports, interviews, phone bills, maps, logs and photos. Your team reads the documents, compares them and answers three questions in order. A sealed envelope confirms each answer before you move on, and the last envelope holds the full solution.

There are no hints and nothing is highlighted. Some documents do not matter. Every answer can be proved from at least two documents, so the case rewards careful reading and good arguments.

Who plays cold case files

They are made for adults and teens 16+: game night with friends, couples, book clubs, office team events and families with older teens. One person can play solo. A group of up to six can split the documents and argue it out around a table. Plan for two to three hours.

Print or play on a tablet

Every case comes in a Colour Edition and a Printer-Friendly Edition with light backgrounds. Print single-sided, and print the three envelopes without reading them. The Night Desk and Code Blue at St. Brendan’s come in nine languages, each sold on its own language page.

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