The Last Countdown: New Year's Eve Murder Mystery Party Game
A cozy printable murder mystery for 6–16 players, timed so the reveal ends right before the midnight countdown. The reveal finishes at 11:59 pm, then everyone counts down together. From Clue & Candle Games, the party-games imprint of Hustle Studio.
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⭐ Satisfaction guarantee. If the game didn't suit your group, or your party didn't go the way you hoped, tell us within 14 days and you get your money back.
📥 Instant digital download. Nothing is shipped, and there's no subscription.
Try before you buy: free mini mystery
The Case of the Cold Cocoa is a free 10-page printable mystery for 4–6 players (about 45 minutes) from the same team, in the same style: core and optional suspects, host scripts, evidence cards, ballots and a solution with its full clue chain. No email or signup needed. Play it first and judge our writing and fairness before you spend anything.
6–16 players instead of 4–6, with 12 separate 4-page character booklets
A 16-page Host Guide with two minute-by-minute timetables (Midnight Edition and Family Early Countdown)
12 evidence cards over 3 rounds, plus a 6-step clue chain in a sealed solution file
Invitations, 13 phone E-Invites, an offline Invitation Maker, name tags, awards, table signs and a countdown clock prop
Every file in both US Letter and A4
Why hosts like it
Ends at midnight: two minute-by-minute timetables. Midnight Edition 9:00 pm–12:00 am (180 minutes, reveal 11:45, countdown 11:59) and Family Early Countdown 6:30–9:00 pm.
12 separate character booklets (4 pages each): page 1 shows only public details, and each round is read only when the Detective calls it.
6–16 players at one price: six core characters plus six optional ones, a Deputy Detective and pairing plan for 13–16. All roles gender-neutral.
Spoiler-safe printing: the answer lives in its own sealed file (99). No other file names the guilty party.
US Letter and A4, black-and-white friendly, plus 13 phone E-Invites and an offline Invitation Maker.
Flip through the kit (video)
Look inside: real pages
Every picture below shows real pages from the PDFs. Nothing shown here gives away the answer.
What's inside: real thumbnails incl. the countdown clock, evidence card backs, ballots and the Best Detective awardBooklet page 1 (Avery Vale): public details onlyEvidence cards, Round 1 (E1–E4)Host Guide p.7: the Midnight Edition timetableName tags, page 1Start Here + Host Guide covers
The story
Ring in the New Year with a mystery. At the Pendleworth Countdown Gala in the little town of Larkhaven, Master Clockmaker Ellis Pendleworth was about to announce who inherits the keys to Old Lark, the town clock. The announcement never happened. A blue mug of cocoa, a mantel clock stopped at 9:42 and twelve guests with something to hide: your friends have until midnight to work out who did it.
The Last Countdown is a printable party game built around one promise: it finishes on time. The Host Guide includes a Midnight Edition timetable (9:00 pm to 12:00 am, every segment adding up to 180 minutes) with the reveal at 11:45 and the countdown at 11:59, plus a Family Early Countdown (6:30 to 9:00 pm) for kids, teens and early nights. Three Chime Cards and a cut-out countdown clock keep the rounds moving, and each timetable has a "starting late?" plan.
You play Detective Rowan Hale, so you can host and play at the same time. Each guest gets their own 4-page booklet: a public cover, a secret page, Rounds 1–2, and Round 3 with notes. Each round gives three things to share, two questions to ask named suspects and one small task, so quiet guests always have something to do. Twelve evidence cards arrive four per round, marked with stars so they work in black and white.
The solution is fair: a six-step clue chain where every step is backed by an evidence card or a booklet line, plus a table explaining why each of the other eleven suspects is cleared. It sits in its own file, so you never see it while printing.
It is a cozy mystery: no gore, and no drinking needed. Drinks in the story are punch, sparkling cider and cocoa.
What's in each character booklet
Every booklet is 4 pages: page 1 the public cover (name, role, costume idea, what everyone knows about you); page 2 "Before the game", your secret, read before guests arrive; page 3 Rounds 1–2; page 4 Round 3 plus suspect notes and your theories. Each round gives three things to share, two questions for named suspects and one small task.
What you get: 63 files
48 PDFs (the same 24 in US Letter and in A4), 13 phone E-Invites (PNG), 1 Invitation-Maker.html and 1 ZIP that holds everything. After purchase every file can also be downloaded on its own from your download page.
Anyone wanting a printed, boxed or shipped game: this is a digital download only
Fans of gory or adults-only murder mysteries
FAQ
How many players? 6 to 16, plus the host as Detective. Six core characters are always used; optional characters, a Deputy Detective and pairs cover the rest.
How long does it take? The Midnight Edition runs 9:00 pm to 12:00 am. The Family Early Countdown runs 6:30 to 9:00 pm.
Can the host play? Yes. You play Detective Rowan Hale and only open the solution at the reveal.
Do I need a colour printer? No. Every page is designed to print clearly in black and white.
What if someone cancels? Optional characters (16–21) can be removed without changing the solution; the Host Guide shows how.
Are there reviews? Not yet. Clue & Candle Games is a new brand, and we won't invent any. That's why this page shows real pages, offers the free mini mystery to try first, and backs every purchase with a 14-day no-questions refund.
How does checkout and refunding work? This isn't Etsy. Checkout is run by Waffo Pancake, the merchant of record: it takes the payment, handles applicable sales tax/VAT and emails your receipt. To get a refund, email chenphien@gmail.com within 14 days with your order email; the refund goes back to your original payment method. We reply within 2 business days.
How was it made? The story and clues were written with AI assistance, then edited and fairness-checked by us: every step of the solution is backed by an evidence card or a booklet line. All names, places and events are fictional. Personal-use licence: print as many copies as you need for your own parties.
🔒 Secure checkout by Waffo Pancake (merchant of record). Instant download. 14-day no-questions refund and satisfaction guarantee. Digital download only; nothing is shipped.
