Office holiday party · Up to 40 players
The office holiday party game that runs itself.
Your team gets a 1978 small-town murder to solve: a poisoned cocoa mug, a missing bank envelope, and a committee full of people with something to hide. You get a game that runs from one browser tab, with no facilitator and no hours of prep.
Get the Office / Team edition$59The Dahl Files are fiction. Written with AI and tested for a single fair solution.
Built for work
Everything an office party needs, nothing it doesn’t.
Up to 40 players
8 core roles and 12 witness roles, then pairs and Junior Deputies, who run the evidence board. Quiet people get one clear line to say and a mission.
About 75 minutes
Including setup. It fits a long lunch or a late-afternoon party slot.
Remote and hybrid ready
Share the console in Zoom, Teams or Meet, email cards beforehand, and use breakout rooms. The Host Guide tells you how.
HR-friendly
No alcohol, no romance, no religion, nothing graphic and no costumes required. A content note lists every theme up front.
Nobody plays their own boss
The Host Guide has casting tips for work groups, so roles don’t follow real reporting lines.
A receipt for expenses
Payhip emails a receipt with every order, and you can generate a PDF invoice with your company’s details.
How it runs
Paste in the guest list. Press play.
- A few days before: type or paste your team’s names. The console casts the roles and makes a card file for each person to open in any browser.
- On the day: put the console on the big screen or share it in your call. It reads out the script, runs the timers and puts the evidence up, round by round.
- The finale: everyone accuses someone. Count the votes, reveal the killer one proof at a time, and hand out the awards.
Whoever hosts can play too. The console hides every role from them, including the killer.
Content note for HR
Know exactly what’s in it.
- No alcohol (it’s cocoa), no romance, no religion, nothing graphic
- No costumes required, and characters work for any gender
- The death happens offstage
Themes to know about: a poisoning that happens offstage, money taken from a charity fund, and workplace-style rivalries (a passed-over successor, a dropped supplier, budget cuts). The Host Guide lists every theme in full, so you can decide before you buy.
What’s included
The Host Console, a Host Guide with a remote-play section and the HR content note, the Evidence Pack, ballots, name tags, awards, and Detective’s Cards that give every player a free 10-minute mystery to take home.
Questions
Do we need a facilitator?
No. Whoever opens the console runs it. Each step has a script to read aloud, a timer and host notes, and the host can play along without knowing who did it.
How long does it take?
About 75 minutes, including setup. It fits a long lunch or a late-afternoon party slot.
Will it work for a remote or hybrid team?
Yes. Share the console in Zoom, Teams or Meet, email each player their card beforehand, and use breakout rooms of 4–6 people for each round. Votes go to the host in a private chat message.
Is it appropriate for work?
No alcohol, no romance, no religion, nothing graphic and no costumes required. The Host Guide includes a content note listing every theme, plus casting tips so nobody plays their own boss.
What about people who don’t like performing?
Witness roles and Junior Deputies have one clear thing to say and a small mission. The talkative people get the core roles.
Can I expense it?
Yes. Payhip emails a receipt with every order, and from that email you can generate a PDF invoice with your company’s name and address.
Do we need 40 people?
No. It works from 8 players up to 40. Smaller groups still get every clue, because witness statements nobody is playing appear on screen.
Give your team a case to crack.
$59 One license for your workplace, up to 40 players. Instant download.
Get the Office / Team edition$59The Dahl Files are fiction. Written with AI and tested for a single fair solution.