Herr Otto Brandt
Has stamped every passport twice and trusts none of them.
An overnight sleeper cut off by snow
Death on the Night Train
Eleven passengers. One carriage. Nobody got off.
The night train leaves Venice at nine and reaches Paris at seven. Somewhere past Innsbruck the snow closes the line, and a passenger in first class is found dead with the compartment door bolted from the corridor. Everyone aboard is charming, none of them are innocent, and breakfast is served at dawn.
Players10–14
Evening3 hours
HostingIntermediate
Written forAdults, 16+
The story
Death on the Night Train plays in three acts with a dinner break the script plans for. Times below assume a 7pm start; every kit includes a version for a later table.
Act I8:30 pm
Dinner in the Dining Car
Seating is assigned by ticket class, so the four compartments become four hostile tables. A missing passport is announced over the soup.
Act II9:30 pm
The Stop at Innsbruck
The train halts in the snow and the body is discovered. Each compartment receives a different piece of physical evidence and a different reason to hide it.
Act III10:45 pm
Arrival
The conductor's register is compared with the passenger manifests. The host reveals who was never on the train at all.
The cast
Six to 14 roles are written; the kit scales down by folding the smallest parts into the host. Each character arrives with a public face and a private problem.
Lady Sylvie Ashcombe
Travels with nine trunks and one very small dog.
Milos Varga
Speaks four languages and answers in a fifth.
Sister Clare
Carries medical supplies and a perfect memory for names.
Clues & evidence
Four of the nine clues
- A passenger manifest with one name written in pencil
- A dining car bill for a meal nobody ordered
- A compartment key that fits two doors
- A telegram from Paris delivered before departure
Props unique to this kit
- A railway timetable with one stop circled twice
- A doctor's note written on hotel letterhead
- A trunk label from a ship that never sailed