Chaos & Confetti

There’s been a Murder on the Ornament Express!  Flakey the Snowman has been turned into a puddle, but this was no accident.  Who can be behind this Christmas time Christmas crime?

Players need to sift through the gathered evidence and explore six different train cars to piece together the answers to this mystery.  When all is said and done, players need to be ablet o name who did it, their motives, and how they committed the crime.  With six suspects to consider, players will need to be sharp as an icicle to crack this case. 

Everything players need to play Murder on the Ornament Express is included physically except for the hint system and the final answer submission portal.

Murder on the Ornament Express is advertised for 1-4 players. Despite the use of the word “murder” in the title, the actual content of the game is very family friendly.  The game is designed to take 30 -60 minutes.  As a duo, we finished the game in a little under an hour. 

OUR THOUGHTS:

Puzzles: Holiday themed puzzles for sharp eyed sleuths

Murder on the Ornament Express is a challenge built for those who care about the small details.  The game packs a lot into just a few physical components.  Each postcard, representing a different section of the train, has several clues worth finding.  Using the provided evidence sheet, witness statements, and what players discover on the train themselves, they’ll be able to decide quite a bit of information about each character and ultimately what happened to Flakey the Snowman.

The game also makes sure to include several puzzles that go beyond simple deduction.  Here players will need to put on their thinking caps to figure out exactly how to decipher and piece together the clues they’ve been given.  What secret messages await for the strongest minds?

We would rate Murder on the Ornament Express as a medium difficulty level.  None of the puzzles are too easy, but everything did feel very solvable with some thought.  The real key here is to pay close attention to every detail.

Also, the entire Murder on the Ornament Express is able to be passed along without needing to destroy any components or elements.

Narrative: A lot of holiday magic and story in a small package

Any game experience that begins with us actually getting to sing the premise/introduction is a big plus.  It’s a fantastic way to highlight the holiday theming and set the playful tone of the actual mystery that lay ahead.

Murder on the Ornament Express pulls from classic and slightly-adjacent-to-classic Christmas tales and traditions to create their world.  From the holiday themed train to the cast of characters that include Santa, Rudolph, and a living Christmas tree,  this game has no problem fitting in with the end of year festivities.  

Despite the game consisting of only six postcards, an evidence sheet, and a song sheet, Murder on the Ornament Express is able to squeeze in a lot of narrative.  A lot of the story will have to be deduced through clues, but it’s definitely there for those willing to search it out.  Big props to the art design on this one.

Overall Fun: A light adventure that is perfect for the Christmas season  

Overall, we enjoyed Murder on the Ornament Express.  It’s a perfect puzzling choice for the holiday season, but in terms of theming and length during this busy season.  We never hit any frustration points in our puzzle solving escapades, but were able to put in enough effort that we felt satisfied and proud of our eventual success with the mystery. 

The art work is great and the humor is also very well done.  We appreciated the more lighthearted tone of this Christmas game, and how it did feel appropriate to potentially share with a younger audience.  Even the “murder” victim Flakey is promised to come back next year.  

This is a compact puzzling experience, so that makes this great for travel or gifting.

WRAP UP:

Puzzles: Holiday themed puzzles for sharp eyed sleuths

Narrative:  A lot of holiday magic and story in a small package

Overall Fun: A light adventure that is perfect for the Christmas season 

Recommended for: 

We recommend Murder on the Ornament Express to those who love holiday-theming, enjoy compact puzzle experiences, are looking for a challenge that isn’t too difficulty, or especially like using clues for deductive puzzles.

Review – Murder on the Ornament Express

Website Link – https://www.solveourshirts.com/product/express

Price –  $18.00 (currently can save $3 with code EXPRESS)

Disclaimer: we purchased the game with our own money, this review is not sponsored. All thoughts are our own.