Your journal becomes the case file
1 · Turn a card
The suit sends you to a part of the house. The number reveals what you found there.
2 · Build the evidence page
Write down the clue, add the matching papers and ephemera, and cross another suspect from the Register.
3 · Name the killer
After the thirteenth card, write your accusation in full. Only then do you break the seal and discover whether you were right.
This isn’t another printable you save for later
Every card leaves a page behind. By the end, you have a complete Victorian murder file in your own handwriting — a record of what you noticed, who you suspected and how you reached your accusation.
Everything in the junk journal kit
The junk journal kit prints as four PDFs. Everything is yours to keep and reprint.
61-page murder mystery
Thirteen cards, nine suspects and three possible endings.
13 printable game-component sheets
Suspect portraits, house plan, Register, quick-reference card and sealed answer.
9 ephemera sheets
Letters, notecards, wax seals, envelopes, foliage, tags and gold frames.
40 Victorian papers
Full-size 11 × 8.5-inch printable journal backgrounds.
Four print-ready PDFs · 300 DPI · US Letter · A4 compatible · Ink-saver versions included
Your accusation has consequences
You will not clear everybody. After the thirteenth card, two faces may still be looking back at you. Name the wrong person and a sixteen-year-old kitchen maid takes the blame while whoever killed Edmund sits down to breakfast.
Can you name the right person?
Christmas Eve, 1887
A large cold house, snowed in, full of people who are related to each other or paid by each other and in most cases both.
Sometime between the last carol and the clock striking one, somebody killed Edmund Ashgrove in the crimson parlour. You found him, which is why the household would quietly prefer that it was you.
The road is closed. The coroner cannot get up from town until Twelfth Night, and when he arrives there will be an inquest, and the inquest will name somebody.
It will not investigate. It will take the word of the one person who was keeping a record, which is you.
What makes this one different
Every other solo journaling game asks you to reflect. This one can be lost — not by playing badly, but by looking at two people you have written about across thirteen cards and choosing the wrong one.
The clue structure was simulated across tens of thousands of shuffled decks before a word of it was written, so a player who keeps her Register faithfully gets there about four times in five. There are no unsolvable deals and no grid to fill in.
What players and buyers say
Real customer words, with the product they refer to named plainly.
★★★★★
“Really liking this game. Very creative.”
Jennifer · on Folklore Forest, another Artful Safari game
★★★★★
“A great trigger for a fun new interactive art journal.”
Sharon · on Folklore Forest, another Artful Safari game
★★★★★
“Love the designs and quality!”
Ashlee · on another kit in the Artful Safari shop
Will this work for me?
Is this a junk journal kit or a game?
Both, and they are meant to be used together. The junk journal kit gives you the 40 Victorian papers and 9 sheets of ephemera. The mystery gives you a reason to make a page with every card, and tells you what belongs on it. If you have not played one before, this guide walks through the first seven turns.
Do I need to be artistic?
No. A page can be four handwritten lines and one pasted scrap. The mystery works whether your journal is simple or elaborate.
How long does it take?
There is no fixed length. You play at your own pace: a turn a day or a turn a week is up to you.
What do I need?
A printer, a journal, an ordinary deck of playing cards, something to write with and something to stick with.
Is it graphic or frightening?
No. The death remains off the page. There is no body, blood or graphic imagery.
Is this a physical product?
No. It is an instant digital download that you print at home. Nothing will be posted.
Can I play more than once?
Yes. Different characters and shuffled cards reveal the house in a different order.
What are the file formats?
Four high-resolution PDFs at US Letter, which print on A4 without trouble. The 40 papers are landscape 11 × 8.5 inches, so print those that way round. An ink-saver version of the game, the components and the ephemera is included with the background stripped out.
Do I need the papers and ephemera to play?
No. The game works on its own with whatever is in your drawer, and there is a standalone listing for that. This junk journal kit is for anyone who would rather have the matching Victorian Christmas papers to hand than hunt through the stash for something that fits. More in the Solo Journaling RPGs collection.