Photo above is property of The Detective Society Company: The Detective Society Game: The Cursed Exhibition - Episode 2-6 Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Detective, M ystery Date Played: March 14, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: 1-4 ppl (Recommended) (Ages 14+) Time: Unlimited (Roughly takes 90 - 120 Min) Price: £30 (Individual), £27 (Monthly), £144 (Whole Season) Video above is property of The Detective Society 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 2 Following "Episode One of Cursed Exhibition " , Detective Danielle Higgins is continuing her investigation surrounding an artefact that is leaving behind a trail of bodies. She believes the key is tracking down the residence of the last thief, but it has proven to be a challenging task for the police. Are you up for the task? Inventory List for Episode 2: Episode pin QR card with hints and music links Wallet with staff card, loyalty cards, photo, and receipt "Begin your investigation" envelope Two-page resume of suspect Tram map Dating website membership letter Transport company letter Loyalty card letter Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 3 Higgins is continuing her investigation surrounding the missing artifact and while our last investigation proved fruitful, she has reached a dead end. She has come across a strange website, but is unable to figure out its strange lock. She is asking for your assistance in pouring over the new evidence left behind to see if maybe it holds the key. Care to continue down the rabbit hole? Inventory List for Episode 3: Episode pin QR card with hints and music links "Begin your investigation" envelope Introduction note from Detective Higgins Envelope with letters and photos from Scarlet Star Line Envelope from University of Greater Wellington containing a letter, dig-site information, dig-site protocols, a photo, and a news article Envelope containing graveyard map, an iron ring, family history, and note from character Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 4 Detective Higgins has been forced to take a less than lawful approach as this case turns out to be more far reaching than anticipated. She needs to find a hidden location that may contain the key to everything that has been happening. She’s tasked you with investigating the one clue she has to go on while she acts as the ground team. It’s time to start sleuthing! Inventory List for Episode 4: Episode pin QR card with hints and music links "Begin your investigation" envelope Introduction note from Detective Higgins Coroner's report Strange journal Car park map Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 5 Higgins has gotten closer to the end goal but complications are making this situation tricky. With her hands tied to the ground, she needs you to investigate more about the location to see if you can uncover its secrets! Let’s get cracking! Inventory List for Episode 5: Episode pin QR card with hints and music links "Begin your investigation" envelope Introduction note from Detective Higgins Membership card Location fragment page Electric bill Eight key slips Four photos Three map slips Map key Large map Security manual Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 6 The end is in sight! Detective Higgins has found the pieces she needs to stop this and knows what she must do. On the ground, the local police need her help with some peculiar cases that may be connected to her task. The hope is these cases will unlock the final location hidden within the city. Help her solve these cases and put an end to these tragedies once and for all! Inventory List for Episode 6: Episode pin QR card with hints and music links "Begin your investigation" envelope Introduction note from Detective Higgins Suspect list City map Four case files containing photos, incident reports, and evidence found at the crime scenes of all locations. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Episode 2 to 6 came in a same size cardboard envelope. Each envelope contains a starter envelope that is labelled, "Begin Your Investigation Here," which introduces the chapter and provides a code to access the hint site. In addition, you will find a letter from Detective Higgins which will follow up your investigation from the previous chapter and give you the task for the chapter. There will also be an email included to contact once you have solved the case. All the episodes will include a variety of documents, case files, articles, pamphlets, maps, wallets, and more that will aid your investigation. You also will receive a unique pin for each chapter which I enjoyed trying to find where the image on the pins connected in the plot. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The game play across the series follows the same structure. Detective Higgins will give you an initial task to start the chapter. These tasks involve combing through the files to track down people, locations, and pathways. This may involve examining websites, sending emails, or messaging people using online platforms, emails, SMS/Whatsapp. Once you have uncovered a name or a location, you will send an email or message to the character asking the question (usually it is Detective Higgins but, on occasion you may be working with someone else). If the answer is correct you will receive a response quickly letting you know the next steps. I really enjoyed the exploration this series provided across the adventure. As you come across websites and clues you can also find little easter eggs from previous games and humorous messages. This is the kind of game that rewards you for taking your time reading and examining everything you come across, both with catching these fun teasers and also changing certain outcomes in the game. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 This was my first full season of The Detective Society and I found the puzzling lighter but the engagement and collaborative puzzling opportunities made this an extremely enjoyable experience. This is definitely the kind of puzzling you want to do with friends and with the chapter break up, it's easy to divide up play times into smaller portions. The style of puzzling itself requires you to track patterns and follow leads. I found the balance between physical components and the online components to be really well done. It was a smooth experience to examine the websites and then comb through the piles of documents to see what could aid in my movement forward. There was one puzzle in particular that my group loved in chapter four as it followed through with some excellent tracking that was hands-on and allowed multiple people to work on it together to build engagement and teamwork. There is a bit of outside research required for a couple puzzles, but it was easy to see where that was needed and even easier to find the answers. I recommend using a proper computer for these games as you will be opening multiple tabs and most emails you receive from characters will lead to hyperlinks. I also recommend having a printer handy for chapter six or access to a good photo editing software as it will make the experience easier. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Finishing the " The Cursed Exhibition" has made me eager to get my hands on another season. The story building kept us on our toes while the puzzles kept us focused and determined to see this through. My favourite episode was episode four of the season, not just for its team building puzzling, but also for providing a fun twist I wasn't expecting. I think The Detective Society has perfected those little touches that, throughout an experience, can really make an experience because of the consideration and details that it provides. I recommend this series for groups looking to pour over work together and hunt for answers across websites. Take your time with this series and you will truly enjoy it! If you are interested in trying out their other seasons, see our review of season one and season two . Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure: We thank The Detective Society for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #SubscriptionGames #Detective #Mystery #TheDetectiveSociety #UnitedKingdom

Photo above is property of The Detective Society Company: The Detective Society Game: Family Adventures ("The Missing Potion", "Time Travel Trouble", and "The Smashed Piñata") Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: M ystery Date Played: April 8, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 adult, 2 children): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Ages 8+) Time: Unlimited Price: £22.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Family Adventures consists of 3 games: In “ The Missing Potion ”, someone has stolen Professor’s Errol invisibility potion. Can you find the potion before the culprit uses it for mischievous purposes? In “ Time Travel Trouble ”, a mystical clock that allows time travel has been stolen from the museum. Can you track down the thief and return the artefacts they have stolen through time? In “ The Smashed Piñata ”, Gavin’s piñata has been smashed before the party has even begun. Can you figure out who the smasher is and why? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Each adventure is contained in its own box, all placed inside a slipcase like a book. Each box has all the contents inside each of them as well as a starting card with a QR code. Scanning the QR code took us to a website to start the adventures. Photos above are property of The Detective Society 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The format of each adventure is similar. Scanning the QR code took us to a website with a high-quality video. Playing the video, we met someone who gave us a rundown of the mystery. From there, we were given a link that took us to a messenger app where we could communicate with the person. The story of each game was just right for the age range. None of them seemed too childish and all of them kept the attention of my kids and engaged in the game. They were humorous, fun, and light heart. The flow of the game was easy to follow as the messenger guided us on what we needed to do as well as progressed the story as we solved more puzzles. One issue we did find was that the hints were not intuitive when playing. Hints will only come up in the messenger when you input an incorrect answer. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles ranged from deduction, cryptic clues, math and more and there was a lot of tangible things to interact with. Everything was paper but all made of quality stock. These puzzles hit the nail on the head for a game aimed for 8+. They were not too easy that the kids solved them right away but not too difficult that I needed to guide the kids through all of them. My 9-year-old was happy with how many he was able to do on his own. For 3 games, it was nice that none of the puzzles seemed repetitive. Each game also had a nice final puzzle that wrapped up the story nicely. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Playing Family Adventures with my kids, we all had a phenomenal time. The characters, videos and stories were well done and a blast to interact with. The pace of the game and the difficulty of the puzzles were perfect and kept the kids involved the entire time. With the 3 of us playing, we were able to finish each of the games in about an hour. One tip we want to give is that we ended up connecting our laptop to the television, so we all did not have to crowd around the computer screen as well as it gave us plenty of space to solve the puzzles in the living room. This one is an absolute recommend for families with younger kids looking for some puzzle games to solve. Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure: We thank The Detective Society for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #Kids #Mystery #TheDetectiveSociety #UnitedKingdom

Photo above is property of The Detective Society Company: The Detective Society Game: Trouble In Folklore Falls - Episode 2 & 3 Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Detective, M ystery, Fairytales Date Played: April 27, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Recommend 90-120 Mins. per episode) Price: £80.00/ Whole season (3 Episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 In episode 2, after B.B. Wolfe is framed by the Spider, Polly reaches out to you with some new evidence on who is responsible for the dognappings as well as a plan on how to break Bea out of prison. In episode 3, after you help Polly break B.B Wolfe out of jail, both are now on the run but with Bea’s old case files in hand, can you make the right connections, finally determine who is behind all these dognappings and stop them? Video above is property of The Detective Society 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening up the Detective Society branded large envelopes, I was greeted with some envelopes with story driven labels on them. I also found a letter from the Detective society explaining the case and information to get me started. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Starting the games off, the introduction did a great job in guiding me to what websites to start off with as well as a nice immersive recap about what has happened in previous episodes. Most of the narrative required me to interact with the “radio” interface online, texting messages, calling phone numbers or checking out websites. For people outside the UK, they have an online “switchboard” set up that can be used to make calls as well as WhatsApp can be used for texting. The narratives are what brings this game to the next level. The audio clips from the calls and radio are exceptional that they completely immerse you into the story. The flow of the game was very smooth and broken up that I was never confused with what I was supposed to use and not use for the puzzles. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Though this is more of a detective game that requires connections to be made between items, there was a lot of puzzling to be had. Even once I made the connections between items and information, I found I needed to know how to solve the puzzles the game offered. The game is played mostly in a linear fashion but there were a few times it did break out non-linearly. The puzzles worked well with the story. All the puzzles were themed and fit smoothly into the story line and nothing stuck out as out of place. I really enjoyed the feedback and how the story progressed after each puzzle. Though most of the puzzles consisted mostly of paper, I was still surprised at the creativity of them. The few tangible items that were included all led to satisfying eureka moments. The hint page was well thought out too. To access it, I needed a code from the envelope as well as set up a profile on Detective Society’s Player Hub. I could then log in and find the hints for each episode. The hints were well thought out and tiered in a way that I felt guided me to the answer and still let me have a eureka moment. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Trouble in Folklore Falls" was story-driven and had many great puzzles interlaced in the experience. The realistic websites, communication and “radio transmissions” immersed me in the world of Folklore Falls that I could easily believe it was a real place. I played on my own but the puzzles and story was linear for the most part and there was enough content that it could be played by 3 people comfortably. Anyone who is a fan of detective stories, fairy tales and a solid blend of deduction and puzzles would really enjoy this game. For one of Detective Society’s shorter games, this one was still packed with so much content and well worth the play. Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure: We thank The Detective Society for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #SubscriptionGames #Detective #Mystery #Fairytales #TheDetectiveSociety #UnitedKingdom

Photo above is property of The Detective Society Company: The Detective Society Game: Murder on the Moon: Countdown to Chaos Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Sci-Fi, Murder M ystery Date Played: December 22, 2024 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Recommend 90-120 Mins. per episode) Price: $89.36/ Whole season (3 Episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Lunovos Industries has been leading the world in space exploration and currently has the first moon base established. With a crew of 12 doing research and studying the moon, they are gathering valuable data to shape the future. Unexpectedly though, you receive an urgent call telling you that a crew member has been found murdered. With the eyes of the world watching this mission, can you help solve the mystery and find the murderer before they strike again? Video above is property of The Detective Society 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, we found 3 envelopes, each labelled with the mission number. We also encounter a board game quality, incomplete map of the moon. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Before diving into “ Murder on the Moon ”, the game included a prequel titled “ Countdown to Chaos ”. This introductory game was designed for beginners, showing the basics of how Detective Society games work without explicitly explaining how to play. It started simple, with a letter and directions on where to start, and then built up from there. Once we completed it, we felt prepared to tackle the main mission. When we opened the first envelope for Murder on the Moon, we found another letter providing the game’s backstory and a QR code. Scanning it led us to a chat with the main character, Rosalie Hardy, who guided us through the game’s challenges and what we needed to accomplish. The game featured many highlights, especially the moon map we had to build and assemble. This was a puzzle in itself that we needed over the course of the game to solve other puzzles. Spanning three episodes, the story turned out to be much more intricate than we expected, drawing us in and keeping us engaged. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles required a mix of deduction and reasoning, with plenty of variety to keep us engaged. Some challenges involved assembling pieces, while others required carefully examination of items and documents to find connections. The Detective Society did an excellent job integrating the story with the puzzles, creating a seamless and immersive experience. A couple of tips we want to offer is to make sure to thoroughly review everything, especially the websites shared through the chats. They contain more information than you think. Also, make sure to keep previous envelope content within reach. You will need them throughout the game. The hint system was built into the chat and was well-designed and offered multi-tiered hints. While there were moments we wished it pointed us more directly toward the specific materials we needed to look at, overall, it worked effectively and complemented the gameplay. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The Detective Society consistently sets a high bar with their games, and we found this one was no exception. The story created a world that was bigger than we would have guessed with puzzles that seamlessly flowed with the narrative. Each puzzle was engaging and challenging without overstaying its welcome. We played with 2 people but feel this game could be played with 4 people easily as stated on the box. This game would be perfect for any armchair detective, people who love narrative or a small group looking for an all day escape experience. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned puzzler, “Murder on the Moon” is absolutely out of this world! Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank The Detective Society for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #SubscriptionGames #Detective #Mystery #Fairytales #TheDetectiveSociety #UnitedKingdom

Photos provided by 4Walls Escape Company: 4Walls Escape Country: Germany 🇩🇪 Language: English, German Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Date Played: April 4, 2021 Size of Team: Unlimited (2-6 ppl recommended) 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Both games below are browser-based games that utilize text, audio and images to present the storyline and the puzzles. With the purchase of one game code, your team can log into the game at the same time. The game is synced so if one player enters the correct code, your entire team can proceed to the next stage. Each stage provides an audio file and text translation of the audio file so you can choose whichever option best suits your needs. We played the game over Zoom so we found it hard to synchronize the audio play for our teammates so we decided to designate a reader to read the storyline out loud. It's quite easy to navigate in this game as only certain hotspots are clickable and they even have an outline around them. I probably would have preferred to not have the outlines as it felt like too much handholding and less like a do-it-yourself adventure (there's an option to deactivate the hotspots but only when playing on a computer). If you get stuck, there's a nudging hint system build into the game. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles varied in difficulty level for both games. In " The Hunt ", puzzles were more traditional with directional, Morse code, logic etc. It's the easier game out of the two and we finished in 44 minutes. You'll need to use your phone for a QR scan at some point. " Mysterious Crime" had more puzzles and some did require outside knowledge that we had to Google. One design element that I really liked was that they were able to embed Google maps into the game rather than having us open up another window. We finished this game in 1 hour and 11 minutes. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 If I had to chose a favorite between the two, I would go with " Mysterious Crime". The storyline felt more mysterious and more intriguing. The solutions might not feel connected at first to the storyline but it all came together at the end. I would suggest writing down answers for this game so you can be reminded what hasn't been used. These games are quite heavy on narrative as each puzzle is paired with a opening story. It's great that the game provided us options to either read through them or just skip and do the puzzles. If you are looking for more of traditional puzzle types that are easier in level of difficulty and less sleuthing on the internet, then I would suggest "The Hunt". But if you want more of a detective vibe, I would definitely recommend giving " Mysterious Crime" a shot . Game: The Hunt Genre: Thriller Difficulty (based on 4 players): 5/10 Time: 1 1/2 Hours (Approx. per company) Price: €11.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A new virus has caused major panic around the world. There seems to be a shortage of masks. Can you follow the clues and solve the puzzles in order to find the source for the life saving masks? Game: Mysterious Crime Genre: Detective Difficulty (based on 4 players): 6/10 Time: 2 1/2 Hours (Approx. per company) Price: €14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 There seems to be a burglary at your parent's house but nothing was taken. As you searched through the mess, you discovered a family secret. It's so intriguing that you decided to hop on a plane to chase down the truth in another continent. Will you be able to find the truth before someone else does? 𝔼𝕊ℂ𝔸ℙ𝔼𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ𝕆𝕆𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕤 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟❜𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 Kobi R. Mysterious Crime is a digital puzzle leading where you follow a story using audio. text and several riddles. This game can be played in a group but fits a single player as well. The riddles are fairly short and while they have a connecting thread, they are pretty much disjointed from one another. Although there's a backstory and you do feel it progressing, it's not really a crucial part of the game for us, a group of experienced escapers, it was pretty much jumping to the next puzzle and seeing if we missed something along the way. Overall, an ok puzzle game in the big and vast world of digital escape games. (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure: We thank 4Walls Escapes for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #4WallsEscape #MysteriouesCrime #TheHunt #Detective #Thriller #SciFi #Virus #VirtualEscapeRoom #OnlineEscapeRoom #DigitalEscapeGame

Photo above is property of 4Walls Escape Company: 4Walls Escape Game: The Heist Country: Germany 🇩🇪 Language: English, German Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Detective Date Played: June 12, 2022 Difficulty (based on 5 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended max. 5 ppl) Time: Unlimited Price: €14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The story takes place in Italy and is about the famous painting “Portrait of a Lady” by Gustav Klimt, which was stolen over 20 years ago and mysteriously reappeared not very far from the gallery it disappeared from. You and your friends were recruited to investigate who the thief is, how he managed to steal this painting from the gallery and much more! 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 "The Heist" is a point-n-click game where you and your friends enter a specific code for the whole group and when the correct answer is inputted, you get a notification and you can proceed so that everyone can continue on to the same page. You can chat with your teammates and exchange ideas, as well as share and split the work to cover different files/documents at the same time to go faster. If you are stuck, you can ask for up to 4 pre-programmed hints to help you, and also ask the solution if you need it (your mates will be aware of that too). The gameplay was pleasant and there is a nice background story with a professional narrative to get an immersive experience, which is very appreciated. The puzzles were well designed and integrated, you don’t need to have an extensive general knowledge of art culture to solve them and the use of Google isn't required. The pace of the game was smooth, the videos were of good quality and you can enjoy a bit of Italy while staying at home! Photo above is property of 4Walls Escape 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There is a good diversity regarding puzzles. There was some deduction, logic-based, and some observational puzzles. There weren't too hard, but I recommend to have a pen and paper while playing this to be able to gather information and solve them in the best way possible. Also, you can try as many answers as you want without being penalized. Photo above is property of 4Walls Escape 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 For an online digital game, "The Heist" was a lot of fun and a pretty decent game! For €15/group, the price is not very high according to me and the content is pretty high quality. We finished a little over an hour while taking our time to enjoy the game. There is a good diversity of puzzles so everyone will get a chance to bring something to the table to find solutions. (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure: We thank 4Walls Escapes for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AlexandreTang #AtHomeGames #DigitalEscapeGames #Detective #4WallsEscape #Germany

Photo above is property of Cold Case Inc. Company: Cold Case Inc. Game: The Stonewood Mystery Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Mystery, Detective Date Played: June 19, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6.5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 3-5 Hours Price: £11.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Who killed teenager Emily Williams? Cut down in her prime. She was a bright young thing... and a bit of a brat. You'd want to wring her neck but she didn't deserve this. Somebody - somebody she must have known - on that fateful Sunday night in question came to her house and strangled her to death, and that somebody is still out there. But why? The trail has gone cold, and the police - having exhausted their investigation without definitively pinning a suspect - now turn to you in the hopes of finally cracking this case. You are her last hope, her last chance at justice. But the fictional rural English town of Stonewood Meadows is a place where people go to escape the evils of the city, nothing bad could ever happen here in this idyllic little hamlet, surely? Unravel the tangled web of evidence to uncover the ugly truth underlying this simplistic facade. Was it her creepy neighbor, or her deadbeat brother, the rocky boyfriend, the manipulative best friend, or her overbearing school tutor? If you like dateline mysteries come to life then you will love "The Stonewood Mystery" . Video above is property of Cold Case Inc. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 " The Stonewood Mystery " is a digital mixed media game. To a certain extent most of the evidence can be downloaded as a pdf and viewed offline, but the audio and video components of it require that you access them online. The actual website which acts as a way to navigate the case file is easy to use, it's well organized, it has everything all laid out perfectly. It's very convenient. I actually kind of prefer this over a tabletop game because of how easy it is to use and how it lends itself to the process of organizing one's deductions and setting up a little detective battle stations, and also that it enables a greater variety of media formats other than your plain old fashion print on paper. And you will need a process because to begin with you will be sifting through a goodly amount of interesting case material, trying to separate what is essential from what is not, all the while slowly making connections between pieces and building your logical case. It's a true to life kind of detective case, filled with police reports, photos, txt logs, Facebook posts, newspaper articles, shopping receipts, interviews, and all other kinds of bits of information, each with their own unique information and significance. It's all quite realistic and natural seeming, an inspired simulation, and in many ways it's the closest thing you'll experience to playing a real detective. The story is plausible and not outlandish, it doesn't really have any crazy or fantastical disappointing leaps of logic, and by the end when it was all revealed, though I had solved the crime correctly, there were still several clever details which I had to admit they got me on, which didn't bore me in any way but tickled me to know that it had yet more clever layers. I went through several phases while playing this game: first being skeptical, feeling like I had seen this kind of thing before, then intrigued but slightly blanked as I tried to survey the mass of information, taking it all in and building my case, until at long last I was truly and completely obsessed, endlessly pacing and retreading the documents, putting in overtime as day turned to night turned to day, drinking my tenth coffee of the day and filling the ashtray, all while my wife left messages about how she was taking the kids. Which is to say that despite the fact that the format is not novel per se, nor that the mystery is more than what you might find on a Dateline Sunday night special, but despite these things this game is still worth your time because the evidence and the mystery and the puzzles at the heart of it are believable and extremely well designed. You will have fun playing it, it will wrack your brain, and by the end you will be quite satisfied with how it all finally ties together, I promise you. Photos above are property of Cold Case Inc. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 It's the little things, the subtle details, the making connecting out of all these disparate little pieces of information, the implied context, the building of a narrative, the sudden identification of a significance, the building of a great logical edifice, until the circuit invariably and undeniably leads you to one final suspect. As I mentioned, both the evidence and the puzzles are quite realistic. There are no puzzles per se, only the challenge of building a picture of what really happened through a realization of what is implicit in the evidence presented before you. You need to think like a detective, which means you need to think through the natural connection of things, place, time, image, narrative consistencies, fact from fiction. At times it will feel like you don't know, can't know, because there is no external confirmation, and that's frustrating, but it's also exciting. In the end you are still left to make a leap of faith because what really happened is never and will never be explicitly stated, but only deduced and concocted by your own head, until the end of course when you do get everything laid out for you, but not before you take your one and only shot to correctly identify the killer. Photos above are property of Cold Case Inc. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 A game that offers realistic evidence, with a plausible narrative, and which simulates actual detective work, is the hardest to create but also therefore the highest form of puzzling art. And in this case I thought overall I was seeing something of a masterpiece being painted. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, in reality it's better described as a very clever and well done mystery. But truth be told it sucked me in, and had me straining my detective powers to such a degree that art became life. A well crafted mystery challenges a player to think about the nature of their reality, to see just how every piece is interconnected, so as to make those essential connections which transform the cold dead fact of evidence to logical life. It is still simply a detective kind of reality, but a good story which forces you to play at being a kind of inductive and deductive genius like Sherlock Holmes will push you to puzzling limits of such dazzling heights that the immersion will feel like a drug. If you live for those eureka moments then I highly suggest you put your own creative powers to the test and play " The Stonewood Mystery " today! (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank Cold Case Inc. for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AndrewWoods #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #ColdCaseInc #Detective #Mystery #UK

Photo above is property of Cold Case Inc. Company: Cold Case Inc. Game: A Summer To Die For Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Mystery, Detective Date Played: June 29, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 3-5 Hours Price: $14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A Summer to Die For? She was one of the last people to see Neil in the area before he was found dead. But they had been broken up since forever, and it was actually his current girlfriend Kelsey whom he was seen arguing with in the park on the day of. Her son Cody never liked Neil much, but he was at the soccer game just down the road. And what about Max, Neil's jilted former business partner, nearby taking in a day of fishing, wasn't it about time he settled scores once and for all. And then there was the ever shady Perry, probably out selling drugs again, I hear he and Neil had a history. You could always pin it on the drifter though, Evans is known to roam these parks, and what's one more act in his long history of violence? Seems like Neil had a lot of enemies about on that fateful day. Is your head spinning yet? Everyone's a suspect in this next installment of the UK detective game series Cold Case Inc.. You have one shot to get it right, make it count. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Is the blush still on the rose, can they deliver a second time? It hasn't been that long since I played and reviewed their first case, so with that still fresh in my mind, and a little wiser and possibly more jaded, but I have to say that they got me this time, and what a pleasure it is to be got. I guessed wrong, in fact I now realize after having brute forced the right answer and gotten the full run down that I had fallen into their little trap. And for the most part, maybe minus the motive and one other detail, I must admit it was legitimate. Even before I gave my answer I was still going over my copious notes and theories, still feeling uncertain and unsatisfied about my final answer. I implore anyone doing it to really take stock, look at the details - it's always in the details, the details will set you free - and by details I mean the real minutiae of the case, and then work through the logic of the facts, do not force any conclusions, which is maybe the hardest thing not to do, and I guarantee you the truth will emerge. Although I thought I had it, they nailed me. And I went through all the layers, well at least I thought I did, and yet there was still more. Did I leave completely satisfied with the answer, maybe not, but I would still shake hands with the one who has bested me. I should also mention that they have updated the case file website, which was already very well organized and laid out, and it's really really good and makes the game and your detective work easier to organize. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 It's still a good old fashioned detective game. Classic. Nothing out of this world, but at the same time. There I was figuring it out piece by piece, trying to hold all these disparate facts together. I have already reminded you, but I will remember myself for next time to really pay attention, that they are actively trying to camouflage the most obscure and consequential details in the most mundane. And there is an immense beauty to it, that is at the essence of what real detective work is about. Sometimes it falls under its own weight, and there is a bit of jankiness to this mystery, a bit that you might roll your eyes and throw your hands up at while saying "really?" to yourself. That's always the risk, the further you push the twists the harder it is to keep the mystery together as a realistic narrative. But without the twist there is no thrill, and these games hinge on their ability to deliver ever greater intellectual challenges and with them intellectual payoffs, while sustaining the illusion of a realistic scenario that the player accepts he could have reasonably solved. To be fair, though the motive here was a bit suspect, and though one particular detail which appeared explicitly consequential turned out to be a coincidence - which is ironic because there were greater coincidences that ended up having logical resolutions, meaning their twist threw me completely off the cliff - but at the end of the day I will still admit that if we stuck purely to the facts the case does add up as they eventually lay it out. So thats on me, and now them; but ya it was a bit of a stretch. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Another solid entry. Maybe they are starting to play fast and loose in their attempt to create ever more elaborate and outlandishly layered scenarios to outfox us with. You can almost feel this sense of dueling detectives, one creating and one solving, as we try and outwit each other. Sherlock vs Moriarty type stuff. It's a fun mystery that could possibly leave you scratching your head by the end, but it will legitimately challenge you to immerse yourself in the material and work the logic of the case. By this point I've developed my own case solving procedures and methodology, which means I'm seriously hooked. Next time I will be ready! And I can see they've got a new case under development, which could be the final act in my redemption arc. Tides of Deception, mystery at sea, all aboard! (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank Cold Case Inc. for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AndrewWoods #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #ColdCaseInc #Detective #Mystery #UK

Photo above is property of Cold Case Inc. Company: Cold Case Inc. Game: The Elite Grand Enigma Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Mystery, Detective Date Played: December 13, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 4-6 Hours Price: $149.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The Elite Grand Hotel, a place where the rich and famous, the movers and the shakers of society, and the politicians and prostitutes alike, all come together to rub shoulders, and live in a beautiful world beyond the likes of me and you. It is a place of secrets, social privilege, and hedonistic desires; and when Isabella Novakova is found dead in her room, the scene becomes a forensic enigma, stratifying the many motives, methods, and opportunities of its elite inhabitants. Solve the Elite Grand Enigma, survey its shadowy figures, and figure out who killed Isabella Novakova and why. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 We are back, baby, bigger, better and more mysterious than ever. Round 3. Here we go. I really like doing these, if you can't already tell. Detective Tiger Bunny is on the case again… " The Elite Grand Enigma ". What a combination of words, it invokes an aura of inscrutable mystery, all hiding within a daunting web of conspiracy. Prepare to have your mind blown, or atleast to have it bend, as it tries to fathom what it must reckon with, behind the closed doors of aristocratic society. This time I feel the narrative has taken on new bolder dimensions, incorporating both the personal and the political, upping the narrative stakes, and approaching a plot that is ever more plausible and real, and therefore more engrossing. As with the previous games in the Cold Case Inc series, at its core it is a plot about murder, and the deduction of motive, method, and opportunity. You get a mass of multimedia evidence, which you then must sift through, making the proper connections, and drawing the proper conclusions, until your correct reasoning has reconstructed the murder and eliminated all suspects but one. You will need to take notes, it can get that involved. The setting is actually quite simple, a hotel, but the motives swirling about the suspects is quite complex, and the means and opportunity even more so. I was engrossed until the last moment, still uncertain, still reflecting, still following leeds, and still trying to justify my reasoning beyond a shadow of a doubt. This game is a masterwork of mimetic design, creating a scenario that convincingly simulates a real life murder mystery, simulating and challenging our powers of forensic deduction. Do you know how involved it is, and what ingenuity is required to create a complex yet accessible layers of evidence, replete with little logical puzzles solvable through a combination of an induction of the simple fact, in conjunction with our very own common sense reasoning and ingenuity, without giving into temptation to abstract puzzling, all within a narrative that maintains its logical consistency despite the expanding web of truths and corollaries…Its the height of the art itself. I take my hat off to the man. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 It makes you feel like a genuine, bona fide, real life detective, working the case, following the leads, making connections, and finally putting the pieces together. It is all there, everything you need to solve the case, and yet it is hidden beneath what appears to be at first a opaque surface of information, that on reflection is formed of layers that ever approach the truth, a mystery unfolding by the very power of your forensic ingenuity. Because the case is built mimetically - true to life - and rendered in a logically consistent way, it allows the player to step into the game as if it were the real world, engrossing their imagination into the real forensic mechanisms of our own social world; and that is one of its greatest virtues, and a standard upon which all works of the same genre should be measured. You will be impressed when you see it from the other side, how well the narrative holds up. The key puzzles are quite clever, and their solutions are quite the eureka moments. I should also add this: it is an almost impossible challenge for the creator to account for the diversity of ways in which players might interpret the game, and by the end I found myself with some questions, and maybe a few minor, minor, inconsistencies, unresolved points, and corollaries which i didn't think were quite answered. That's one of the great things with these creations, they have a life of their own. The formula has been perfected here, it's just a matter of pushing it to the ideal. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The man has outdone himself again. I can confidently say that this is the best case yet. It has all the charms and mystery of the other ones, while enlarging the scope and ambition of the production. This is a thick mystery, and a many layered cake, for you to savor and enjoy working through. If you're a fan of the genre then you should definitely check this one out. (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank Cold Case Inc. for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AndrewWoods #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #ColdCaseInc #Detective #Mystery #UK

Photo above is property of Cold Case Inc. Company: Cold Case Inc. Game: Benefits and Burdens Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Mystery, Detective Date Played: May 15, 2024 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 4-6 Hours Price: $14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 What happened to Liam Davis? When his long time partner and caregiver, Zoe, arrives on the morning of disappearance, the door is wide open, and there is no sign of the longtime MS sufferer. Which makes it all the more strange - Did he take his own life, amongst a worsening illness, or was it the benefits fraud hysteria bearing down on him, or the turbulence of his renewed relationship with his formerly estranged daughter? Not to mention Zoes own disappointment of being cut out of his will. Or was it foul play? Find the current of truth under the turbulent surface, and follow the stream of clues as they lead you to discover what happened to Liam Davis. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 " Benefits and Burdens " is another stellar entry in what is becoming quite the mystery game oeuvre. It is once again a masterclass of that classic, realistic, dig through the evidence and do the hard mental plugging, genre of mystery games. This cake has layers. If you're unfamiliar with the series, and you like narrative mysteries, and love sifting through a very well crafted tangle of evidence, ala a bonified detective, then i suggest you get familiar with the Cold Case Inc. cases. I have to admit to once again finding myself completely stumped, in the middle of a dark woods at the mid point in life, wide eyed and wondering, surveying the case and my copious notes, with more questions than answers, wiser for it, but still not wise enough yet - which is all part of the experience - until you find that thread, the one you wrote on the crumpled note you through in the wastebasket, digging it out and spreading it upon the table, as the wheels start turning, and the case opens up to you again, and you are filled with the excitement and wonder of making a new beginning. It's daunting, it will put you to the test, but without this risk of information overload, and the infinite sky of possibilities, you would not be able to feel yourself fly, feel the raw power of your deductive prowess. Which is the sign of a good mystery, and a well crafted one, as this case is. Photos above are property of Cold Case Inc. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 What makes a good mystery game? It has an interesting and tangled, but plausible, narrative. Like a story it shows without over telling. What are these games primarily about - induction and deduction, identifying the meaning of what is before you, and constructing through your powers of reason what they actually mean. This game does a really good job of forcing you to think through the evidence and make those necessary interconnections which will eventually build into a picture that will allow you to finger the right suspect. There is no smoking gun, just like in real life, in fact it wouldn't make sense if the evidence was this simple. It requires more of a kind of negative capacity, working in the absence of absolute proof. A lot of the time you are identifying what evidence may appear substantial but is in fact not, and this is the other half of what following a lead is, and there are many many leads to follow, think through, and connect within this game. And although a game lives or dies by those eureka moments, those deep proofs - and it has more than a handful of ingenious evidence puzzles to blow your mind - what working the bits of information does is that it points you in the right direction, and you will need a direction, for appearances can be deceiving. What ultimately points you to the suspect is more a mountain of lies than it is of truths. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 I love these case files, and I know how hard they are to create. It is extremely challenging to put together something that doesn't just give it away, and that remains logically consistent throughout, especially when you have nerds like me trying to think through every angle of the evidence, it's hard to anticipate all the possible interpretations, and the game does a marvelous job at countenancing all these possibilities, which is impressive. I think some people might think it's too much, but I tell you, the fun is in the chase, it's in the leg work. Tough yes, realistic yes, but it is all the more an immersive experience for it. That would be my only thought for why people might be hesitant to play this style of game. Do it with another person simultaneously so you can bounce ideas off each other, for maximal fun. I highly recommend you try the Cold Case Inc. games, and I can't wait for the next installment! (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank Cold Case Inc. for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AndrewWoods #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #ColdCaseInc #Detective #Mystery #UK

Photo above is property of Cold Case Inc. Company: Cold Case Inc. Game: Murder in the Pines Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Mystery, Detective Date Played: August 15, 2024 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6.5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 4-6 Hours Price: $29.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Back again with another excellent Cold Case Inc. game. This time it's “ Murder in the Pines ”. “The tranquility of a camping trip in Pinewood Woods is shattered when Chloe Bennett, an investigative journalist, is found dead.” Important to note this game sees the usual case file format evolving to suit a team of players as an exercise in their successful collaboration - an experiment in transporting mystery games into the world of corporate team building . So it's a little more on the straightforward side, although I wouldn't characterize any of these cases as being easy, this one included. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 I'm biased. I've played all of these and I've universally relished and like them all, they are quality mystery games that are as close as you can get to what you might think a real police detective case file would look like. It's on the more hardcore side, with a sea of evidence, twisted and challenging deductive scenarios, that you slowly piece together, following and tying up leads, until you unravel the big picture, honing down the information to the essential elements and facts, until you identify that one absolute piece of evidence that is the smoking gun. You will definitely be taking notes, and also definitely be driven almost to the point of ecstatic madness as you play detective and try and work it all out. What this particular case does really well is that it segments the pieces of the evidence so that they can be delegated within a team, and also supports an internal note taking mechanism between players, while also being in itself a solid mystery, with a very clever smoking gun. My only minor gripe - and I say this because I know the cases all so well - is that the defining piece of evidence might possibly be too front and center, potentially robbing the player of having to work through the rest of the cases' clever layers. That being said, this scenario unfolded brilliantly, taking me to that point of feeling of being at a complete loss before challenging me to build a coherent picture of what actually happened from out of the mass of information that lay before me. Photos above are property of Cold Case Inc. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 It's a deductive feast, full of twisted syllogisms and puzzles. Four people go on a camping trip to celebrate the anniversary of their dead friend, one storms off and is later found dead, and you are basically tasked with tracking the movements and motives of the three suspects throughout the night to figure out which one could have possibly killed her. The scenario is perfectly suited for a deductive mystery, as it involves a lot of interesting elements from which to deduce the facts of the case: the movements of the specific characters as they searched for the victim that night, the web of motives surrounding their feelings towards the victim, recent developments, fragments of witness statements and their own testimonies, the hard forensic evidence, along with a whole bunch of other circumstantial pieces. The final solution itself is quite clever and coherent, and satisfying. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 This is another successful entry into what is becoming a dynasty of solid Cold Case Inc. cases. I think these types of well done mysteries are perfect for corporate team building. They are engaging, they stimulate people to think and dialogue with each other, much in the same way you might work over any other project. These games are honestly best played with someone else for starters, it's just fun bouncing ideas off each other and it makes the sifting that much more manageable. It's also fun sharing those Aha moments, of which there are a good few. Rumor has it that the next case might be a collaborative creation. I look forward to how the two or more heads might take the legacy of Cold Case Inc. to the next level. (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank Cold Case Inc. for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AndrewWoods #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #ColdCaseInc #Detective #Mystery #UK

Photo above is property of Cold Case Inc. Company: Cold Case Inc. Game: The Silence of Dawn Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Mystery, Detective Date Played: November 25, 2024 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 3-5 Hours Price: $29.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 In this scenario, players assume the role of detectives investigating the murder of Dawn Elizabeth Harper, the Creative Director at Innov8 Brand Architects in Bexford. What was meant to be a celebratory office party turns tragic with her untimely death. Colleagues, each harboring their own secrets and potential motives, become prime suspects. On top of this there is the crucial task of revealing who the mysterious “L” is behind the series of cryptic notes that are believed to be connected to the case. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Back again with another great case, and just in time for Christmas. For those of you that are not familiar with the Cold Case inc cases these are very much realistic style case files type mystery games. These cases are kind of hardcore but highly rewarding. I always suggest you do these with other people as it makes for great fun bouncing ideas off each other, as well as cutting down the hard mental plugging of working through the case file. To jump right into this one in particular, it starts with a great plot device revolving around deciphering and identifying the mysterious “L” figure, who seems to have some kind of special involvement with the victim. This device is used to great effect as a kind of mystery within the mystery, directing the player to stay alert to any evidence that might be useful in identifying the mystery person. The core of the mystery itself is built around what I think is a great premise for a scenario: an office christmas party. Motives and means abound, and this case does a really good job of stacking up the evidence against everybody, while also presenting the player with a perplexing murder scene around an intriguing collection of evidence. Photos above are property of Cold Case Inc. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 I think one of the more unique things that Cold Case does with their games is in its use of red herrings and ambiguous evidence, which I actually think is integral to creating a certain complexity in the surface of these cases, forcing the individual not just to linearly work through the consequential but to also sift it from the non-consequential or inconclusive. Most games are too linear in the sense that if they give you a certain evidence you know it has to have some significance - and so this giving acts as a clue itself, which is unrealistic and untrue to real life where things don't always add up. Just to go back to the original enigmatic figure plot device, I think it worked really well to keep the player attentively scanning and identifying little clues as to who this could be, and there are many. It also factors into the motive, giving it life, and acting as a kind of narrative reveal, which is great because oftentimes the motive is simply an afterthought and does not properly evolve with the game to really persuade the player of its dramatic reality. In this ColdCase game in particular I really thought the final solve and the development of the motive were beautifully intertwined. The final solution itself was quite clever and took a bit of circling as well as deduction from competing motives, as It had a certain knottiness about it because of certain conflicting evidence and working through just exactly what it communicated.. Sometimes things are less twistier than they appear - but that deciphering from out of certain hypothetical ambiguity of interpretation is part of the game, and makes it all the more realistic. Simplicity often lies in seeing through the deceptive appearance of complexity, I think is what I am trying to say. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 I am a fanatical advocate for this series of games, and they only keep getting better and more well crafted, and this case was no exception. They are in a league with the best of these hardcore realistic case file style games. You have to love the process, the exploration, the mental construction, and the hard mental plugging of the logicking, all of which is very rewarding in the end. Do not be daunted by the depth of these case files, it's worth the dive. I can only reiterate here that I believe the series will continue to grow and become more innovative in its use of puzzle elements and more layered in the depth of its mysteries. I think it's once again time to bring all the elements which have made the cases so good back home again and create a truly novel scenario for the next case. (If you do decide to try this experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from " ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) Disclosure : We thank Cold Case Inc. for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #AndrewWoods #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #ColdCaseInc #Detective #Mystery #UK

Photos above are property of The Mysterious Package Company Company: The Mysterious Package Company Game: HASTUR Country: Canada 🇨🇦 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Horror, Mystery, Occult, Lovecraftian Date Played: April 2, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 8/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited (Suggested 6 Hrs) Price: $299.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A strange letter arrives at your door with a ticket for a performance that you have only missed by a few days. As you begin looking into the strange happenstances surrounding you acquiring of this ticket you learn all is not as it seems with “The King in Yellow” performance by Phantom of Truth Productions. An ongoing investigation, a curious wooded crate packed with relics, and a temptation to learn about the King in Yellow offers you a chance to explore the chaos and calamity that is HASTUR. Video above is property of The Mysterious Package Company 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Hastur is an at home experience that comes in two separate mailings. The first mailing includes an invitation to the performance of “The King in Yellow” and a letter from the ticket agency. The second mailing arrives in a wooden crate nailed shut that contains a statue of a primordial being, aged rune scrolls, star charts, a wax tablet, a curious stone bowl, and a dossier of papers streaked with blood that will help you piece together the mystery of what happened at this performance and what roll you now must play. This game requires no outside research but there is some online content you must access related to mailing one and the conclusion of mailing two. One thing MPC has excelled at countless times is creating true art pieces with their games. Pages are aged, bloodied, wrinkled, coffee stained, and smeared with dirt while the box smells old as if the contents have not been seen in decades. All your senses are engaged as you literally pry open the box and dig into the contents. You feel truly involved, as if you are really unwrapping an ancient antiquity with a mysterious past. This game is definitely display-worthy… if you don’t mind a statue of HASTUR in your curio cabinet. Photo above are property of The Mysterious Package Company 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The opening mailing of HASTUR seeks to tempt you. You will explore what looks to be a regular website and the ultimately you end knowing why and how you will be receiving a second mailing. There is a slight delay in one element as you must wait on an email at a certain point but the eeriness of this first mailing helps lay the platform for the second mailing. This mailing is all about exploring rather than puzzles so don’t be afraid to click all the links. The second mailing brings you into the calamity. There are two avenues of exploration. On one hand there is a large aged scroll that contains a ritual that is begging your attention but on the other hand is a curious stack of newspapers, pamphlets, and various other ephemera that reveals a strange series of events. The scroll (and accompanying ritualistic items) contain the puzzles while the stack of papers builds the narrative. This experience is based off of Lovecraftian lore and while you do not need to know anything to play the game, this stack helps piece the story together for you so I recommend unpacking that before beginning the ritual. Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 As mentioned above, the initial mailing doesn’t necessarily have a puzzle aspect. It is more exploration to find hidden information that will lead you to a clear ending of mailing one. Mailing two has a linear puzzle system as you move through a series of steps in the ritual. As you complete each step the puzzles become increasingly difficult as you translate runic symbols, match strange scrolls with mythological events, orient star charts to learn constellations, and more. Each puzzle is layered to build off another which means you need to be careful as mistake can throw the final step off. Take careful notes as you move forward as you may need to backtrack to make slight corrections. There is no hint system for any Mysterious Package Company games so I encourage you to join Puzzle People Facebook Group to ask for help or contact MPC at concierge@mysteriouspackage.com for assistance (there will likely be a delay in assistance). What I loved most about these puzzles was that they involve a lot of physical interaction with the game components as you turn, flip, roll, and rotate. This helps players really connect and feel immersed. You become an active participant in bringing this ritual to life. Each ritual step encourages you to look at the board in a different light and there is an ambiance of mystery and intrigue as you continued on your journey with each solution. These puzzles work to aid the narrative rather than hinder it because they are thematic and woven carefully into the components. As such, they provide a balance of challenge and complexity that provides the best “aha” moments. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 HASTUR is, to me, the best puzzle immersive experience that MPC has to offer. The narrative is rich with lore and works seamlessly to share a fascinating story alongside challenging yet rewarding puzzles. Over the course of your journey you become privy to secrets that have been hidden for centuries and each puzzles brings you closer to the truth. At the end, though, you must make a choice based on all you learned. Will you help HASTUR or will you save us from his madness? (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from" ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Horror #TheMysteriousPackageCompany #Canada

Photo above is property of The Mysterious Package Company Company: The Mysterious Package Company Game: The Buried Puppet Country: Canada 🇨🇦 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Supernatural, Horror Date Played: January 25, 2022 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-3 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Suggested 1-2 Hrs) Price: $99.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Finding a crate on your doorstep, inside you find the confessions of a young teenage boy named Jacob who after moving to a new city, is bullied and discovers ghosts coming from the bedroom walls of his new house. His only solace is a puppet he finds in the house named Mr. Bellylaugh. Mr Bellylaugh gives Jacob the courage he needs to face the bullies and ghosts but what are Mr. Bellylaugh’s true intentions? Video above is property of The Mysterious Package Company 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening up the wooden crate, inside you will find 2 ripped pages from a magazine, a prisoner release order, a broken inhaler, a library card, a journal from a correctional institute, and a disheveled puppet with the name Mr. Bellylaugh on it. All of these will factor into the story. If you are familiar with Mysterious Package Company, then you are aware that they do not joke around with their items. Everything you get will be top notch, first rate and are very real for the experience. Photo above are property of The Mysterious Package Company 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Sifting through the documents, you will find some tidbits here and there about Jacob and Mr. Bellylaugh’s backstory but you will get to Jacob’s journal which will be the key element for the experience. Reading through it, every other item will either add to the experience or you will learn how to use it as you progress. There is one online component that is done very well and has a full ARG style that I did start clicking around to see how far I could go into that world. While there is no hint system, you can google some forums that can give you a nudge in the right direction. Other options are contacting MPC at concierge@mysteriouspackage.com (though you may not get an answer right away) or joining the Puzzle People Facebook group. There is also no solid ending to the game and you can be left wondering if the experience is over or not. After scouring the internet, I found one good hint that some people have posted is when you finish reading the green text, then the experience is over (and you can do what you will with the contents). Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 This was a pretty low puzzle content game with more of a focus on deduction and how to use certain elements. There is one puzzle that is hidden but with a keen eye or if you are familiar with puzzle games already, you will probably spot right away. If not, I found MPC did a good job of pointing you in the right direction and giving you the relevant information to solve it. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The Mysterious Package Company creates some amazing, immersive experiences. This one was not very puzzle heavy but shines in engulfing you in the story. This one played out like a horror movie except this time, you are the protagonist. If you are unsure about the scare level in this game, this was more of a light psychological scare than a game with jump scares. I did play this game in the middle of day but if you are brave enough, a nighttime setting would be optimal. Mysterious Package Company puts a lot of effort into making all the items feel real as you play which will immerse you and make you question how real this story truly is. (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from" ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TablettopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Horror #Supernatural #TheMysteriousPackageCompany #Canada

Photo above is property of The Mysterious Package Company Company: The Mysterious Package Company Game: NYARLATHOTEP Country: Canada 🇨🇦 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Supernatural, Horror, Occult, HP Lovecraft Date Played: October 21, 2021 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 8/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 ppl) (Ages 16+) Time: Unlimited (Approximately 8 Hrs) Price: $329.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A large package arrives on your doorstep. Inside is a wooden crate nailed shut, a coffee mug, a work badge, and a welcome letter after you supposedly accepted a new job at Kauket Analytics and Operating System. Your predecessor left the position quite suddenly and the company needs you to continue his research quickly. They are sending you everything that was on his desk pertaining to his research, but it’ll need to be sent over two mailings. As you begin to examine the artifacts, antique documents, and online articles available you to you start to piece together the story of two men, an ancient Egyptian archeological site, and a group of modern researched dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of what these men uncovered. You get the sense that some things are best left alone…but curiosity is a fickle beast and you dive right in. Video above is property of The Mysterious Package Company 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ " Nyarlothotep " is a massive puzzling package consisting of two hefty wooden crates being mailed to you over the course of four weeks. In the first crate you receive a welcome letter, Kauket coffee mug (fill it with hot water!), your ID badge with QR code, your predecessors ID badge, a broken carving, a curious obelisk, a cigar box filled with letters, an old pocket watch, and more. In the second crate you receive a large statue with faces on it, two daggers, a journal log, a large map, photos of your predecessor’s parents, his journal notes, a large pen, and more. This game is incredible looking down to the aged look of the daggers, the worn pages of your predecessor’s diary, and the innocuous photos of his parents. I felt like a kid in a candy story pulling all these items out of the box and eagerly looking them over. Of note, there is an online app (mihOS) required for this game that requires iOS and android 11 or higher. There is no hint system for this game, but you can reach out to the company for help or ask on a puzzle forum like Puzzle People on Facebook. Photo above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game is intended for more open exploration but in Crate One the main goal is to investigate the mysteries behind the app, mihOS. Your predecessor did not leave a lot of information on the app but you have a sense there is something hidden with and there must be something in the crate that will crack it open. In Crate Two, you learn more about the research team behind the app and their journey to build it. They’ve left something unfinished, and you must figure out what they discovered in order to finish their work. That said, there are quite a few mini experiences to unravel from strange messages you find, locked files, and conversations that you are encouraged to read. These bits and bite help build a better image of what has taken place…and what is currently happening. Think of this in terms of side quests and main quests. The more you do the better you will feel about the experience. There is quite a bit of reading that takes place in this experience as you have letters, logs, journals, emails, texts, messages, etc to unpack. There is also a USB in this game. If you are uncomfortable inserting those into your computer, you can email the concierge of MPC to ask for the file to be sent over. Noting again that the app used in this experience requires a lot of power. My phone did heat up quite a bit so I recommend having your phone near a fan or something cool if you worry about overheating. Photo above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 For Crate One , there is one prominent puzzle that takes the stage with a few smaller ones that I would better describe as more fun nods to the theme and story than actually contributing to the overarching narrative. The fun side puzzles are mainly cipher based while the prominent one is a multistep puzzle. It relies on observation and pattern recognition and it an extensive puzzle that took me about around three hours to complete. It isn’t a hard puzzle, but I highly recommend having a pen and paper available to track your steps as you navigate this puzzle because you can easily become lost. In Crate Two, there are quite a few puzzles. Much like Crate One , there are some smaller puzzles that are more atmospheric than integral to the story. This crate was a great deal more cipher heavy of a game, but it is broken up into chunks to help with pacing. I enjoyed how easily I was able to divide up the puzzles so my partner and I could be working on something separately. We would then come back together and discuss what we learned. The main puzzles provided great “aha” moments when you figured out their connection and I also appreciated that you were able to figure out how the characters also solved various parts during their journey. It made sense they provided some key information but having the ability to back solve so you could appreciate their journey was a great addition. It is not necessary I would say but if you want the full experience, I recommend taking the time to figure out how the researchers (like your predecessor) made it as far as they did. At the end, you use the tools the characters left behind to solve the final part and it was really satisfying when it clicks together in your head. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Overall, " Nyarlathotep " is an amazing Lovecraftian themed experience packed with story, mystery, horror, and intrigue while also giving players everything they need uncover the truth and decide for themselves what they will do. The digital elements enhanced the experience to add a lot more engagement but the traditional elements to MPC were still there and I will definitely enjoy displaying them. This experience took about 10 hours (both crates) and while it is expensive, I think the value is there if you appreciate this level of tangibility. If you enjoy collectable components, cool tech, and full immersion with a strong narrative, then this is a great option for people with bigger budgets. I recommend playing with another person to get the true joy as you band together to learn the truth. If you want something a little cheaper with a similar feel, check out our review of HASTUR. As always, I cannot wait to see what MPC releases next! (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from" ESCAPETHEROOMers "!) #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Supernatural #TheMysteriousPackageCompany #Canada