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Photo above is property of Escape My Room Company: Escape My Room Game: Crescent City Cases - Episode 2: The Amnesia Aviatrix Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Detective, Mystery Date Played: February 20, 2022 Difficulty (based on 4 players): 4/10 Size of Team: 1-2 Players (Age 12+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 1-2 Hrs.) Price: $9.95/ episode, $49.95/ full season (6 episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Crescent City has a new cold case for you to investigate about the powerful DeLaporte family. Back in 1935, well known aviator and pilot, Odette DeLaporte was set to be the first woman to fly around the world when, on the final leg, she disappears with her co- pilot, Roxy Buchanan. She is later discovered two weeks later in a remote town with a case of amnesia, unable to say who she is or what happened to Roxy. Odette is seeking to clear her name after all the years and uncover what truly happened to Roxy. Can you help her? 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Crescent City Cases are a combination of print and plan with online components. You start with logging onto your account to access the game. In addition, there is an introduction letter from Crescent City Cases introducing the story and how the game works. On the game’s website, there are a series of folders to access throughout the game (you will be instructed on which ones to open and provided with passwords to them). You can also print all the documents ahead of time and they will divide by pages staying “Beware! Do not proceed until instructed to do so by the Managing Detective.” There are certain components that will require access the locked folders so make to click on the folders each time you are prompted to review them. Not all pages require printing, but they can make things easier. We've suggested to the company to add a cover page to the beginning on which pages to print so you'll be able to know in advance in case you like to save some ink. Scrolling down to the bottom of the game’s page you will find an embedded google form. This is where you will submit answers to each puzzle and where the “Managing Detective,” will guide you to each new set of puzzles. There is a hint folder available in the top right of the website for if you become stuck. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 "The Amnesiac Aviatrix" uses a series of logic, math, and patter puzzles with ciphers and deduction. I liked how they varied up each puzzle to allow certain strengths to shine. These puzzles do require a bit of reading to solve from reviewing flight logs, reading sections of newspapers, etc. but in a group you can easily divide them up. I found the puzzle challenge to be a good mix with some that provided pretty interesting twists from what we expected. There was also a fair amount of observational hints that I liked hidden in the game. In addition, there was a cipher translator embedded as a file into the game that made deciphering codes a lot smoother than have to do it by hand. The deduction elements of the game require you to match certain characteristics with characters and, as someone who enjoys logic mysteries, I had fun drawing the lines between people, dates, and places. Overall, the puzzling was well structure in guiding players and had enough variety. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The second Crescent City Case is a good puzzle mystery game for those looking for an affordable price and good structure. I liked how intuitive the puzzle playing was, and it was easy to sink right into the game with no prep needed, which is excellent for those looking to play this in a single evening with friends. If you enjoy mysteries, deduction, and traditional puzzling then I think this is a great option! I look forward to the coming episodes! *** We regret to inform that this game is no longer available for purchase. But check out their in-person escape rooms if you are ever in the area! *** Disclosure: We thank Escape My Room for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Mystery #Detective #EscapeMyRoom #CrescentCityCases #USA #Louisiana

Photo above is property of Escape My Room Company: Escape My Room Game: Crescent City Cases - Episode 3: The Nathansburg Necklace Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Detective, Mystery Date Played: February 20, 2022 Difficulty (based on 3 players): 6/10 Size of Team: 1-2 Players (Age 12+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 1-2 Hrs.) Price: $9.95/ episode, $49.95/ full season (6 episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 After finishing the last case, Crescent City has DeLaporte Cold Case for you the solve – this family, despite all their riches, just can’t catch a break! It turns out in the late 1940s, there was burglar attack at the mansion and the DeLaporte’s legendary Nathansburg Necklace was stolen, and the secrets locked in a safe not even the family could open. The NOPD are asking you to help unravel this mystery and find out who stole these jewels long ago? Photo above is property of Escape My Room 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Crescent City Cases are a combination of print and plan with online components. You start with logging onto your account to access the game. In addition, there is an introduction letter from Crescent City Cases introducing the story and how the game works. On the game’s website, there are a series of folders to access throughout the game (you will be instructed on which ones to open and provided with passwords to them). You can also print all the documents ahead of time and they will divide by pages staying “Beware! Do not proceed until instructed to do so by the Managing Detective.” There are certain components that will require access the locked folders so make to click on the folders each time you are prompted to review them. Not all pages require printing, but they can make things easier. We've suggested to the company to have the needed to print pages included on the cover page so hopefully that will save you some ink if you don't want to print all of them. Scrolling down to the bottom of the game’s page you will find an embedded google form. This is where you will submit answers to each puzzle and where the “Managing Detective,” will guide you to each new set of puzzles. There is a hint folder available in the top right of the website for if you become stuck. Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 "The Nathansburg Necklace" used a lot of deduction and logic puzzles compared to the previous game. There are some minor ciphers and I recommend approaching these ciphers using the online folders only as printing the whole pdf can spoil the ciphers – only print pages once the Managing Detective has prompted you to access the folder. I enjoyed the deduction, but it did feel a little heavy in certain areas. I found the puzzles to be well sign posted and fit well with a deduction style mystery game. In this case I would say this game isn’t tailored for traditional escape room lovers but those who enjoy murder mysteries. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The third Crescent City Case provides a series of engaging deduction puzzles perfect from murder mystery lovers. The puzzles did look a little intimidating to start but with a few good friends they can create great conversation as you navigate who and what happened. This game is a longer one compared to the previous games but still doable in a single evening. I recommend this for the mystery solvers looking to solve the crime and capture the criminal! *** We regret to inform that this game is no longer available for purchase. But check out their in-person escape rooms if you are ever in the area! *** Disclosure: We thank Escape My Room for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Mystery #Detective #EscapeMyRoom #CrescentCityCases #USA #Louisiana

Photo above is property of Escape My Room Company: Escape My Room Game: Crescent City Cases - Episode 4: The Inventor's Outrage Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Detective, Mystery Date Played: March 12, 2022 Difficulty (based on 3 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-2 Players (Age 12+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 1-2 Hrs.) Price: $9.95/ episode, $49.95/ full season (6 episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Crescent City Detective Agency has reached out again for your help! In a previous case you heard of Remy DeLaporte, the reclusive and mad inventor in the family. Upon examining a cold case regarding his niece, Eloise, an old letter was found written by Remy to his young niece during a moment of sanity pleading for help. Remy suggests his spiral into madness was not from him becoming involved in the investigation of his brother’s missing assistants but, rather, something quite different. This is your chance to clear the name of history's most disgraced inventors….are you up for the task? 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 All game materials are accessed through the Crescent City Cases membership portal (www.crescentcitycases.com) where the game is broken down into different locked files. You will receive passwords to these folders as you progress through the game through submitting answers on an embedded Google Form correctly. You can print the entire game in one large pdf for convenience and each section will be divided by a “Beware! Do not proceed until instructed to open (folder required).” This file also highlights the key pages that will need working with so you can print ahead of time. I still recommend checking the locked folder as you move along to ensure you are looking at the right puzzle pieces each time. Hints are found in a folder in the top left area for your reference. The structure of this game is straightforward and easy to follow. I like being given a key goal each time I pour over a file as it makes the experience smoother and more focused - you can easily get overwhelmed if you were looking at a massive file. There were a couple times, though, where I wish the folders would have contained some useful tips for puzzles we were unfamiliar with or topics we were expected to research on our own as they tended to delay things as we scrambled to figure them out. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Puzzles for this game are predominantly logic puzzles that utilise tracking, ciphers, and manipulation. I found for the first half of the game they were really interesting and engaging. We did hit a few areas where signposting was a little weak and we had to make some leaps in logic. The key thing for these games is to follow the instructions provided and use the solution hints in the embedded google form (you will be given the number of words for each answer that can be vital in breaking things down). I enjoyed the traditional ciphering this game provided and there some revealed solutions in curious ways. I think with more clues provided, the hint system would easily fix the sign posting. Photo above is property of Escape My Room 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The growing saga of the Delaporte family in the Crescent City Cases is a fascinating and engaging experience that left me with more questions leading into the next chapter. I found the cipher and logic puzzles were excellent but one manipulation puzzle needed a bit more cluing. I feel that if you enjoy family mysteries and ciphers, this is an excellent game to try out! I am very curious to see how the story continues in episode 5! *** We regret to inform that this game is no longer available for purchase. But check out their in-person escape rooms if you are ever in the area! *** Disclosure: We thank Escape My Room for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Mystery #Detective #EscapeMyRoom #CrescentCityCases #USA #Louisiana

Photo above is property of Escape My Room Company: Escape My Room Game: Crescent City Cases - Episode 5: The Altered Aroma Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Detective, Mystery Date Played: March 13, 2022 Difficulty (based on 3 players): 7/10 Size of Team: 1-2 Players (Age 12+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 1-2 Hrs.) Price: $9.95/ episode, $49.95/ full season (6 episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 It’s time to dance with the DeLaportes once again. This time, the case centers around Odette DeLaporte, the widow and mother of Henri and Eloise DeLaporte respectively. Being becoming fast friends with the soon-to-be-First Lady - Jackie Kennedy, her being suspected of Jackie’s attempted poisoning and JFK’s assassination (the following year) brought Odette and the DeLaportes to their "reputational" knees. Gradually, Odette turned into a recluse after the mysterious deaths and disappearances of her family and with more information on this case seeing the light, it’s your job to get to the truth of the matter before the DeLaportes find themselves in the unsavory spotlight again. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The sectional approach for this episode helped with the pacing of the game. Similar to previous Crescent City Cases, all the episode's materials and files are stored on the Crescent City Cases membership portal (www.crescentcitycases.com) where you progress by answering the answers in the Google Form correctly. Like the previous episodes, hints are found in a specific file in your portal’s case folder for reference. After playing a previous episode, the game play mechanics felt more familiar - answering needed questions based on the materials given. The added sectional approach - where different folders were made accessible or available with each step of progress - paced the game clearly. Considering how there was a relatively larger amount of materials that served as affiliate material at best, this sectional approach cuts down on overthinking and lowers the risks of placing materials aside that could be useful later in the game. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Puzzles from this episode relied heavily on language and translation, so do keep your translators and decoders nearby if you don't want to be stuck physically decoding messages, although there might be a few puzzles that will require some logic to decode instead of throwing full messages into decoders. Despite the sectional approach, each folder may contain a good amount of material. Therefore, if you do get lost, it’s always helpful to return to the question at hand. The questions on the Google Forms are there to guide you while revealing the story as you go along. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 In this fifth installment of the Crescent City Cases, the investigative immersion deepens. With the story unfurling and the sectional progressing of the game, players can dive further into the investigative experience. Especially with the requirement of correct answers to continue with the relevant files. If you’re a player who loves your investigations and watching the relationship of the game’s story and its relevant puzzles, do give "The Altered Aroma" a try! *** We regret to inform that this game is no longer available for purchase. But check out their in-person escape rooms if you are ever in the area! *** Disclosure: We thank Escape My Room for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JoelynAlexandra #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Mystery #Detective #EscapeMyRoom #CrescentCityCases #USA #Louisiana

Photo above is property of Escape My Room Company: Escape My Room Game: Crescent City Cases - Episode 6: The Neglected Nemesis Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Detective, Mystery Date Played: March 13, 2022 Difficulty (based on 3 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-2 Players (Age 12+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 1-2 Hrs.) Price: $9.95/ episode, $49.95/ full season (6 episodes) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Through all your previous Crescent City Detective Agency cases you have been unearthing the secrets of the powerful DeLaporte family. In this newest discovery you are now faced with their rival, the Thibieauxs. Their feud has been legendary, if the police records of pranks are any indication, but no one seems to know why it started. Each prank escalated and your job is to find the clues reading back a hundred years to find the origin…their trigger cause. Can you tear apart this neighbourly feud or will this rivalry remain a mystery? 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 All game materials are accessed through the Crescent City Cases membership portal. where the game is broken down into different locked files. You will receive passwords to these folders as your progress through the game through submitting answers on an embedded Google Form correctly. You can print the entire game in one large pdf for convenience and each section will be divided by a “Beware! Do not proceed until instructed to open (folder required).” This file also highlights the key pages that will need working with so you can print ahead of time. Hints are found in a folder in the top left area for your reference. The structure of this game is straightforward and easy to follow. I like being given key goals as I pour through a contained file as it makes the experience smoother and more focused - you can easily get overwhelmed if you were looking at a massive file. There were a couple times, though, where I wish the folders would have contained some useful tips for puzzles we were unfamiliar with or topics we were expected to research on our own as they tended to delay things as we scrambled to figure them out. Note: You will need scissors for this game. In addition some online research may be required to find answers. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 I found the puzzles for this game to be the best to date. They were incredibly smooth and worked really well with the premise. The puzzles were mainly logic based but I loved how the puzzles unveiled their answers as you moved through slowly and methodically. It was a treat to solve them. I especially love the motorcycle stunt show puzzle as I loved the reveal!. Escape My Room does a great job providing new aspects to puzzles you may have seen elsewhere but the “aha”s are abound as you begin solving to then realise what is happening. I will say I did miss the helpful clueing of the number of words in each answer that was in the previous game as there were a couple puzzles where the words were quite odd and took a bit to tease apart. Photos above are property of Escape My Room 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The puzzles and journey of "The Neglected Nemesis" was an enjoyable light puzzling experience that continuously built itself up as you got closer to the end. I did find the ending a little abrupt, but the journey was fun! I recommend this for puzzlers looking for a good set of logic puzzles for an evening of solving and for those who enjoy a family mystery and word-building across games. *** We regret to inform that this game is no longer available for purchase. But check out their in-person escape rooms if you are ever in the area! *** Disclosure: We thank Escape My Room for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Mystery #Detective #EscapeMyRoom #CrescentCityCases #USA #Louisiana

Video/Photos provided by Escape Team Company: Escape Team Game: Missions 1-5 Country: Germany 🇩🇪 Language: English, German Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Mission, Action Date Played: 5/26/2020 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: Free (Training Mission & Mission 1 - Central Station)/ Missions 2-5 available as in-app purchases ($0.99 each) These mini mission based puzzle games were really enjoyable. Each mission had about 4-5 pages that you would need to print and cut to solve the puzzles. The game was designed with easier levels going to harder levels as the missions progressed. The puzzles are to be downloaded from their website. The app purchase of $0.99 came with a prerecorded mission story and a keypad to confirmed your answers. Each mission are timed and they are different with each mission. Clues will populate only when a certain amount of time has passed by. This was quite nerve-racking for me as we rarely had to play digital game on a timer. It did make the missions more exciting and at the same time more challenging. There were a lot of puzzles that required visualization which was pretty cool since we don't encounter too many of those types in escape games. At times they also felt like IQ tests. We enjoyed switching to a different puzzle mode. The company provides a free trial of mission 1 for you to test out before deciding if you like to purchase the others. They are confident for a reason as we were instantly hooked and played all 5 missions at once. We can't wait for the next episode but in the meantime, they are some free missions made by their fans that you should definitely check out on their website! 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, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Escape Team for providing us with a sample of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #ESCAPETHEROOMers #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #EscapeTeam #DIYgames #adventure #mission #agents #appstore #googleplay #missions1-5

Photo above is property of Escape Team Company: Escape Team Game: Missions 6-9 Country: Germany 🇩🇪 Language: English, German Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Mission, Action Date Played: April 17, 2022 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: $6.99 for a mission pack (Missions 6-9) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Escape Team's "Missions 6-9" is actually a series of different missions and plots that you, as the players, have to help resolve. You will face different story plots like preventing a ship from sinking, stopping a prison outbreak, a financial crisis and saving passengers on a bus! These are all cute mini missions that allow players to solve puzzles and feel like a hero to save the day! Video above is property of Escape Team 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Each mission requires you to print around 5 to 6 pages. After you have printed the pages, you can launch the mission you are playing on your phone/tablet as the answers are entered and submitted through their app. On the pages, they will state Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4 and Phase 5 and every phase is a puzzle that you need to solve. You need not solve them in that order, but do note you will need to input the answers from Phase 1 first. Hence, you can solve them all first and just proceed to key them in one at a time. Each puzzle will always result in a 5 digit code. There will be an in-game timer in the app as well. After every few minutes or so, a 'ping' will be heard. That is when you can ask for a clue. It is a very neat mechanic as it helps to give subtle hints and as the time goes by (the hints will be more and more direct). Hence, it really helps to pace you along and ensure you do not get frustrated for too long if you are. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 As expected, if you have to print pages, that means there will be cutting/folding/paper manipulation involved. Not all puzzles will require cutting/folding, but there will be quite a bit of those. Other kinds of puzzles will involve logical thinking and observation as well as simple ciphers. I was impressed by the creativity of some of the puzzles, as the clues were literally scattered everywhere on their pages. Some puzzles were subtle yet when I figured them out, I was amazed by how well-planned out it was. No spoilers here, but just remember to use everything you have around you, and not just the printed pages itself :) Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Following "Missions 1-5", they kept to their word when they said that the puzzles were harder and that is true, given that the time duration now for all missions are 40 minutes, compared to their initial missions of 15-20 minutes. That is a lot of puzzle solving for a sweet package price and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A minor feedback that I think can make the game even better is that the app can be used for other purposes rather than mainly just using it to 'check' your answers. Perhaps for future missions, there might be a variety of uses for the app itself to solve different kinds of puzzles and getting different kinds of answers rather than all being numbers? Also, when you input the answers, the app will show a green button if the number is correct and a red button if it's wrong. I am sure many puzzlers will not guess and check and just try out different answers. But it might be more difficult and fun if you don't know which number out of the 5 you got wrong? Then, the satisfaction of getting it all right might be even better! Regardless, whatever Escape Team decides to do in the future, I am definitely looking out for more missions after completing all 9 of them so far! 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, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Escape Team for providing us with a sample of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MelvinLim #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #DIYgames #EscapeTeam #Germany #missions #agents #appstore #googleplay

Photo above is property of Grand Gamers Guild Company: Grand Gamers Guild Game: The Pumpkin Problem Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: PDIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Mystery Date Played: October 26, 2021 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Recommended ages 13+) Time: 60 Minutes Price: $9.99 (Physical Game)/ $4.99 (Print-N-Cut) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You were ready to head out trick-or-treating until you discover that the chocolate bars your family were supposed to hand out aren’t chocolate bars at all! Can you find the missing candy and save Halloween? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ I opted for the print and play version so I could download the game right away. You will need to print the game in color (or at least have the colored file on hand) as there was one puzzle that was color dependent. The download came with the instructions for the game, how to assemble the 18 cards and a link to the website to input your answers. The front of the card has a door with a number on it and the back has the puzzles. Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The website/app to put in your answers was easy to use. As you solved a puzzle, you would input the answer into the website/app and then a prompt would continue the story and tell you what cards to look at next. There was a cute overall narrative to the game. It was not too in-depth but enough to keep me motivated. The hint system was also well written. I was able to easily use the layered hints and not have the solve moment ruined for me. The website will also track your time and it will give you a rating at the end based on your time and how many hints you needed. Some of the puzzles required some outside knowledge of certain codes but the website/app had a list of them but sneakily enough, you will not need them all. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The game had a nice ramp up of puzzles. The first couple were quite easy but as the game progressed they did get more difficult with a nice mix of “Aha” puzzles, logic puzzles, word puzzles and more. The puzzles also started to become non-linear. In the first phase, you only needed to solve one puzzle to continue on but further into the game, you needed to solve multiple puzzles to continue on which makes it fun for playing with multiple people. The last puzzle also wrapped everything up quite nicely and left me satisfied. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 This was a treat to play to get into the mood for Halloween. They do sell the actual game for a very reasonable price but if you cannot wait to get it shipped or you cannot find it at your local board game shop, then print and play is the way to go. The print and play will also give you a deal on their “Holiday Hijinks” series if you buy them all. I enjoyed how easy the game was to assemble, having the cards fold for the front and back rather than deal with the hassle of trying to print the fronts and backs separately. The game is fairly light but really delivered on fun at a very reasonable price. If you are an expert solver, you could probably finish it quite quickly but if you are looking for a game to be playing while handing out Halloween candy, this would be a great choice. (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"!) #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNPlay #OneOffs #Mystery #USA

Photo above is property of Grand Gamers Guild Company: Grand Gamers Guild Game: The Independence Incident Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Mystery, Secret Society Date Played: May 20, 2022 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Recommended ages 13+) Time: 60-90 Minutes Price: $5.49 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A secret organization has interest in you to help them track a group called "The Culper Ring". The group believes that there are clues hidden in American historical sites and artifacts that lead to a great treasure. Can you unravel the clues and figure out what is going on before "The Culper Ring" does? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ For the print-n-cut version, you can download the game right away. You will need to print the game in color (or at least have the colored file on hand) as there are puzzles that require it to be solved. The download came with the instructions for the game, how to assemble the 18 cards and a link to the website to input your answers. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 To start the game, you need to download their app. You can do that with the QR code on the instructions or head to their website. I used my phone to play the game and I am impressed with how easy the app was to use. At the top, they have 4 buttons, one to input your answer, one to provide hints, one that provides any outside knowledge that you may need to know and the last will give you a history of the narrative that you have received. The game was straight forward and not difficult to get into or set up. As you input the answers into the app, the narrative will play out. The hint system was also easy to check out and gave hints in layers, so I never felt like I was just given the answer. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles varied with some that needed you to be observant and some logic puzzles. There were other fun word puzzles too. There were some puzzles that required outside knowledge but all information was provided in the app, you would just need to find and do some research. All the puzzles were themed nicely to fit Independence Day. None of them were overly difficult but there were a few nice eureka moments. The last puzzle also had a very nice eureka moment. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "The Independence Incident" (and the other Holiday Hijinks games) hits a lot of high notes for me. Small and compact to take on the go, reasonable pricing and a game that can be finished around an hour. The cards are also very easy to assemble. The app was simple to go through with everything you needed whether it be on a mobile or a desktop computer. This game also had me learn a little about American history. I played on my own, but this game could be played with 2 people. More than that and it would be difficult to share the cards of this linear game unless you print out more copies. If you are looking for a fun, no stress game to take with you somewhere on a long weekend or waiting for the fireworks to go off, this would be a good one. (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 Grand Gamers Guild 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 #DigitalGames #PrintNPlay #Puzzlebymail #GrandGamersGuild #OneOffs #Mystery #SecretSociety #IndependenceDay #USA

Photo above is property of Grand Gamers Guild Company: Grand Gamers Guild Game: The Kringle Caper Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Mystery, Holiday Date Played: May 9, 2022 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 4/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Recommended ages 13+) Time: 60 Minutes Price: $13.24 (Physical Game)/ $4.99 (Print-N-Cut) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A mystery is afoot during the most wonderful time of the year at the North Pole! Can you uncover the dastardly cookie thief and save Christmas or will the holidays mourn the loss of their delicious sweet treat? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ I received the print-n-cut version which requires players to use a coloured printer to print - make sure to print single sided pages so you don’t run into any issues. The game file comes with instructions on how to cut and assemble the game. The key thing is to avoid looking closely at the cards while you fold and cut them out. After you have assembled them you should have 18 cards that have been folded (and glued if that is your preference) and then you can access the game’s website, mentioned on the game rules and instruction page, using your phone or computer. I will say the designs and artwork of the cards are quite lively and pretty. I also enjoyed that, as I continued to play, there was more nuance to the images than I realised. Photo above is property of Grand Gamers Guild 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 You start the game by stacking your newly made cards from one to eighteen, before flipping the first one. As you solve an answer, you simply go to the website and input your answer - if your answer is correct, the website will prompt you as correct, provide a small narrative development, and let you know what card(s) you can view next. As you progress through the cards, you will also receive story development as you navigate across the North Pole looking for clues. The story is quite light and festive - very reminiscent of "A Christmas Story". The hint system is quite easy to follow with its first clue letting you know which cards you need to solve your puzzles. I do recommend, if you are having a larger group play or young teens/children to print another deck of the cards as the cards are smaller and therefore not easy for multiple people to work on at once. In addition, some of the puzzles require outside knowledge on Christmas stories so don’t be afraid to do some googling to refresh yourself! 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 I found the puzzle to be sweet and fun. They are definitely for a younger audience but they packed a lot into these cards. I especially enjoyed some reveals in the later cards that I wasn't expecting. These puzzles rely on logic, pattern recognition, tracking, and more. Some cards will become more important later on so make sure to lay out your cards on a table as you unveil them to help. I would say this game was largely linear where each puzzle guided you into the next. This kind of game is great to get kids into the puzzle-y festive spirit or for some adults wanting to enjoy an eggnog and a quick puzzling experience (it took me about 41 minutes as a solo player). 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "The Kringle Kaper" is a good addition to the growing seasonal puzzle games that provides a fun and easy gaming experience that can really get people talking together. This is the kind of game you can easily fit into your busy schedule of setting up the Christmas tree, visiting family, and preparing for Santa’s visit. It provides pretty visuals, a light and clear storyline, and a variety of puzzles that keeps you engaged. I always left each puzzle feeling proud of myself. This game targets less experienced puzzlers but I can see myself sharing this with family as an introduction to the puzzle world during the holidays. There is a physical game available for purchase if you would like to avoid printing and setting up for a decent price - just make sure to order in time! Overall, a festive adventure with mystery, engaging puzzles, and a good premise creates a recipe for a fun Christmas puzzle adventure! You can also check out the Halloween themed game here! (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 Grand Gamers Guild 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 #DigitalGames #PrintNPlay #Puzzlebymail #GrandGamersGuild #OneOffs #Mystery #Christmas #Holiday #USA

Photo above is property of Grand Gamers Guild Company: Grand Gamers Guild Game: The Cupid Crisis Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Romance, Holiday Date Played: May 14, 2022 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 4/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Recommended ages 13+) Time: 60 Minutes Price: $10.99 (Physical Game)/ $5.49 (Print-N-Cut) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Today is Valentine's Day and you are extremely excited to go on a date at this fancy restaurant. Before your partner arrives, you decide to check out the place. When you step into the restaurant, the entrance door shuts down. You are locked in! You try to ask for help, but nobody is around. What is going on here? Can you find out and escape from this restaurant to meet your date? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ I played a print-and-cut version of the game. If you select to play the print-and-cut one, you need to print out the contents in color, and then you cut those printouts into small cards as the instruction tells you. Try not to read things on each card to avoid a spoiler. I loved that the lovely pictures on the cards fit perfectly with the theme and puzzles. All of them were charming and engaging. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 After you create a stack of cards, you access the website mentioned on the instruction page of the printout. Then, you can start the game from the first card you are told to work on. When you get an answer, you can enter it on the game website to move on. Once you start the game, the website tracks the time you finish the game. It will give you a rating in the end. What I loved the most about this game was that it was simple and easy to play. I appreciated the extra information and step-by-step hints for the puzzles on the game's website. All I needed was just a colored printout and a tool to connect internet like my smartphone. It was convenient to play the game anytime I wanted to play. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 I enjoyed solving a variety of puzzles like word and deductive puzzles. Some require just a quick insight to solve. Some require more logical thinking. Sometimes I needed to have outside knowledge to solve, but information to solve those puzzles was listed on the website. Do not forget to check out that information. In any case, all of them were really satisfying and enjoyable to work on since each puzzle uniquely fit into Valentine's Day theme. I really enjoyed how the game progressed. It started from an introductory puzzle to more challenging ones as it went on. The use of puzzle cards got more complex and interesting toward the end. Overall, the game was delightful. When I finished it, I felt a good sense of accomplishment. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 “The Cupid Crisis” was a great game to spend fun time with your date, friends, or even yourself. I am not sure if it is romantic, but it certainly gave me some fun and a sweet time. This game may not be for people who seek thrill or complicated puzzles but for people who seek fun and joyous moments by solving many puzzles in a cute situation. The game is easily accessible anytime you decide to play. So, if you want to have a happy time with your date or without, don’t wait till Valentine’s Day. Just visit this mysterious restaurant to solve some tasty puzzles. (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 Grand Gamers Guild 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. #ChikakoOmura #AtHomeGames #DigitalGame #PrintNPlay #GrandGamersGuild #OneOffs #Romance #Holiday #USA

Photo above is property of Epic Escapes Company: Epic Escapes Game: The Chemist's Conundrum Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Science Date Played: July 16, 2022 Difficulty (based on 5 players): 8/10 Size of Team: 1-6 Players Time: 60 Minutes Price: £14.97 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You are a Chemist (or several Chemists!) at the top of your field but are looking for something to push you further. You spot an advert to go and work with the famous Dr. Vincent MacAlistair who has written some incredible papers recently. You’ve made it to the interview and excitedly arrived in a room with other top scientists and met by the famous Doctor, who says a few words and promptly leaves the room, shouting as he leaves “Read the letter with a circle!”. You glance down at the puzzling papers with an uneasy feeling as an ominous hissing noise begins, and decide that if you’re in with a chance of passing, or getting out of here, you’d better get solving! 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The PDF is emailed to you and it's 15 pages long. There is no need to cut anything out, but you might want to print a few of the pages to use a pencil on, or if you have a touchscreen laptop you could digitally write on the documents. If all else fails, you can recreate the pages that needs to be drawn on manually! Your task is to solve the 9 conundrums left to you, the answers to each will give you a chemical element. Each puzzle (or puzzle and related information) is marked with a different symbol to identify them easily and make sure you don’t miss anything vital. Once you have identified all the elements, you have some further manipulation of the answers to do to get to your final goal…. The 4-digit code to get out of here!! Hints are sent to you as a separate document, as are the solutions to the puzzles, so no peeking before you start! That said, the hints (of which there are 3 for each puzzle, are encoded with a Caesar Cypher (free puzzle!) so you have to work them out to see them, or you can scan the QR codes to read them on the web. You don’t have to solve the puzzles in any particular order - so you can work through them in any order as a team, or even split them up between members of the group if you so wish, whatever works for you. Photo above is property of Epic Escapes 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 We found a few of the puzzles quite difficult! It was nice to be challenged - and it lives up to it's title with a heavy lean towards chemistry themes with a lot of math involved! We went down a rabbit-hole a few times, and some puzzles have a much more obvious “in” than others, but with just a couple of hints used in the whole game (and a little bit of outside Googling and internet assistance) we got there. There’s a nice mix of codes, maths, deduction and visual puzzles. A couple of the puzzles went right over my head, but the nice thing was that with a team playing, there was always someone who worked out what to do and then we were off. The deduction puzzle was perfectly split between 5 of us with everyone taking a different piece of the information and got into a nice rhythm communicating. Photo above is property of Epic Escapes 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The second in the print-n-cut series from this lovely UK creator, this certainly kept us engaged and worked our brains. Anyone with a love of science, maths, and code-based puzzles will have a lot of fun with this. If you submit your completion time on the website where you check your final answer, you are entered into a draw to win a free game! (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 Epic Escapes 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. #HelenBailey #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Science #EpicEscapes #UK

Photo above is property of Escape SC Company: Escape SC Game: Past Lives Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻 Genre: Sci-Fi, Science Date Played: July 16, 2022 Difficulty (based on 5 players): 7/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players Time: 60 Minutes Price: $5.00/ Team 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Someone from your past is trying to connect with you. Could they be your soulmate? Crack the clues and read the messages to find out! Photo above is property of Escape SC 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 You, or one person from your group, orders the game online and enters their name and birthdate as the game can be personalised to you! A nice touch! You will be emailed a very attractive pink PDF file, of which you will need to print a couple of the pages if you can. You may need scissors, glue/tape as well as the document. Hints and puzzle solutions are available on the Past Lives website and you will also need to use the internet via links in the document to access and research some things. The ultimate solution you will need is a number which you enter into a page on the website to confirm. You can then call the number (if you’re in the US) and hear a recorded message! 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The introductory page is a small puzzle in itself and has a very clever additional resource to help you complete it. There are just 4 solutions you will need to find, but each one is made up of several smaller puzzles, so plenty to work on! Each solution is coded with a colour/shape so you know which of the puzzles relate to which. There are codes, jigsaw type puzzles, origami/3d manipulation, hidden messages, logic based puzzles and more! Photo above is property of Escape SC 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 From the makers of the brilliant digital "Science Splice" game comes another whimsical and humorous adventure in print-n-cut format this time. If you’re into quirky lighthearted games, romance, astrology or even dinosaurs - this has something for everyone! For just a small donation this is a fun way to spend an hour puzzling with friends - hats off to the University of Southern California students! (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 Escape SC for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #HelenBailey #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Science #EscapeSC #USA

Photo above is property of The Blue Coconut Company: The Blue Coconut Game: Circus of Secrets Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Circus Date Played: November 1, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Approximately 50 Mins. Price: £7.20 (Print at home), £10.00 (by mail) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Luna Runeheart, a mysterious fortune teller of the Mystic Manor Circus, has locked the artifact of unparalleled power in a Cryptex Puzzle Box and hid it somewhere in this circus. Luna has chosen you as a seeker of the artifact to gain its tremendous power for good. But you are not the only one who seeks this powerful relic. The evil ‘Crystal Pirate’ is also after this artifact for something malicious. Your job is to identify who ‘Crystal Pirate’ is, find where the artifact is, and decipher the codes to open the Cryptex Puzzle Box. Are you up for this challenge? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ I loved the whole artwork for this game. All the pictures suited well to its story and created a wonderful atmosphere of the mysterious circus to enhance the immersive feeling greatly. Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 I played the printable version of the game. Once you purchase the game via the website, you can download and print out the content to play the game. Although printing the files is recommended, you can still view the files digitally and play the game without printing. If you decide to print the files, read the instructions before you print because some files are better to print double-sided. Photo above is property of The Blue Coconut 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The artwork of this game was fantastic. With the narrative and the attractive images, I was immersed in this game. The puzzles themselves were simple. The challenging part was to figure out which pieces of information were needed to obtain the answers. Once I figured that out, it was straightforward. Although I loved how they presented the atmosphere of this peculiar circus just by the pictures and stories on the pieces of paper, I felt there was a lot of information for such simple puzzles. Some might be misleading or unnecessary. It was helpful that what I needed to answer was clearly stated in the prologue. I also appreciated that hints and solutions were available on the website. I could check my answer as I moved forward. It might be more fulfilling and complete if they provided an ending story after the game since the introductory part was alluring. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Circus of Secrets" was a fun puzzle game with an attractive narrative and charming pictures. It was easy to print out and play at home. Even though the game was played at home, I was visually drawn into the world of this mysterious circus because of the images that this game had. The puzzles themselves were straightforward. This is a game for those who care about the decor of the game or those who love a fun game night with friends and family. So, when you want to have fun with your friends and family, why don't you get involved in this mysterious circus? (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 Blue Coconut for providing us with a sample of this game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #ChikakoOmura #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #Circus #TheBlueCoconut #UnitedKingdom

Photo above is property of Escape Room Geeks Company: Escape Room Geeks Game: The Gilded Carcanet Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Adventure Date Played: December 30, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 90-120 Mins) Price: $29.00 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Embark on an adventure with Professor Barty and Oscar Quin as an old friend reaches out from Istanbul. Follow the clues, solve puzzles, and unravel the mystery to uncover what your friend was searching for and where they have disappeared to. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ This was a print and play game. When I printed it out, the color and art was superb. Similar to a comic book, this game had some beautiful artwork. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Starting the game off, the first few documents provided clear instructions on the setup and how to play. Some nice touches were the clear legend on what the different symbols on each page meant such as what needed to be cut, folded, or discarded. (Make sure to have scissors on hand) Additionally, the inventive formatting where the game was printed out in reverse, allowed for flipping pages face down to prevent accidentally spoiling parts of the game. The extraordinary artwork elevated the game and made it more immersive in the experience. The game narrative was like a comic book, with each page presenting a puzzle that the main characters had to solve. Once solved, I utilized their unique answer checker to confirm the answer. Make sure to follow the notes on top, guiding you on which pages to keep and which ones to discard, as you may require elements and clues from earlier on in the game to solve some later puzzles. Photo above is property of Escape Room Geeks 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles were quite challenging and blended into the narrative nicely. The “adults only” rating was definitely warranted. They had a variety of puzzles from ciphers, assembling and matching. What stood out for me was the creativity in taking some common puzzles and putting a twist to them to make them their own. The hint system was well done. The hints were tiered and on separate pages so you wouldn’t accidentally see too many at the same time and at the end, a very comprehensive walkthrough of each puzzle. One thing that really stood out was their unique solution checker which was clever in how it was set up. It was something I have never seen before. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "The Gilded Carcanet" was an excellent print and play adventure that was easy to set up and stimulating to play. The puzzles were the right amount of challenging and was blended into the narrative seamlessly. I played on my own for this one but feel a group of 4 could enjoy this easily. For more people, you could also print Additional copies of the game, allowing everyone to work on their own copy simultaneously. Fans of Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones or anyone who loves a comic style game would enjoy this one. The ending and foreshadowing was intriguing, setting things up for what is hopefully more to come. (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Escape Room Geeks 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 #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #DIY #EscapeRoomGeeks #Adventure #USA