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Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society Company: The Deadbolt Mystery Society Game: Flashback Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Murder Mystery, 90's Date Played: June 12, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 Players) Time: Approximately 90-120 Minutes Price: $26.99 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You were one of the top actresses back in the 90's with your hit show, She-Wolf. Now, under the management of Jake Murray, you are sailing on a 90's themed cruise signing autographs and speaking at panels on flip phones, Y2K, and retro video games. Heading back to your murder! Can you figure out the 411 before it’s too late? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the retro themed box, you will find the standard beginning brief, collector’s card and sticker that comes in all Deadbolt Mystery Society (DBS) games. You will also find a variety of high-quality paper, themed with a retro 90s feel, that you will need to solve the first part of the game. Also, in the box are a few envelopes that you will open as you progress through the game. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 At the start, you will find the beginning brief that will introduce to you to the story as well as some notes that you took. Looking at the items, you will try to eliminate some suspects from the group as you solve puzzles and progress from envelope to envelope. How DMS games work is there are typically QR codes on different cards that you will scan and input your answers. If you are correct, a document will open that will progress the story or give you a piece of information needed to solve something else. The story was well written, detailed, and immersive. Though the game was about murder, there were some lighthearted jokes and dialogue that made me chuckle a bit. The game embraced the 90's theme with the design and dialogue, which reminded me of my teenage years. The dialogue from the different characters I encountered along the way felt genuine which added to how immersive the game was. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Overall, there were a variety of puzzles that kept me busy. There were a few times I did wish I played with someone else since some of the puzzles could have been done in tandem. There were some math and logic puzzles that seemed to drag out a little and if you are not into those types of puzzles, you might want to use the solution guide to help you out. One of the highlights was a 90's trivia puzzle that even though all the answers were peppered into the game, I was able to answer all the questions without any assistance. How the hints for this game worked is there is a link on the DBS page that will open up a “hint” document and a “solution” document. The hints document will open a pdf with progressive hints for the puzzles. One comment is that the hints are all on the same page, one after another so if I was looking for one hint, I would need to be careful with my wandering eye to not look at any of the other hints. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The Deadbolt Mystery Society always has some great storytelling and this one was no different. The theming of the game had a nostalgic feel to it as well as references, that as a 90s child, really resonated with me. The flow of the game was seamless with the story and puzzles going hand in hand. Anyone who grew up in the 90's or fans of retro themes would have a great time with this game. I played on my own, but this easily could accommodate a few other people with some non-linear and linear elements. This game is absolutely “da bomb” and should be played (or whatever)! (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 The Deadbolt Mystery Society 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzleByMail #SubscriptionGames #Murder #90s #USA #TheDeadboltMysterySociety

Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society Company: The Deadbolt Mystery Society Game: Hacked Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Murder Mystery, Cold Case Date Played: June 20, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 Players) Time: Approximately 90-120 Minutes Price: $26.99 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 As part of the Will Street Detective Agency, someone has hacked your database. Leaving you a message, the hacker Fluk3 has information for you about 2 cold cases from many years ago. They believe that a 3 rd murder is also connected and could be the one to close all 3 cases. Who is Fluk3 though, and can they be trusted? Can you find the connections between all the cases? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, you will find the typical Deadbolt Mystery Society (DBS) introduction and the starting brief. Combing through the high-quality documents, there are also 2 other envelopes. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 After reading the Beginning Brief, I dove right into this game. This game in particular was non- linear and did not have other “Do not open until instructed” envelopes. From the start, I was able to open and search everything to try and make connections. One of the things that really stood out was that DBS had some high quality audio clips involved that added to the gameplay. There were also some video clips, some to advance the story and some to solve. The story was also a little more intense with a darker tone then some of the other DBS I’ve played but as usual, brilliantly written. As typical for most DBS games, there are QR codes that need to be scanned to input your answer. If you are correct, a document will open up, providing you with more information. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The game had a variety of puzzles ranging from eureka to cipher. The amount of puzzles and deduction in this game was well balanced. As someone who prefers more puzzles, I found the amount of deducing simpler and the game was more about making connections through the answers in the puzzles. The hint system for DBS is they give you access to a hints document and a solutions document. The hints document has a progressive system giving you multiple hints. The only issue is that all the hints are on a single page and one after another, so a wandering eye could easily read all the hints by mistake. It is nice that the solutions are in a separate document though. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Hacked" hit all the high notes for me in what I enjoy in a detective game. The story had a classic murder mystery tone and had the written quality of a novel. The puzzles were a solid balance of puzzling and deducing with an open flow that allowed me to explore everything right from the start with no restrictions. Any veteran DBS fans or armchair detectives would enjoy this game. I did play this one on my own but there was definitely room for a few more people. (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 #TabletopGames #PuzzleByMail #SubscriptionGames #Murder #Mystery #ColdCase #USA #TheDeadboltMysterySociety

Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society Company: The Deadbolt Mystery Society Game: Murder at the Zoo Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Murder Mystery, Animals Date Played: December 3, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 13+) Time: Approximately 1-2 Hrs Price: $36.99 USD (one-off box, boxes are cheaper via subscription) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Everyone is in shock that the zoo’s beloved lion, Claude, escaped his enclosure last night and mauled one of the staff to death. How could he have escaped? And what could have prompted this normally friendly kitty to turn on someone so viciously? You’ve been called in to investigate and see if you can figure out how this tragedy unfolded…learning a lot about the zoo dramas along the way! 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ As with other DMS games we have played, this is a primarily paper-based experience, but with lots of high-quality, glossy prints, various paper sizes, and excellent graphic design. There are also some thematic physical “ephemera” that come into play to help you solve puzzles, but can also make great keepsakes (like an adorable elephant keychain, in this case). Finally, there is a Collector’s Card and a fun little sticker as mementos and reminders of your incredible intellect and detective skills. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 "Murder at the Zoo" is a gated experience, with some materials you have access to initially, a main envelope you gain access to midway, and a final solution envelope that concludes the story once you’ve solved the mystery. However, the largest stage of gameplay, after opening the main envelope, is fairly non-linear. We enjoyed how you often needed tidbits of information from multiple components to solve a particular puzzle, and some documents were used more than once. There is a fair bit of reading to do; we had a great time reading aloud to one another and impersonating the various characters. The writing and characters were quite entertaining and definitely a strength of the game! Then there are specific puzzle cards with questions on them and a QR code, which leads you to download a password-protected PDF. When you’ve correctly solved the puzzle and entered the password, you’ll get access to a new part of the story and new information in that pdf. There is a final meta puzzle that requires you to bring together lots of things you’ve gleaned along the way! Downloading so many pdfs to my phone was a minor pain, but (since we split the game over two days) it was nice to be able to easily refer back to them the next day. I was happy I had just left them open, so that I didn’t have to re-enter the passwords! Both the tiered hint system and the final solutions are also available to download as pdfs. On the two occasions we needed them, the tiered hint system seemed to work really well; though, in looking through it after we finished, it did seem like there could be more detailed hints given for different aspects of the meta puzzle. In all, the game took us about 90 minutes at a fairly leisurely pace. Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles in Murder in the Zoo are generally quite approachable and would largely be suitable for newer players, though the meta requires a fair bit of compilation of multiple pieces of info! Admittedly, we needed hints twice - once, we failed to read the directions carefully enough…read them! The other time, our aging eyes failed us, and we had to grab a magnifying glass to understand what we were doing wrong, after looking at the solution. So, if your eyes are not so fabulous, don’t hesitate to take a closer look at one element in particular. There were varied types of challenges, from decryption to logic puzzles. There are no physical manipulation kinds of puzzles, though the physical ephemera are useful. We generally found the puzzles to all be fair and satisfying; be prepared for a decent amount of writing for a few. (We doubted one for a little while, but we just hadn’t found all the info we needed yet! You shouldn’t need to guess, so if you aren’t sure - wait til you look at more of the documents…) Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 We definitely learn more towards puzzle-focused games over either extensive narrative or deduction, and for us Deadbolt Mystery Society hits a really nice balance. They are fairly story and character-rich, but there are still satisfying puzzles to solve, with some deduction thrown in as well. Murder at the Zoo, specifically, had lots of great tongue-in-cheek moments, and we appreciated the diversity of the cast. The characters are all of the type you'd find in a zoo and have legitimate motivations causing them to be suspects, so nothing feels extraneous or shoehorned in, As someone who has actually worked at a zoo, it was fabulous to see how they brought the scene to life (with a little artistic license). This is the perfect game for animal lovers or those looking for a somewhat lighter (but still investigating a murder…) theme in the DMS series. Get your Dr. Doolittle on and save sweet Claude by finding the real villain! (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 Deadbolt Mystery Society 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. #KristaJones #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzleByMail #SubscriptionGames #Murder #Mystery #Animals #USA #TheDeadboltMysterySociety

Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society Company: The Deadbolt Mystery Society Game: Down the Rabbit Hole Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Murder Mystery Date Played: September 29, 2023 Difficulty (based on 4 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 Players) Time: Approximately 2-3 Hrs Price: $28.99 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Your grandfather, Edgar Mirkowsky, has been living at the Abernathy Retirement Community. After an odd string of deaths occurred at the community, your grandfather who is a former private detective himself, has reached out to you to help him investigate. Remembering the tall tales that your grandfather used to tell you, you head over there not expecting too much. When you get there though, you realize that maybe there is something more hidden behind these walls. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening up the art printed box, we found all we need to play through the game. There is a "start here" document as well as an initial briefing, lots of high-quality print items to go through and a few other envelopes that tell us not to open them until instructed to do so. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 To get the game started, we began by reading the beginning brief that introduced us to the story as well as some points of interest on the documents and items. How DMS games work is there are typically QR codes on different cards that we will scan and input our answers. If we are correct, a document will open that will progress the story or give us a piece of information needed to solve something else. The story behind “Down the Rabbit Hole” was appealing. It built up through the different sections as we progressed and introduced us to different characters along the way. This one made us feel like true detectives as we had to learn about people along the way and see how they all fit together. There were also some great references to Alice in Wonderland sprinkled throughout the game that are recognizable even without knowing a lot about "Alice in Wonderland". Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There was a diverse blend of puzzles, which we all got involved into solving. The puzzles were made up of ciphers, deduction and more. The signposting was on point, and we never questioned if that was something we needed to look at. To access the hints, you can scan a QR code that will take you to a hints document and a solutions document. One change from previous DMS games is that the hints are more spaced out on the page and labelled to avoid accidentally reading the next line of the hints. Some of the hints are also more built out and thorough in explaining what you should look at. This was a welcome change for us. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Down the Rabbit Hole" was a fantastic mystery game with lots of fun references to "Alice in Wonderland". The story kept us guessing throughout and captured us more as we played through. The puzzles were diverse and blended in beautifully with the story adding in just the right amount of difficulty. We played with 4 people which seemed like the perfect amount. We found there was plenty to pass around but allowed us to see everything. Any fans of detective games or Alice in Wonderland would like this game. This game is worth venturing down the rabbit hole for a great mystery experience. (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 The Deadbolt Mystery Society 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzleByMail #SubscriptionGames #Murder #Mystery #ColdCase #USA #TheDeadboltMysterySociety

Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society Company: The Deadbolt Mystery Society Game: Merry Mischief Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂ Genre: Mystery Date Played: December 18, 2023 Difficulty (based on 4 players): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Approximately 1-2 Hrs) Price: $5.99 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 It’s the night before Christmas and there is hijinx in the air. Someone has gone and wrecked Santa’s sleigh as well as stolen the catalytic cheer converter. The sleigh can be fixed in time but without the converter, the sleigh won’t be able to fly. With time running out, you need to find out who did it and where the part is, or there will be no Christmas this year. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ This game is a print and play with 16 pages for the game, a booklet for hints and one for solutions. Each page is beautifully designed and is what you would see inside a DMS box, including the introduction story, evidence needed to solve the case and QR codes to progress the story. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game follows the same format as the other DMS games you might have seen. First, there is a general introduction sheet that explains the setup. Then you can read a detailed introduction, explaining the story to you as well as telling you where to start and what to look at. To progress through the story, once you solve a puzzle, there will be QRs to scan and input your answer. If you are correct, you will get additional narrative to continue the story. This game was on the easier side and a little more straight forward than other DMS games we have played, which makes it a perfect game to introduce people to mystery games or a nice filler for an evening. The story was not too complicated and the set up was non-linear which allowed us to divide and conquer. There was also a page to help us keep track of the answers along side the QR codes which was helpful. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles were clued well and logical. Each of them was different enough to allow everyone a different solve. Some puzzles required color to solve so make sure to either print the document in color or have it up on your computer. Since the puzzles were easier than most of their other games, the hint system only had one hint for each puzzle, which more or less explained how to complete the solve. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Merry Mischief" was a solid mystery game to get us in the holiday spirit. It is one of DMS’ micro mysteries which made it shorter than most of their boxes. It was also on the easier end which made it perfect to introduce new people to these types of mystery games. The puzzles were creative and it had a cute, cheery narrative. We played with 4 veteran puzzle solvers and were able to finish in under an hour. Anyone looking for some holiday cheer or a non-murderous mystery game would really enjoy this one. (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 Deadbolt Mystery Society 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #DigitalGames #PrintNCut #SubscriptionGames #Mystery #USA #TheDeadboltMysterySociety

Photo above is property of The Deadbolt Mystery Society Company: The Deadbolt Mystery Society Game: Lost on the Yellow Brick Road Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Mystery Date Played: January 10, 2024 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1 to 6 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Recommended 2.5 - 3 Hrs) Price: $36.99 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 At the Will Street Detective Agency, a distressed woman named Laura Baumgartner appears, pleading for help in finding her missing daughter, Judy. Laura recounts a troubling voicemail from Judy referencing a "yellow brick road"; and a cryptic coin, suggesting she's in danger. Intrigued by the mention of "Oz" and rumors of an underground society in the city's abandoned subway tunnels, you decide to take the case. Accepting the unusual coin and trinkets, you embark on a quest to unravel the mystery and locate Judy, knowing she's likely caught up in a perilous situation beneath the city streets. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, we discovered a coin and some trinkets, some papers printed on quality stock, some with QR codes. There were also some hefty and packed envelopes marked with instructions to not open until told to do so. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 We started the game by diving into the articulated “Beginning Brief” that introduced the story to us. The end of the brief clued us on what we should begin to look at and that started us off. For those who are new to DMS, how the game progresses is once you solve the puzzles or believe you know key information, you will scan QR codes and use that information as the password. If you are right, the document will open and continue the story or tell you more information. The story had more depth than usual with some surprising twists along the way, making this feel more like an action movie. DMS did there research as there were lots of fun easter eggs, references and interesting facts about The Wizard of Oz. The graphic design of the documents helped us feel more involved in the story. There were times when we could picture ourselves in the locations. The game box says that the time it takes to play through the game is 2.5 to 3 hours but we feel that more experienced players could complete it in 1.5 hours. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles were entertaining to go through and ramped up pleasantly. There were some matching puzzles, word puzzles and some deduction along the way. The puzzles were clued well and blended into the game smoothly. One thing we noticed was that this DMS game had a few more tangible items than some of their previous games, which allowed them to get a little more creative in their puzzles. Our only complaint there was that some of the items were left in their original packaging, slightly detracting from the overall immersion. The hints document seemed more refined than their previous games with nicer formatting and more tiers leading up to the solution, which was found on a separate document. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Lost on the Yellow Brick Road" was a polished and engaging experience. The story telling was exceptional and immersively written. The puzzles also flowed smoothly, never having frustrating stalls or overstaying their welcome. A mistake we always make is to assume that with such a small box, there isn’t much content but after we start to spread things out and work on stuff, we always wish we had a larger workspace. We played with 2 people but there is enough content that this could be played with 4 people. Any fans of the Wizard of Oz or any armchair detective would enjoy this game. If you are looking for an experience that will take you out of Kansas, this is one that for sure will. (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 Deadbolt Mystery Society 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzleByMail #SubscriptionGames #Mystery #USA #TheDeadboltMysterySociety

Videos/ Photos provided by Hunt A Killer Company: Hunt A Killer Game: 1973 - REMASTERED Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Detective Date Played: 4/1/2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited (Approx. 6-10 hrs of play time) Price: $149.00 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 FLUF rock band was one of the most popular cult bands in the 1970s. One night, the band leader Darryl Fanton was found dead in a motel and after that, the band members decided to go their own ways. It's now 25 years after the murder. You've received a commemorative box from the manager. Perhaps there were some untold secrets from back then? Check out our unboxing video below of the "1974 - REMASTERED" to see what exciting items you'll receive in the game! No Puzzle Spoilers! 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ This game came packaged in a beautiful maroon colored, gold detailed, hardcovered box. The box slides open like a drawer. Inside you'll find an auction house letter, 14 page case file, letter of authenticity from Sewer Horse Records, original band contract, commemorative drumstick, guitar pick and booklet, bandana with original artwork, Afterparty vinyl record, FLUF poster, and an owl illustration. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This is a game that lets you freely choose your style of play. Since there's not much to start on as most of the items are more prop based, I would suggest reading all the materials first. Once you formulated the characters and the scenes described in the narrative, you'll know what to do. Of course you can choose to "hunt" for puzzles right away but you'll probably find yourself lost very quickly. The game has components that you'll need the internet for but it's well connected with the storyline. You'll find yourself sleuthing for clues to tie everything you've found together to construct a bigger picture. There was a good balance of searching and narratives. I'm not too great at digging into various social media platforms or hidden Google map locations, so I'm glad this game didn't use any of those concepts. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Most of the puzzles were utilizing ciphers of various types and you'll need to decode them. There's really no place you'll need to input any answers which was quite different for us in terms of game play as we're so use to confirming if we're on the right path. This game is all about story reveal so if you've decoded a certain message, it'll help you with the deduction of a certain character being the murderer or not. I found this design quite fitting to the theme as inputting answers will probably take away from the immersion. There's a small part of me that wished there were a few more variations in terms of puzzle types but I found that most of the time I was more concentrated on the story aspect of the game rather than the puzzles. If you feel like you need a little nudge, there are hints available on their website. The hints will reveal the solution so you'll need to refer back to the envelope that game with the game to check your answers. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Opening 1973 - REMASTERED was like pressing the play button on a remote control. As we read through the memories of the band members, touched the authentic items that gave us a glimpse of what their lives were like back in the 70s and listened to some of the character's voice memos, it was quite easy to envision a movie playing in our minds. I love the twists and turns the narrative took us on and the endless guesses we've made on who's actually the killer. The light puzzle components were merely tools for the story reveals so if you're solely looking for solving puzzles, this might not be for you. This game is meant to be savored as a theater production rather than merely a tabletop experience! Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: *** This game is no longer available but check out other Hunt a Killer Games*** Disclosure: We thank Hunt A Killer 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. #ESCAPETHEROOMers #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #HuntAKIller #1973REMASTERED #PuzzlesByMail #Detective #Case #Mystery #Solve #murdermystery #subscription

Photos above are property of Hunt A Killer Company: Hunt A Killer Game: Murder at the Motel Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Detective Date Played: September 16, 2021 Difficulty (based on 1 players): 3/10 Size of Team: 1-5 Players (Ages 14+) Time: 45-60 Mins. Price: $29.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The Sunset Motel has a lot more going on then it seems. This remote desert motel is now under the scrutiny of the police after the contractor for the hotel was found mysterious dead by the housekeeper. The police currently have their sights on a runaway suspect but, as an investigator, you know it’s important to leave no stone unturned and these motel guests might have the answers you need to identify who the killer truly is. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ One thing I have found Hunt A Killer does well each time I play is their attention to detail in their components. Every hotel log, receipt, and letter looks official and put together so that you could really imagine yourself to be involved in a murder investigation. Inside the box you will find, a letter from the investigator, note from the housekeeper, a receipt, a photo, a police report, a journal, a locked box, a curious little pouch, and more that will aid in your investigation to solve the murder. Photos above are property of Hunt A Killer 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 In order to cater to more of a boardgame market, Murder at the Motel comes with a guidebook to get you started. The game is more explorative, but you are nudged by the guidebook and a letter from the police to complete two goals before you can identify who the killer is – build a timeline and open the locked box. In a traditional murder mystery fashion, you have a series of suspects (hotel guests and employees) who you need to cross-examine with the evidence. I recommend starting with focusing on who could have been around during the time of murder. There is a lot of evidence that to pour over that isn’t necessarily related to the puzzles but, rather, helps build the story to understand motive. I recommend taking the time to read through and examine all the documents before jumping into the puzzling aspect. In these kinds of games, the story is just as important as the puzzles. The ultimately goal of this game is to deduce the killer and, as such, the puzzles are only a piece of this deduction. They will provide key information but without knowing the story you may identify the wrong killer. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The main focus of this game is deduction but there is a locked box. The lock has a four-digit code. I found for the theme of the game, the focus of deduction was well situated and, as a Target exclusive game, I think the puzzle element is intentionally light. This is a beginner game to Hunt a Killer’s large game collection. With examining the evidence, you will have to identify all the suspects, the rooms they reside in, and create a timeline of where they were over the course of the day. There are some red herrings so be advised. These are easy to catch and see they are dead ends if you are taking care to examine all evidence before you start building profiles and timelines. I do wish there was a bit more puzzling to this game, but I found the deduction really satisfying and unlocking that box really helped cement my suspect. This game is more about the solving the mystery than puzzles per se. If you feel like you need a little nudge, there are hints available on their website (link is included in the guidebook). There is also a bonus epilogue on this site you can read after completing the game. There is a solution envelope for the end, but you can check your answers on the website before opening it. Photos above are property of Hunt A Killer 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Murder at the Motel" is an excellent experience for beginners looking to dip their toes into a murder mystery. It is a shorter game (takes about an hour) which works for many people who don’t have a lot of time but still packs a punch with lots of content and a well-formed mystery. As I unpacked this mystery, I was able to really put together an interesting story woven into what comes across as an unsuspecting motel. The twist was good, and the deduction was quite smooth for such a short experience. For someone looking for more puzzles I recommend turning to their monthly subscriptions but if you’re looking to put on your detective’s hat for an hour and immerse yourself in a mini murder mystery than Murder at the Motel is the perfect option! 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"!) #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Detective #MurderMystery #HuntAKiller #USA #Detective

Photo above is property of Hunt A Killer Company: Hunt A Killer Game: Death At The Dive Bar Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Murder Mystery, Detective Date Played: December 18, 2021 Difficulty (based on 4 players): 7/10 Size of Team: 1-6 ppl (Ages 14+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 45-60 mins.) Price: $26.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 As detectives with the Gray Investigation Agency, you have been given the task to investigate the suspicious death of Nick Webster, the owner of the Old Scratch Tavern. The Perdition Police has ruled Nick’s death as an accident but Carmen Rojas, a friend and employee of Nick’s, believes that foul play was involved. She has sent you her findings and is hoping you can discover what truly happened to Nick. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, we were welcomed with a letter from Michelle Gray from Gray Investigations. She will introduce the case to you. From there, you will also find another letter from Carmen Rojas, who believes her boss, Nick Webster was murdered and is looking for some help to prove it. Diving into the rest of the box, there is an abundance of items, papers and photos which will need to be looked over to solve the case. Photos above are property of Hunt A Killer 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game is less escape room and more deducing. We were presented with 4 suspects and the goal was to find the one person who had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime using the evidence at hand. If you missed the Crime Solving 101 class, there was a nice introduction to the game in the rules, defining those three aspects of mystery. There were 4 of us around a table looking at the different pieces of evidence, talking through what we were finding and sharing any new, relevant information (Gasp! Mrs. X was friends with Mr. Y). One thing we liked was that everything in the box was relevant to some piece of information that we needed and could usually be put aside once you determined the information needed. If we were stuck on getting information from a piece of evidence, there was a website that we could go to for hints. The hints were set up with nice leveling to allow a few hints before revealing the answer. Once we were done looking at everything, we were able to do our best to piece together the information we discovered and determine who committed the murder. One thing we found lacking was once you open the solution envelope; it will only wrap up the story about who the killer was. Since we ended up at the wrong conclusion, we were hoping to have a better explanation of what we missed and how the killer was to be determined. There was more information as well as an epilogue letter on the website that easily could have been placed in the envelope. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There were minimal puzzles to solve here but there was plenty of deducing to be done. Like a true detective, most of the items involved us trying to get information from them and linking them to other facts. There was one piece of evidence that some non-escape room players may not know how to solve but the game had a guide in the introduction that we found helpful in giving us the information needed. One thing that threw us off was the instructions telling us not to trust anyone so there were a few times we found ourselves questioning the authenticity of items. Do not overthink things or you will find yourself going down meaningless rabbit holes. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 For a detective deduction game, we had a blast with this one. Anyone who loves to make evidence boards would have a lot of fun with this game. All the items had information that had to be extracted, some were easier ones with some you had to comb over a little find. Four seems to be a good number of players since we could all look over everything, draw conclusions from them and talk out loud to share our findings. Even at the end, we had to take the notes we all had made and try to solve the mystery. Overall, a solid and well thought out game. 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 Hunt A Killer 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 #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Detective #MurderMystery #HuntAKiller #USA

Photo above is property of Hunt A Killer Company: Hunt A Killer Game: Supernova Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Sci-Fi, Comic Fan Date Played: June 5, 2022 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited (Approx. 4-6 Hrs.) Price: $119.00 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 As a fan of the “The Cosmic Adventures of Supernova” comic book, which concluded on a cliffhanger 10 years ago, you sign up for the official fan club. When you receive your package though, the creator, Gunny Graham, reaches out to you and reveals to you that "Supernova" is his sister and in fact a real life superhero patrolling the galaxy. Unable to contact Supernova for the last 10 years, he fears that she has been imprisoned by the Void and needs your help in finding her whereabouts and freeing her. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ This box was huge! This was definitely the largest box I have ever gotten for a puzzle game and it was fully packed. This game contains 19 items (as confirmed on the postcard checklist), each as high quality as the next. This includes the club membership card, member button, original inked comic page and more. Some of the items that really stood out was the metal decoder disc, the full-size Supernova action figure and a fully colored comic that could have come straight from the racks of a comic bookstore. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 After reading the letter that Gunny has included for you, you can begin combing through all the items. There was a lot of content to go through and lots of reading. Make sure to read it all though as there are some details that you will need. We did love going through it all because it all played a part into the story. There was a lot more story in this game than we were expecting which added a whole new layer to this game. All the information would lead to the ending where we would have to decide and choose between 2 different endings. The hint/solution website is very detailed and articulate. On there, you can find a more detailed checklist of the game content as well as a nice layered hint system and even a nice layered solution system for each game item. You can also find a copy of everything you might need if you are playing with others or if you have missing items. At the bottom of the page is a full walkthrough too if you want to see if you have missed anything after the game. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There were some creative puzzles hidden in all the items. There was also a variety of difficulty and style as there were some we got right away and some we handled the item and took some time to get. There were a range of puzzles spanning from logic, following clues, ciphers and more. Make sure to have paper on hand so you do not need to write on any of the quality items. There was a lot of context clues needed once you discover phrases and words that may be important as well as figuring out how things go together. Overall, they did work well with the storyline and really blended into the game. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 As a comic book fan and puzzle game fan, this one knocked my cape off. All the content in the box was mint quality and the fact that there was a full blown action figure was unbelievable. Everything could be saved and displayed afterwards too if that is what you are into. There was also so much more story than we were expecting which really climaxed at the end when we had to make one of 2 choices. The game does say 4-6 hours but it took us a closer to 6 hours to complete. We played with 2 but there was a lot of content that this could easily be played with 4 to 6 and have everyone divide and conquer. For any comic, sci-fi fan out there or anyone looking for a highly immersive experience with tons of tangible objects, I highly recommend giving this a try. Now if only I can find some back issues of “The Cosmic Adventures of Supernova”. 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 Hunt A Killer 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 #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #SciFi #Comics #HuntAKiller #USA

Photo above is property of Hunt A Killer Company: Hunt A Killer Game: Nancy Drew: Mystery at Magnolia Gardens Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Mystery Date Played: January 26, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-5 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 60-90 Mins.) Price: $22.49 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 While visiting her friend, Florence, who is the Director of Magnolia Gardens, Nancy Drew finds that her and Florence have been poisoned. Realizing that someone has been using the Garden’s collection of “Fatal Flora” for their own purposes, Nancy Drew collects as much evidence as she can before feeling the effects of the poison. As both Nancy Drew and Florence are recovering at the hospital, Nancy sends you, her trusty apprentice, all that she has gathered and hopes that you can find the motive, opportunity and means and find out who the poisoner is. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Examining the contents of the box, you find many different items inside including Nancy Drew’s notes, some seed packets, pamphlets from the Garden, a small Magnolia Gardens lockbox and more. Photos above are property of Hunt A Killer 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Starting the game off, we skimmed through the instruction manual to see how the game is set up. If you have played other Hunt a Killer games or other deduction games, this one is no different. The main take aways from the manual was how to access the hint page and a good reminder that the final suspect needs to have all 3, motive, opportunity and means to be able to be the poisoner. After reading the manual, we dove right into Nancy Drew’s notes and the other contents of the game. There was a lot to read spanning a lot of papers and items so there was no shortage of stuff to do for either of us. One tip is to share any information you find relevant to the case and make notes. We found that talking out loud to each other made sure we could communicate vital information and we could deduce things together. The hint page for Hunt a Killer games is always well thought out and this one is no different. On the webpage we found multiple layered hints for the puzzles before giving us the final answer, which also gave us an explanation of the solution. We also found an inventory of what should be in the box as well as if we were having trouble reading Nancy Drew’s handwriting or issues with colors, we could find information to help us navigate those puzzles here. Once we were done and believed we solved the puzzle, we opened the Solution Envelope which gave us an in-depth explanation of all the items and how we could deduce who the poisoner was. We also enjoyed the epilogue that was provided with the story, giving us a nice final wrap up. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There were less puzzles in the game and more deduction, figuring out timelines and trying to find key information. If you are a detective board person, then this game would be perfect to be able to do that. The few puzzles we did encounter were clued well and were quick solves for experienced puzzlers. The puzzles were geared more towards beginners but still held their own eureka moments. Photos above are property of Hunt A Killer 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Mystery at Magnolia Gardens" is a great game for any armchair detective or anyone who loves a good mystery. There was a lot of deduction, timeline analysis and note taking involved. This game was on the easier end but would be an excellent first game for anyone new to Hunt a Killer or even a casual evening for some experienced detectives. We played with 2 but there was so much information to go around that 5 people would still have a lot of fun playing this together and still stay busy. Not to mention the nostalgia of working alongside one of the world’s most iconic detectives, Nancy Drew. 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 Hunt A Killer 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 #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Mystery #HuntAKiller #USA

Photo above is property of UniQuest Games Company: UniQuest Games Game: The Hunt Country: Belgium 🇧🇪 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Mystery, Adventure, Secret Society Date Played: November 15, 2021 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 4-5 Players) (Ages 12+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 180 Mins.) Price: €54.00 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The secret order of the Pithoi Knights have devoted their lives to protecting a mystical weapon, known as the Corona's Box; unfortunately it was stolen in December 2019. The knights believe they finally have tracked the location of the box, only for the knight hunting it to be mortally wounded in an attack. This knight, with his dying breath, packed all the clues he had gathered into case and has passed on to you. Are you willing to take the oath and help humanity? The fate of the world rests in your hands. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "The Hunt" comes in a traditional cardboard box with the name of the game, an image of the world map, a mysterious figure, and a handprint. Inside you will find an envelope with a wax seal stuck to the lid of the box. The game contains two large envelopes (white and brown), a red transparent sheet, a large poster of cars in Riga, a booklet providing directions in Riga, a USB with a curious website on it, a newspaper wrapped around a vial of crystal orbs, two curious vials of holy waters, two passports, a dark page with symbols and words on it, and a hint card with a QR code. I found this game is packed with lots of content and the items look well made. Photos above are property of UniQuest Games 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 "The Hunt" is a puzzle game that focuses on tracking the path of the infamous Corona’s Box. The game begins with accessing the USB found with a wax seal envelope to receive your first instruction, which will guide you to the Pithoi Knight’s website. On this site there are some clues about the game as well as a form, which provides you with the objectives of the game. You will need to identify the four specific locations the Corona’s Box travelled since it was taken by another secret order – the fourth location being the current location. The various clues in your box are associated with the different couriers involved with the theft and through identifying the courier and hacking onto their work portal, you will gain the key pieces of information to help you identify the locations and the order of the box’s journey. Once you have all four locations, submit your answers onto the Pithoi Knight’s form before emailing the knights about your success. If you are stuck, the hint site (make sure to click the preferred language of Dutch or English in the top left corner drop down menu) breaks down the puzzles and provides multiple hints before giving the solution. This game is generally non-linear in terms of identifying the locations so you can divide and conquer or pick and choose where you want to start. You will need to identify the symbols associated to each courier and these will indicate which components in the game are relevant to your current task. I recommend not opening everything up immediately and waiting until you make it through the introductory puzzles before diving in so there’s no confusion of what items go to which courier. ** Note: Some components will be altered during the playthrough, and a USB is included in this game. If you would like to bypass inserting a USB into your game, the hint site does provide a pdf of what is contained in the USB.* Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles in this game use a nice variety of searching puzzles from ciphers to tracking movements. The key to this game is observation across all elements so take time to look through each item carefully before discarding it. I appreciated the little surprises in puzzles that acted to boost the fun of some of the more traditional puzzle methods. This game is packed with hidden elements that provide players with opportunities of “aha” with each location. These puzzles aren’t difficult but rely on keeping track of information, so I recommend making sure to have a pen and paper handy as you move through the game to keep records. This game is self–contained so all information provided by the game is all you need to complete it. The non-linear elements of this game definitely lends itself to be a more collaborative game which I think is an excellent idea. There is an escape room feel to this game based on the structure of the puzzles. I did find a couple puzzles a little tedious in the latter half of the game if you’re playing in smaller groups (1-2) so I do recommend playing with a few people so you each can have a refreshing experience. Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The Hunt was an adventurous trek across four fascinating countries with a fun assortment of escape room puzzles that work to encourage cooperation and collaboration amongst friends. I thought the story was pretty simple and that worked well to let the exploration element of this game shine through for players. This game is definitely for groups looking to play an escape room in the comfort of their home that is both cheaper (if you’re playing in groups of 4-5) and provides longer playtime. If you enjoy secret societies, searching puzzles, and playing puzzles with friends I think this is a great option to try out. Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of the 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 UniQuest Games 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 #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #UniQuestGames #Belgium #Mystery

Photo above provided by USB Escape Company: USB Escape Game: Knott Family Chronicles - Season One: Owen Country: Canada 🇨🇦 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Horror, Crime, Mystery Date Played: 5/22/2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5.5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: CAD $14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You received a strange letter from a mysterious person named "C". He seems to think that you would be intrigued by a cold case from awhile ago regarding Owen Knott. Perhaps he's been following you and knows that you love to solve mysteries. Dare to crack this case? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Season One: Owen came in a small bubble-wrapped package. Inside, you'll find a handwritten "Thank You" letter from the creator, a wax sealed note and a USB stick. Currently the game is available in PC or MAC. Make sure you order the right version for your computer. Our review version came with these beautiful stickers (photo below) which you can purchase for an additional cost on their website. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Once you read the letter from "C", you should be intrigued enough to plug in this USB. Once you open the drive, you'll see a bunch of folders in date order. There's not much instructions on how you would approach this game but I would advise to go in date order. We made a mistake of checking on the "police file" too early and saw some spoilers so definitely make sure to check the dates of the files before opening them. Throughout the game you'll be given various emails, documents, pictures, audio files and they'll be able to help you solve the password locked folders. The folders you see labeled "password reset" are nudging hints and they are only to be used when you're stuck. They are not the type of password reminders that you see in some games where it's part of the puzzle. We made that mistake initially and quickly closed them for the rest of the game. If you love Easter eggs, there's a few bonus puzzles in the game as well. See if you can find all of them (according to the creator there should be three). 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 In almost all of the folders, there's a puzzle embedded in the context. They varied in terms of how they were presented. Some came in formats of text, others were through images and even audio. It was ingenious to be able to connect these to the narrative. I love the utilization of the different types of digital formats to tell us this chilling story. The videos were my favorite but also the ones I fear the most to open. The puzzles were not too difficult as I'm sure the creator wanted to focus more on the narrative. There's no solution given in the game. If you still can't get the answer through the nudging hints, you'll have to either email the company. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 I'm a scaredy-cat that loves horror and crime. This is the perfect theme for me. How does a scaredy-cat play these types of games? By covering her hands in front of her eyes and peeking through her fingers. I love the way the creator was able build up the intensity of the story from beginning to end. He also had us guessing and changing our minds throughout the entire game play. At first we thought it was one thing and then when new information arrived, our hypothesis was ruled out and we have to start from scratch again. Till this day, I still think about some of the details in the game and get chills. I'm super proud of myself for finishing the game at 2AM in the morning. But be prepared to embrace the big cliffhanger. The ending was left open for interpretation. I guess we'll have to wait till Season 2, which will be released on Nov 27, 2021! 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 USB Escape 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. #ESCAPETHEROOMers #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #USBEscape #KnottsFamilyChronicles #SeasonOne #Owen #Mystery #Supernatural #Horror #Detective #Thriller #USB #Search #Solve

Videos/ Photos provided by Blueprint Gaming Concepts Company: Blueprint Gaming Concepts Game: Crimes In History: H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle (with expansion pack of the 2nd story) Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Board Game 📬 Genre: Detective Date Played: 1/21/2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 2-6 Players (can also play it as a solo player) Time: Approx. 45-60 min per game session Price: Kickstarter 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The back story of Crimes In History: H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle took us back to 1893. During this year, Chicago held the World’s Columbian Exposition to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World. The world's first Ferris wheel was build during this celebratory event. Herman Webster Mudgett (a.k.a. H.H. Holmes) was working as a pharmacist at the time but his real job was a con artist. He eventually "made" enough money to build his own three-story World's Fair Hotel (a.k.a. "Murder Castle"). This is where the game takes place. Will you be able to escape traps, strategize your escape plan and be the first to make it back to safety with Holmes' crime evidences ? Or will you become his next victim? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Partnered with Holly Carden, you'll be able to enjoy beautiful graphics throughout the game (box cover, game components, rulebook layout, manufacturing file prep, etc.). The attention to details was impeccable. We were "wowed" by the quality of some of the game pieces: cotton draw string evidence bags, metal key, 3D character minis and more! 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 We played the game as two players. It took us about 40 minutes to get through one game session. We felt that other than strategy. there were definitely luck components to the game as well. If the Ferris Wheel evidence selection so happens to have items that you would need on your evidence board then you'll be able to collect those much quicker. The other player will also have to get unlucky with their event cards or having Holmes stop you from collecting the evidence you need. Regardless, there's no two games that'll be like. Because of the numerous factors presented in this game, it's highly replayable. The original game plays more competitively than the expansion pack. In the 2nd story, if one of the players want to take on the role of H.H. Holmes, the other players will actually get a chance to collaborate to go against Holmes. For a board game, this is probably consider easy in terms of set up but our specialty is mostly in puzzle game boxes where there's little to none set up and rules required. After watching 3 other blogger's "how to play" videos and reading the 20+ instruction booklet, we came up with what we think is a simplified version of the "set up and play" unboxing video (below). I hope this is helpful for players who are not familiar with board game set ups. But if you need certain cards to be explained in detail, you'll still have to refer to the instruction booklet. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 We really enjoyed the game components provided as we were able to recreate the story ourselves. Although the back story may seem to be quite horrific and gruesome, the game play is far from that. As many of you probably know by now, I'm a huge fan of "Dexter", "CSI". "Criminal Minds", etc... This game gave me that thrill of being a haunted victim trying to solve crime and escape at the same time. If you're into strategy games with a bit of eeriness to the story line, then you will enjoy making a fun game night in H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle. Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: *** We regret to inform this company has closed its doors *** Disclosure: We thank Blueprint Gaming Concepts 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. #ESCAPETHEROOMers #BlueprintGamingConcepts #CrimesInHistory #HHHolmesMurderCastle #TableTopGame #Boardgame #Boardgame #puzzlesathome #PuzzlesByMail #detective #serialkiller #murder #mystery #solve

Photo above is property of Funko Games Company: Funko Games Game: Star Trek: Cryptic Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Game 📬 Genre: Sci-Fi Date Played: March 6, 2024 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Ages 10+) Time: Unlimited (Approximately 3 - 4.5 Hrs) Price: $34.99 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Beginning as a cadet at Starfleet Academy, join different federation ships and move up the ranks all while using your logic, deduction and puzzle solving skills to help discover alien civilizations, prevent intergalactic conflict and more. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, we found 3 envelopes with federation ship names on them, merit coins, a logbook, a plastic sheet, a dry erase marker, some inserts and more. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 In the box, we found an instruction booklet that described how to play the game, what type of challenges and puzzles we would encounter, and how to work with certain items. Once everything was ready, we turned to the Logbook, which was our guide through the adventure. Each page revealed a part of the story accompanied by a new puzzle challenge we needed to complete. There were also some physical components that added an extra layer of fun and interaction to the game. The game worked on a point system where every puzzle or pathway challenge we completed, we would be rewarded with merits, but if we needed a hint, got an incorrect answer or other things, merits would be deducted from our score. At the end of each chapter, the number of merits we had would determine our ranking. This game did some things extremely well. For each puzzle, they clearly outlined what items you needed to solve it. Even for some components, it marked out which area of the item you would need to focus on. Most puzzles also provided us with what kind of solution we should be looking for such as a 5 letter word or a number. The writing was captivating, featuring numerous easter eggs for Star Trek fans while still enjoyable for those unfamiliar with the franchise. One thing worth noting is that the box suggests a playtime of 60 to 90 mins, which we found is the playtime for each chapter, not the entire game. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles were inventive with some diversity, that included logic, mazes, indexing and more. The puzzles were great for beginner puzzle solvers and even veteran solvers would enjoy the cleverness of them. All the puzzles also flowed well and blended seamlessly into the experience, with no puzzle overstaying their welcome. One fun way the puzzles were broken up was with the Pathway challenges. These involved a clear plastic sheet and a “Pathway” picture. Laying the plastic sheet overtop the picture, we marked the start point. We then removed the plastic sheet and placed it beside the picture. We would then have to freehand draw a pathway to the goal while avoiding obstacles. Once complete, we would place the plastic sheet back on top of the picture and see how we did. There were a handful of these that advanced the story and gave us a small brain break from the puzzles. The hint system was limited unfortunately and only offered one hint, and even a few times, when looking for a hint, we were given information that we already knew. At this point, if we still could not solve it, we would have to go straight to the solution, which gave no explanation on how to solve the puzzle. The game could have benefited with a more tired hint system and thorough explanations. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Star Trek: Cryptic" was a brilliant experience and exceeded our expectations for a mass-produced box game. The puzzles and high-quality items had clever twists and kept us engaged throughout. The story was well written and brought us along a thrilling adventure. We played with 2 people and found that to be just right. The majority of puzzle solving, and interaction required the logbook, which can be difficult to pass around if there were more people. Any Star Trek fans or a couple looking for a night in would find this game enjoyable. Get ready to embark on a journey to seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go where no one has gone before. (If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #FunkoGames #SciFi #StarTrek #USA