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Videos/ Photos provided by BlueMatter Games & ThinkFun Company: BlueMatter Games (Manufactured by ThinkFun) Game: Escape The Room: Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Mystery Date Played: 9/29/2020 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 3-8 Players Time: 90 Minutes (Approximately) Price: $21.05 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The Stargazer's manor is where the town's well-respected astronomer Richard Harrison and his wife lived. After his wife's passing, the astronomer became very strange. He fired everyone, even his trusted caretaker! After awhile, neighbors started to complain about the noise and smoke that's coming out of his house. The caretaker decided to gather a group of brave souls to venture inside and check on Mr. Harrison's well being... 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The game box had a pretty graphic drawing of the group of brave souls about to enter a creepy manor. Inside, the game pieces were nicely protected with cardboard frames. The contents included an instruction manual, scene card 1, 5 sealed envelopes with secret items (The Filing Cabinet, The Telescope, The Dressing Table, The Bookcase, and The Door) and a solution wheel. Most of the items were made with high quality thick cardboard that felt like it would last for many game plays since the game is designed to be replayable. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Although the recommended number of players is 3-8, we had no issues playing as a team of two (or you can even attempted as a solo player). There are no puzzles that actually require a collaboration effort. However, if you want to host a party, the game does provide an invitation that you will be able to customize. There's also a music list for you to set the mood of the game. A website link with hint system and reassembling instructions was also given. Throughout the game, you'll encounter scene cards. These are cards that'll give you a back story to set the scene for the room you just arrived in. As we started our timer (of course you can play this in leisure mode), a simple puzzle was given to us merely to teach us on how to use the solution wheel. That was quite helpful as the entire game was based on this method to check for solutions. If we were correct, two matching symbols would show up in the solution wheel and then we would be allowed to venture onwards (by opening up the next envelope). If you have played Thames & Kosmos's "Exit The Game" series before, this type of set up might seem familiar. Right when we thought we had solved the final puzzle, a surprise was thrown at us. I quite enjoyed the multiple ending and being able to chose our own adventure. It also raised our curiosity. I'm sure almost everyone would open up all the choices at the end just to check for "what ifs". 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 BlueMatter Games really had escape rooms in their mind when designing these games. We felt many puzzles revolved around searching, pattern/color recognition, and association of clues. They also loved using methods like assembling or crafting. We quite enjoyed those puzzles as they reminded us of physical puzzles in an escape room. There weren't too many difficult logic puzzles as I'm sure the designers had the general public type of players in mind. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Even though we've played many types of tabletop games so far, we still have a bit more favoritism towards escape room typed ones. BlueMatter Games did a great job at being able to create that escape room feeling of going room to room (and sometimes even hidden places) and exploring with the items found in the different locations. Moreover, the narrative component that accompanied every room definitely helped to paint a more vivid picture in our minds. For enthusiasts, you might find yourself finishing this game quite quickly but at the same time feeling content about your accomplishment. If you are still feeling that itch after completing the game, there are two more waiting for you (Secret of Dr. Gravely's Retreat and The Cursed Dollhouse)! (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 BlueMatter Games & ThinkFun 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 #BlueMatterGames #ThinkFun #EscapeTheRoom #MysteryattheStargazersManor #puzzlesathome #PuzzlesByMail #Mystery #Whodunit #Clue

Videos/ Photos provided by BlueMatter Games & ThinkFun Company: BlueMatter Games (Manufactured by ThinkFun) Game: Escape The Room: The Cursed Dollhouse Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Horror Date Played: 9/30/2020 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5.5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 13+) Time: 2 Hours (Approximately) Price: $42.99 (Shipping starts on 10/1/2020) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Every since Mr. Garrity's daughter went missing, he's been spending more time in his shed. You noticed strange lights coming from the shed at odd hours. Recently, many local children have been reported missing. Could these events be related? You decided to check out the shed. As you entered, you noticed there's a bench in middle of the room and on top of it, there's a creepy dollhouse. You slowly began your approach... 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "The Cursed Dollhouse" came in a cardboard box that's double the size of their previous games: Secret of Dr. Gravely's Retreat and Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor. Right on the cover of the box was a scary looking doll giving you a sharp inviting stare. The entire set up of the game was printed inside the two sides of the box. When you completed the build, you'll actually create a 3D looking dollhouse with a living room, bedroom, attic, bathroom and kitchen. We were surprised by how many "secrets" and puzzles they were able to hide given the limited real estate space. Besides the two-story house setup (and an attic), the game also included 3 punchboards with furniture and components, instruction manual, component envelope and a solution wheel. Most of the items were made with high quality thick cardboard that felt like it would last for many game plays since the game is designed to be replayable. We especially liked the details and colors used in the graphics for this game. Besides a few obvious discoveries that certain items were able to open or come off, we definitely missed a few due to how the items were placed. There's also a music list for you to set the mood of the game. A website link with hint system and reassembling instructions was also given. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game set up was a bit different than the previous two games we've played. Other than the usual way of solving the puzzles and entering the answers in the solution wheel, the story line was provided in the instruction manual rather than on the scene cards. The first part of the puzzle was attesting our assembling skills. The instructions were quite easy to follow so I up the challenge for Brandon and had him build the house without looking at the instructions. It was definitely doable until I noticed the headboard and footboard were switched on the bed. Since there were a lot of components in this game, it was important to check all the items' positions before starting the game. Once the house was completed, the story in the instruction manual will point you to the right direction on what to do next. As you solve the puzzles, you'll unlock the doors to another area. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 We've gotten quite comfortable with how we would play a BlueMatters Games' "Escape the Room" box as they always make us feel quite relatable to a real escape room experience. The searching and discovering of hidden places/items stood out the most for us in this game. There was even a "special appearance" of a certain common "tool" that players would use a lot in escape rooms. We did see some repeated concepts used in previous games being implemented in this one. One particular one felt better used in the other game especially with its association to the story line. My favorites were the crafty type of puzzles in this game as I was finally able to put my high school "Origami Queen" title to use. There was one puzzle that would definitely benefit people with smaller hands. Brandon did most of the constructing and thoroughly enjoyed those integrations (especially when no cutting/gluing was needed). 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 This game was our favorite out of the three. We have not played any box games that would be able to transform into a 3D game yet. This one was very well executed with the story line (adding the eerie feel), puzzles and design. If there was one thing that we felt could use a booster it would be a stronger ending. Perhaps a hidden compartment in the box that gave us that final goosebumps moment or a visual conclusion. Now that we've experienced 3D, our next request to BlueMatter Games is 4D and beyond! (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 BlueMatter Games & ThinkFun 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 #BlueMatterGames #ThinkFun #EscapeTheRoom #TheCursedDollhouse #DIY #puzzlesathome #PuzzlesByMail #Horror #Mystery #Dollhouse #3dgame #4d #scary #creepy #halloween

Videos/ Photos provided by Streamline Design/ BlueMatter Games & PlayMonster Company: Streamline Design/ BlueMatter Games (Manufactured by PlayMonster) Game: Break In Alcatraz Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Prison, Thriller Date Played: 10/19/20 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-6 Players (Ages 10+) Time: Unlimited Price: $14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 It is the night of June 11th, 1962. The day has finally come. You need to break in to the world's most secure prison in order to help your boys escape from the inside. This is such an insane idea. Are you ready to accept the challenge? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The artwork for this game was done by DC Comics artist Steve Downer. A lot of the artwork felt very 3D-like. The hexagon shaped box has images of an escapee trying to hold on to his life in the treacherous ocean surrounding the Alcatraz island. Inside the box (if you're able to break in that is), you'll find an expanding 3D game board, 54 cards, 7 solution sticks, envelope with puzzle, radio decoder and some other hidden components. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Our advise is to read the instruction manual first before starting the game. If it's still too confusing, there's a tutorial video on their website. The first thing you should do is find symbols on the game board. Once you discover them, read the cards that matches those symbols for the next steps. These cards will contain a puzzle that you must solve and the solution will be in forms of a solution symbol, a color and a number. Once you figured that out, you'll need to use the solution stick along with the box to reveal a solution symbol. This would be another card that you'll have to read instructions in order to proceed to the next puzzle. You'll repeat these steps until you escape at the end. If you get stuck, hint cards are available and can be revealed by using the radio decoder. If you want a more difficult style of playing, mix up the card numbers as we found that the story does happen in sequence to the card numbers so you might accidentally peek at the next solution card. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Most of the puzzles were more in a "search and find" format where the solutions are already printed on the game and you just need to find it. A lot of the puzzles were also story driven so you'll get a good amount of "quests" asking you to find escape routes. There were a few instances where we had to utilize a game piece we've received in conjunction with another piece in order to reveal more information. One particular one was quite amusing to see the final product. We did find a few solution answers didn't quite make sense to us when matched it with the physical locations of the items on the box. Please note, the game that we received was in the earlier production batch and they had an incorrect print on one of the solution cards. We were informed by the creator that this issue was fixed in the latter batches so do make sure to check with them if you come across a puzzle that you thought you solved correctly. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Playing this game felt like watching a movie. Every time we solved a puzzle, a new written story was presented to us on a symbol card. This would open up a new "scene". Our favorite part about this game is the design. The 3D game board along with the ability to be maneuvered in a way where we felt like we're literally peeling away secrets to reveal surprises within. Every time we thought that was the last layer we would be surprised with more. As we outsmarted the guard, snuck through the vents, climbed down the roof and ultimately made it to the rescue boat, we were relieved. Just when we thought we safely escaped Alcatraz, more life and death choices were presented in front of us...Let us know how you chose to end your adventure if you decided to try out this 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 experience, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank Streamline Design/ BlueMatter Games & PlayMonster 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 #StreamlineDesign #BlueMatterGames #PlayMonster #EscapeTheRoom #BreakInAlcatraz #DIY #puzzlesathome #PuzzlesByMail #Prison #Adventure #Mystery #3d

Videos/ Photos provided by Streamline Design/ BlueMatter Games & PlayMonster Company: Streamline Design/ BlueMatter Games (Manufactured by PlayMonster) Game: Break In Area 51 Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Sci-Fi Date Played: 4/28/21 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 8/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-6 Players, ages 12+) Time: Unlimited Price: $19.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Your ship has been captured and locked up in Area 51. You are a stranded alien on Earth. Your only hope is to break into Area 51 to retrieve the ship so you can return back to your motherland. Of course there are many challenges ahead. Check out our spoiler free unboxing video below: 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "Break In Area 51" came in a hexagon shaped cardboard box. Inside you'll find an expandable 3D game board, 39 cards, 8 solution sticks, 3-piece cow puzzle, 3-piece power drive puzzle, and a Quiss Ar-may knife. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The game play is identical to their other game "Break in Alcatraz". If you rather watch a tutorial video over reading the written instructions, you can find it here. There are various symbols to be discovered throughout the box. It's not difficult to spot them since there is a lime green glow around the symbols just like the ones on the clue cards. Once you find the matching symbol from the box, you can then look at the clue cards for further directions. Some will just be narratives and others will be puzzles that you'll need to solve. Once you think you have the right answer, use the solution sticks with the correct symbol, color and number in order to reveal the answer. The answer will be a symbol as well and you'll need to confirm that in the clue cards. One thing that I'm not a fan of is the fact that the cards are placed in sequence of game play so if you're not careful, you might actually see the solution when picking up the previous card. If you want to play it in "hard" mode, I would suggest mixing up the numbers. You can always reorder them by the small numbers on the bottom corners. Nudging hint cards are available for each puzzle. I like the use of the red filter on the Quiss Ar-may knife prop in order to prevent spoilers. If you want an in depth explanation on the puzzles, you can go to their website. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles were pretty tough comparing to the first game release. We started using hints to get through the game right after the first few puzzles. A lot of it felt abstract and was hard to understand. You'll probably get it after reading the clues but it was difficult to interpret from the wording. Some images really needed you to search carefully on the box itself and were quite hard to find. I would advise having a magnifying glass with the game play. Pending on your liking, this game also had more reading type of clues versus images. A good amount of logic puzzles were used throughout the game. We really enjoyed the puzzles we were able to use the props with. They felt more in line with the "Break In" theme. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 I've been a fan of the design aspect of the "Break In" series. It's so much fun to "peel" down each layer as we play through the game. My favorite saying to Brandon during the game is: "Are we ready to peel yet?" This could be a lovely activity to do family, especially kids. The puzzles felt too difficult though and sometimes took away from that gratification. I think my favorite puzzle was probably the cow one. It stuck to the theme, slid in some humor and was quite easy to "spot" but gave us a cool reveal moment. I love to see some adjustment on the difficulty level for puzzles to cover a wider range of audience as this is definitely a cool concept that we haven't seen used anywhere before. Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these 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 Streamline Design/BlueMatter Games & PlayMonster 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 #StreamlineDesign #BlueMatterGames #PlayMonster #EscapeTheRoom #BreakInArea51 #DIY #Area51 #Aliens #XFiles #UFO #puzzlesathome #PuzzlesByMail #Adventure #3d

Photo above is property of BlueMatter Games & MindWare Company: BlueMatter Games (Published by MindWare) Game: Dig It Up! Crack The Crate: A Dragon's World Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Fantasy Date Played: December 20, 2021 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 2/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend ages 8+) Time: Unlimited (Suggested 1+ Hours) Price: $34.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The Kingdom of Valoria is facing a terrible Darkness spreading across its land. Without the dragons, there is no hope. An ancient prophecy has been shared across the land about a series of hidden orbs that provide the secrets to bringing back the dragons and defeating the Darkness. You’ve heard whispers that Darkness has its sight set on dragon eggs and you need to find and solve these orbs before they do…or else the world will be consumed! 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "A Dragon’s World" consist of three boxes, a series of 10 ice raven cards, an amulet, a prophecy page, a book of dragon lore, digging tools, a solutions book, and answer cards. Each box contains a mystery item that players must dig into once instructed to gain key information. What stands out with these games is the physicality of core game pieces. This game really wins over young players by rewarding them throughout the experience with a fun digging adventure between puzzling. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 In "A Dragon’s World" you begin with reading the instructions off the envelope inside of the box which gives you’re the premise, a tip to listen to the ice ravens, and a few things they recommend gathering. In particular, they mention you will need scissors and a large bowl of water. I highly recommend getting a big bowl as it will make the game experience easier. I also recommend playing this on a large table or floor and spreading out paper to help catch the mess. Once you have prepped, the game will direct you to read a raven card which provides the story and instructions on how to move forward. This game follows a "rinse and repeat" function where you must solve the puzzle on the outside of the box, then a puzzle to open the orb, and another puzzle to move onto the next location. The answer cards offer four options and once you have the answer, you scratch out the spot under the word you believe is the answer. If you are correct, it will give you a number for which card you will need next to read. If you are incorrect there will be an "X". If you run into any trouble while playing or your kids need a bit of help, the solutions guide will highlight how you get the answers. This is not a hint system and will spoil answers, so I recommend adults looking before handing it to children. As a kid’s game, this game does an excellent job giving a good structure for players to follow and a nice ratio of challenge and reward. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Puzzles for this game range from cipher, pattern identification, tracking, searching, and logic. These puzzles are quite light for an experienced player but for younger groups I think this is a good level of challenge as it encourages players to really look at things closely. I recommend not rushing through as some puzzles do require you to notice key things on items to piece together solutions. The cards themselves also tell you what you need to solve puzzles while given you a nudge so use those to guide your experience. This game also lends itself to a less text heavy experience which benefits those who struggle to read large stories and, yet, at the same time, still delivers a good story where the puzzles help break things up. I found my favourite puzzles ended up being the ones to open the boxes because it was such a delight to scratch the solution card and know that I am now being rewarded with what's inside. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "A Dragon’s World" created a fantastic adventure that truly draws players young and old into lore and prophecy of this land. The puzzling is light enough to engage children but has a well-structured story and premise that makes it enjoyable to older audiences as well. I recommend this experience for people wanting to get their children involved in puzzles using a hands-on approach or for adults looking to experience the nostalgia of digging into eggs while solving some cute puzzles. Now, are you ready to take on Darkness and find the egg?!?!? ** PLEASE NOTE: This game cannot be replayed or reset as items are altered during playthrough. Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these 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 BlueMatter Games & MindWare 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 #Fantasy #BlueMatterGames #MindWare #USA

Company: Mail Order Mystery Country: Canada 🇨🇦 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Date Played: 5/19/2021 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Game: The Enchanted Slumber Genre: Fantasy Difficulty (based on 2 adult players): 4/10 Ages: Recommended 8+ Price: $93.00 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 It's almost the year 700. If the princess doesn't wake up by then, she'll turn into dust! Can a Knight, a Troll, a Librarian and a Dragon work together to save the princess? You'll have to find out... 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "The Enchanted Slumber" came in a small cardboard box. Inside, you'll find a letter to the parents, 5 envelopes and 1 wrapped "package". Throughout the adventure, you'll find beautiful wax sealed letters from the characters and other fun trinkets. Game: Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys Genre: Detective Difficulty (based on 2 adult players): 5/10 Ages: Recommended 9+ Price: $101.00 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 you've been accepted to spy school. A secret agent has gone missing and it seems like there's no one at the agency that can take on this case other than you, a new trainee. Will you be able to complete the mission before even completing your training? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys" came in a large-sized cardboard box. Inside you'll find a letter to the parents, 5 numbered envelopes, 1 large "top secret" envelope and a book safe. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 In each of these games, you are to follow the numbers on the envelope and open them in order. You might use items from the previous envelopes so do keep them handy. "The Enchanted Slumber" was pretty straight forward but we did get a bit confused with "Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys" as there's an extra envelope that's labeled "top secret" without a number. You should open this last. Pre-pandemic, the mailers were to be send out one at a time which would probably remove this confusion. "Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys" was designed similar to mystery games we've previously played where you could check if your answer was correct prior to moving forward to the next envelope (although there was still one place that we were able to skip but still finish the game). "The Enchanted Slumber" was set up in a way where if you think you've solved the puzzle, you can move on and check your answer in the story of the next envelope. This could spoil the answer if you think you got the right answer but it's actually wrong. We suggest the creator provide a clearer indication on when the players should move forward to the next envelope and a place to check the answers while playing through the game. Currently, if you need help, there's a hint system on their website on the bottom of their footer called "HELP CENTER". It has the most commonly asked questions but not the entire solution set. Most of the game play is only utilizing the mailer materials. It's a great way to keep the kids off of the internet for a couple of hours. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles really stuck around the storylines for both of these games. In "The Enchanted Slumber", trolls are known for creating riddles to stump travelers by their guarded bridge. There were also moments where we had to decrypt "magical" messages using "enchanted" tools. The level of difficulty was on the easier side versus the "Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys" . It also has more reading if your kids prefer more of that than puzzle solving. "Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys" had a lot more puzzles that we had to decrypt since it's a spy themed game. There were terminologies and different types of ciphers that we haven't even heard of. These puzzles really bought out skills you'll need as a spy by carefully observing all the clues and interpreting them with fun reveals. The game play was a bit harder to follow here due to the fact that we're unsure if we've solved everything and when we're supposed to solve something as all the items could be used at anytime. An easy fix would be to have a solution check just to make sure we didn't miss any steps. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Initially, we thought we're going to be "smarter than a 5th grader" but these games can easily be challenged by adults as well. The artists did an amazing job with both games but the "The Enchanted Slumber" was especially beautiful. It made it really easy for the players to connect with this enchanted world. Throughout these games, there were many secret reveals and moments we think the kids would go "Wow! Look what's happening here!" One special thing that we haven't seen many game creators do that Mail Order Mystery specializes in is the personalization. Every game is personalized to a particular kid. There were many places in the game that will make YOU feel like you are the star and the hero. If you don't mind the personalization part, these games are totally replayable. In fact we're actually going to send these games to a friend of ours who has kids. The only thing is you'll need to remember how to reset the game. We've already put the request in with the creator so hopefully that'll be on their website soon. Both of these games are really fun so it's best to pick based on what theme interest your children more and what level of difficulty best suits them. "The Enchanted Slumber" is a great starter game and for children who loves Disney (who doesn't?). They will really enjoy this whimsical "Sleeping Beauty" story with a twist. There's definitely more narrative in this one so make sure they like to read. If your children love "Kim Possible" or any other spy types of show, then they'll definitely get a kick out of "Spies, Lies and Seriously Bad Guys" . There's more cool reveals in this game and fun spy gadgets. And if they crave more mysteries after these two games, Mail Order Mystery have two others called "Treasure Hunt!" and "The Case of the Missing Bigfoot!" 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 Mail Order Mystery 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 #MailOrderMystery #TheEnchantedSlumber #SpiesLiesandSeriousBadGuys #Fantasy #detective #adventure #puzzlesathome #PuzzlesByMail #Kids #Kickstarter #detective #mystery #puzzles #solve

Above photo has been provided by Breakout Unboxed Company: Breakout Unboxed Game: The Wizard's Apprentice Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Fantasy Date Played: 5/5/2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited (Suggested play time approx. 90-150 min) Price: £27.00 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A mysterious box arrived at your doorsteps. Inside, you find a letter stating that you actually have magic powers from your bloodline. Is this real or a hoax? Only time will tell... Above video has been provided by Breakout Unboxed 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "The Wizard's Apprentice" came in a cardboard box. It's pretty light and easy to carry incase you wanted to take it with you on the road. Inside, you'll find a large envelope, 2 zipper bags with 3 digit locks and an instruction postcard. It may not seem like much at first but there's more to this than meets the eye. In each of the zipper bags, you'll also find a check list. If there's anything missing, you can email the company for replacements. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Other than the materials you've received in the mail, you'll also need access to the internet for this game. Once you read the intro letter, you'll be given a website. By solving the puzzles, you'll gain access to more portals. I really enjoyed the videos that accompanied the storyline. There's definitely something "magical" about them. Once the access to the zipper bags are granted, you'll have more paper clues and props to play with. The wand and wizard badge were particularly helpful with getting us into character. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Every puzzle in this game had one thing in common and that is MAGIC. Right from the beginning, we were given a little fun magic performance. From there, we started to explore the wizard realm of wards, spells, potions, broomsticks, mythical creatures and more! I love the format of using the wizard's diary for narrative and intertwining website elements for some nice "a-ha" moments. For the most part, the puzzles were very logical and we didn't use any hints (hints are available on the website if you need them) for this game. The wording on the ending puzzle was a bit confusing and we found that it was much easier to just visualize the solution. This puzzle could've been a stronger meta puzzle to tie the previous parts together. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The puzzles were not too difficult for enthusiasts (took us about 50 minutes or so to complete) but I was more drawn to the narrative. I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and anything that has to do with magic or myths. So this was right up my alley. I really felt the production value for the price. The combination of entertaining videos, realistic websites, and enchanting storyline made this game a very pleasurable experience. I can't wait to see what other games Breakout Unboxed will be coming out in the near future. 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 Breakout Unboxed 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 #BreakoutUnboxed #TheWizardsApprentice #PuzzlesByMail #Fantasy #Wizards #HarryPotter #FantasticBeasts #Wands #Broomsticks #MysticalCreatures #Spells #Potions #Magic #harrypotter

Photos property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Company: Cryptogram Puzzle Post Game: The Illustrated Puzzle Story Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Witchcraft, Alchemy Date Played: 1/14/2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 8..5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: £7.50/single issues, £20.00/Season. £70.00/Annual The following review is based on July, August, September 2018 issues & Autumn 2019 issues. 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 As we explore the mysterious world with Anna (a young witch), there were many quests and obstacles along the way. The stories were told with beautifully illustrated artwork accompanied by selected Spotify music lists. The answers will only be revealed by solving a series of puzzle trails... 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Cryptogram Puzzle Post came to us in a small cardboard box. We got a nice mixture of what they currently carry in their store. Our box contained 6 single issues, a beautiful enamel pin, a winter art prize, cool stickers, Golden Risograph print and a lovely personalized puzzle cryptogram greeting card from the creator. The paper quality were all amazing and the artworks all felt like collectibles. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 You have a few purchase options: single issue, seasonal (3 issues) subscription and annual subscription. Since we got one seasonal collection and a few single issues, we played them in chorological order. Each issue can be played on its own and puzzles are independent from each other. We did feel that having some sort of context to the previous story helped us get closer to the characters. The intro at the beginning of each issue did give us a "look" on what had happened previously. It would be interesting to see if this journey could be made into an audio book type of experience as it definitely has that potential. The writer is great at being descriptive and painting "sceneries" in the reader's mind. The artwork definitely helped as well in the storytelling process. Each issue is packed in an envelope. A meta puzzle (this can be solved only if you decide to order the annual subscription) and hints are written on the inside of the envelope. We had some issues with ones that were darker in color as it was hard to see the words printed on those. There is an intro page that gave us some information on the backstory and the suggested Spotify playlist. You're able to check for hints and solution guide on their website (except for the recent issues, you'll have to email them for some guidance). If you play an entire season, you'll also be able to receive a bonus art prize. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Each issue has 7 puzzles labeled I-VII. Each roman numeral page will reveal some sort of answer which you can use as clue for the next puzzle. Most of the time, we did feel that there's an increment on the puzzle difficulty level. Some were really obvious and just needed a "search and find" and other stumped us for quite awhile. These puzzles definitely felt more geared towards experienced puzzlers. We did enjoy that there was a different puzzle theme for each issue. We've experienced riddle, maze, ciphers, decoding, visual, paper construction, etc...Some issues did require us having to cut out the puzzles so those ones won't be replayable. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Since this is a puzzle experience heavily dependent on the narrative, you'll have to enjoy reading. I do feel that they could potentially gather more audience if they added an audio story option for people that are less inclined to read or have bad eye sight for small fonts. I could actually visualize this being made into a TV series someday. Cryptogram Puzzle Post is made for an audience with patience and a passion for art. You'll need to slowly savor all the "flavors" in each episode. If you're still unsure what they are all about, click here to download the first three issues for free. (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 Cryptogram Puzzle Post 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 #CryptogramPuzzlePost #TheIllustratedPuzzleStory #Artwork #Witchcraft #Alchemy #PuzzlesByMail #Mystery

Photos above are the property of Rita Orlov & Jack Fallows Company: Rita Orlov & Jack Fallows (Published by PostCurious) Game: The Light in the Mist Country: USA 🇺🇸 & United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Mystery Date Played: September 23, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6.5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 14+) Time: Approximately 5 Hours (pending on hint usage) Price: $32 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Your friend mysteriously disappeared. The only clue she has left for you is a deck of tarot cards. You might want to get a little more help before entering that dark forest surrounded by the creepy thick mist... Video above is the property of Rita Orlov & Jack Fallows 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The Light in the Mist came in a beautifully illustrated small box that's quite easy to carry if you're considering a game for the road. Inside you'll find a small booklet (containing the instructions on how to play, storyline, card reference chart and a solution index), 78 tarot cards (in a card box) and a journal/backpack pad. Photos above are the property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Prior to game play, it's best to set up the cards in the right piles. The "Major Arcana" consists of 22 cards which are labeled 0-XXI. The "Minor Arcana" are like playing cards which consists of 4 different suits. Each suit pile consists of I-X, a page card, a knight, a queen and a king. There are 56 cards total in the "Minor Arcana". "Major Arcana" cards are puzzle cards that need to be paired with various "Minor Arcana" cards (which are like clue cards). The major card will indicate how many minors it will need by the amount of fruits on the top of the card. If you want to verify if you have the right cards, you can go to the card reference index in the booklet. Each "Major Arcana" card is also paired with a passage in the booklet. Often times the clues to how to solve the puzzles will be imbedded in there so make sure to read those carefully. The solution to each puzzle is a English word. Once you think you solved the puzzle, you can go to the solution page and it'll award you with a page number in the booklet. The more puzzles you solve, the more stories you'll be able to reveal and piece together. The beauty of this game is that you can play these cards in any order (except one card needs to be played as a final card for the meta puzzle). Sometimes the solution will lead to multiple paths. So even if we are playing the same game, what we learned about the character might be different from you. The conclusion will always be the same. One thing that we really liked about this game (coming from an escape room enthusiasts background) is the usage of the journal and the backpack. We were able to collect items and store them in our "inventory". It felt like in order to unlock something we would need the right "key". Photos above are the property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 When we solved the first puzzles rather quickly, we thought, this might not actually take 5 hours. Wrong again! The puzzles quickly showed us variations in difficulty level and style. We decided to let fate choose which "Major Arcana" we would play next and that was a great way to bring the element of surprise into the game play. We were amazed by the details in the illustrations. Normally Brandon would always have an issue with seeing dark or small print items but he didn't have any with this game. The vibrant colors and intriguing images on the cards made us lose the sense of reality. We were fully immersed in this magical world. The thing that really blew our minds was how the tarot cards were able to interconnect with each other. Each card had multiple purposes yet you as a player can easily identify what piece of information is needed and what is perhaps for another puzzle. The cluing in the storyline was spot on. It was just enough for us to start paying attention to what's important but not enough to reveal the solution. If you get stuck, there are nudging hints on their website. It's quite easy to use and we really love the incorporation of photos in hints/solutions as it definitely makes the explanation a lot clearer. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 We've played several card type of tabletop games by now and this is definitely our favorite. The stunning artwork, smooth game flow, clever puzzle and unique storyline really made this game unlike any other we've experienced before. Since you're able to pick different routes, you might want to replay this game to see what you've missed the first time. It was like watching a movie with alternative endings. I have to know all of them! I would totally watch a great movie over and over again, wouldn't you? 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 Rita Orlov & Jack Fallows 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. #CiciCao #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #TarotCards #RitaOrlov #JackFallows #PostCurious #CryptogramPuzzlePost #TheLightintheMist #Fantasy #Mystery

Videos/ Photos provided by PostCurious Company: PostCurious Game: The Emerald Flame Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Fantasy Date Played: July 21, 2020 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7.5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 2-4ppl) Time: Unlimited Price: $69.00 -The Emerald Flame, $23.00 - Leatherette Journal, $90.00 Alchemist Pack (The Emerald Flame + Apprentice Pack) *Please note that the below review is based on the prototype of the game. Some items may look a bit different from the final version. 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You have been commissioned by the Koschei Historical Society to investigate and find the recipe for a fabled elixir. On the journey, you'll encounter exotic fruits, colorful butterflies, poisonous mushrooms, precious gems, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, mysterious clock tower, peculiar constellations, gorgeous flower species and much more! Are you ready for this exciting 3 part adventure? 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The beautiful illustrations and colors on the game box was what drawn us to the game initially. When we got the prototype, we couldn't believe these were hand-drawn. The colors and details on the buildings, flowers, and butterflies were so vivid. The props that came with the game were also quite authentic and each had its own unique purpose. Whenever we picked up a prop, there was always this mysterious aura surrounding the item. It's waiting for us to unravel its secret. The game came with an instruction booklet which gave you a little hint on the starting point. There was also a link to Koschei Society's website that provided more details on the back story. Hints could be easily retrieved by scanning a bar code on the instruction booklet. If for any reason you're missing any documents, you could easily download them from their website. There were 3 separate envelopes provided (January, February, and March). An Epilogue (April) envelope was also included in the game. Besides documents, each envelope also contained various "tools" that would assist you on cracking the puzzles. A refill kit will also come in the final version of the game. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Since there's no time limit on the game, you're free to play the 3 part game however you like to. Each installment may take 2-3 hours. We blocked out an entire evening and played it all the way through (which probably wasn't really a good idea since our brains were pretty much fried after part II). The story line was definitely intriguing enough for us to want to see the ending. We liked the fact that that the game was not linear as it was fun to play it together as a group and tackle on different puzzles at the same time. Each part of the game would start with a letter from Koschei Society. It'll give you a mission debrief on what's to come in the adventure. You'll then have to use the clues given along with the "tools" to solve the puzzles. Once you think you know the answer, you'll reply to the society via a chat bot. If you solved all the puzzles for that section, an alert will inform you that you just received a new package from the society. If you decided to continue on with the game, open package #2. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Every part of the puzzle sequence have been closely tied with the story line, therefore the game flow was great. If you did get stuck, the hint system was pretty comprehensive to assist you onto the next step. There were quite a few innovative puzzle ideas we haven't seen in other games before since some of them combined different ciphers/codes together. We enjoyed discovering these new challenges. Puzzles varied in types like cryptic, logic, pattern, riddles etc...It was nice to see the wide range of puzzle choices put into one game. The highlights for us were how we're able to utilize the various props with the puzzles. They were able to bring out the different characters that we could portray throughout the game. We felt like we've took on roles like entomologist, architect, anthropologist, archaeologist, mineralogist, astronomer etc...It felt like we were traveling through time. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 The Emerald Flame took us on a journey into a fantasy world filled with mystery and astonishing moments. We didn't feel like we were playing a tabletop game. The fact that the story was also build on some historical events made the game felt more tangible. The puzzles were not repetitive and every one of them was special in their own way. Some of them gave us "wow" moments and others gave us "duh, I should have seen that" moments. Most of the of puzzles were multi-step puzzles. For players that just started with table top games, you might need to use hints from time to time. Some of these puzzles were quite challenging. It was nice to see the different levels of difficulties in a game. Our favorite part of the game was the last puzzle when we questioned ourselves and said: "wait, are we really suppose to do that?" In terms of the aesthetics, this was probably the most beautiful table top game we've ever played. At one point, you probably wouldn't want to solve the puzzles because you don't want to destroy the illustrations. An easy way to solve this problem would be to buy two copies. We can't wait to hear what you guys thought about this game when you receive it in 2021! 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, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank PostCurious 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. Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers #CiciCao #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #RitaOrlov #PostCurious #Fantasy #Mystery #Magical #USA

Photo above is property of PostCurious Company: PostCurious Game: Whisper In The Woods Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Fantasy Date Played: July 25, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 2-4 ppl) Time: Unlimited (Our playtime 45 Min) Price: $250.00 (Collector's item) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The Emerens Institute has once again reached out for your assistance in solving a mysterious disappearance. A young girl named Greta has gone missing in the nearby woods. Greta was dabbling in occult practices and researching a box with strange symbols, which matches one that is currently in the possession of the institute. The institute has forward the box to you in hopes of deciphering the symbols and see if you are able to help figure out what happened to Greta. (This stand alone story expands on the other stories found in the PCU (PostCurious Universe), which includes “The Tales of Ord” and “The Emerald Flame”) 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Peeling back the brown paper and twine reveals a beautiful wooden box with a mystical design on top and some cryptic symbols on the side. There is also a locking mechanism on it that requires some manipulation of the wooden bars on the side. Accompanying it, you will find a personalized envelope that will tell you the reason why this was sent to you and what task is being asked of you. Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 There were so many documents and information to sift through, but everything had a purpose whether it was to immerse you more into the story, learn more about Greta or being a useful clue to solve a puzzle. All the documentation was well written to draw you into the story and made us believe that we were actually speaking with a professor at the institute or scrolling through Greta’s Instagram page. Many times we had to question whether these people and this story was real or not. The documents were well weathered as something you would find in a box that has laid dormant for many centuries. We enjoyed the hint system for the game as it had many options for us. There were many level of hints as well as a solution checker. Just in case you to decide to throw in the towel as well, the solution also is written on the website as well. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The letter was very direct in what you needed to find which was useful. It also took multiple steps to get to each conclusion which added more puzzling to the experience. One thing we enjoyed was that the puzzles matched the theme of the game as well as the items that needed to be used so nothing seemed out of place. There was a nice mix of puzzles that included deciphering text to examining things to get your “Ah-Ha!” moment. Along the way, we also had to dabble in the occult ourselves to solve some puzzles which made for some nice “Whoa!” moments. Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃 This game was released for the 2020 Christmas holidays in a limited number (40). If you are a fan of PostCurious and are a collector at heart, you will not be disappointed with the look of the game if you are able to find a copy (Did I mention it comes with a pin as well?). Even though this is a shorter game, the immersion and story that is weaved into it will completely draw you in. There is a good variety of puzzles that will keep you busy and you will be completely invested in trying to find Greta. One tip is at the end of the game, you need to email the institute with your findings. This is not an automated email, as we continued to send emails over and over again thinking we did not have the correct answer and just needed to wait for the institute to reply. We did end up playing this game during July, but the ending to this game did end up adding a little Christmas magic to our hot summer days. 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, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Fantasy #USA #PostCurious

Photo above is property of Starlux Games Company: Starlux Games Game: Word Treasures Country: Canada 🇨🇦 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Kids, Adventure Date Played: November 12, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 kids): 4/10 (Recommended ages 4-10) Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommend 1-4 Players) Time: Unlimited Price: $24.90 USD 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Send the kids out on a pirate adventure that will have them looking for treasure as they find clues leading from one place to the next. Using the contents of the box, you can also play other games, all in a sneaky way to teach them to vocabulary and critical thinking. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Looking in the box, we found an instruction page and a large deck for cards, some containing riddles, some with pictures and some with words. The highlight of the box though was a large glowing gem! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 There was no single way to play this game. The instructions went through many ways that the cards could be used, which were described for easy set up. The main one that we played was the Scavenger Hunt game. The cards are broken up into 3 different decks. All of them contained the same list of clues but shown in a different way. The easy deck had a picture of what the clue was, the middle had the word, and the hard deck had a riddle, where the solution was the clue. All the clues were common places and items that could be found in a household, which made it easy to play and set up the scavenger hunt around the house. The game also came with a gem that lit up that could be placed in the last location. There were also multiple games that could be used with the cards such as matching and memory games. No side of the cards were wasted as there is also a puzzle to assemble on the backside of the cards. Some of the highlights of the cards was the cute and fun pirate art on the easy cards and on the riddle cards, were fun pirate facts for the kids to learn. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There were many different puzzle challenges in the various games that could be played. My kids who are 8 and 10 years old, loved the riddles. They were just the right amount of difficulty to get their gears turning but not too difficult to get them stuck. The jigsaw puzzles on the back too were something that they enjoyed putting together. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Word Treasures" was an entertaining game that got the kids moving around and one of those games where they were secretly learning through the vocabulary and riddles, without knowing it. The glowing gem was also a nice touch which surprised the kids at the end. The age range for this was between 4 to 10 years old and we found this to be accurate, as the pictures were set for younger kids and can be altered and changed out depending on your children’s reading skills. The game was also versatile with many different options for play, making it a game we will pull of the shelf many times in the future. (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 Starlux Games 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 #Kids #Adventure #StarluxGames #Canada

Photo above is property of BreakInBox Company: BreakInBox Game: The Black Set and The Blue Set Country: Israel 🇮🇱 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Family Date Played: July 27, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: $148 ILS (Approx. $40.00 USD) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Maybe you got this box as a gift from a friend or maybe you have purchased it for yourself. Either way, there is no stories here. Just good old fashion puzzle solving fun! 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The puzzle box was crafted from thick, durable paper and shaped like a cube, large enough that we needed both hands to hold it. Each face had parts of a puzzle on it as well as there was a sleeve wrapped around the box that gave us information about BreakInBox and about the game. Photos above are property of BreakInBox 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The game was straight forward and set up simply. Using the clues on the box, we had to uncover a 3-digit combination that unlocks it. Inside is another box, with the same challenge. After solving 3 boxes, we were greeted with a prize inside the final box. Though there was no storyline to the game, we found it did not need one as we simply flowed from box to box. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 We ended up playing the blue and black box. The blue box is rated a medium difficulty and recommended as a good first box to try out, while the black box is marked hard. For each of them, the puzzles felt a little more like a puzzle hunt style as we had to do some online research and outside knowledge to solve them. One thing this box did great was that if we looked closely, we knew which side of the box to start and where to continue. We also had to access some online components of the game. We suggest using a desktop computer to access those sections, as we encountered difficulties while trying to use the online components on our phone (which BreakInBox also recommended on their website). The game included a hint system accessible via a QR code. The hints were well thought out as they had fewer tiers for easier puzzles and more for the tougher ones. Moreover, the hints were not language based to ensure they were accessible to all. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 BreakInBox was an enjoyable puzzle solving experience with some creative puzzles. These boxes would be perfect if you wanted to hide a special gift or message for someone. In our case, we played with 2 people but felt that 4 would be the most to play comfortably. If you have more players, we recommend taking pictures of the puzzles on your phones and work together without crowding around the box as a solution. As veteran puzzle solvers, these took a little under an hour to solve. More experienced players may want to start with their hard boxes. BreakInBox’s website has an in-depth guide for each of their games, telling you what you need to approach each of their boxes. They also have boxes designed for the Jewish community, including ones for Shabbat and requiring some basic knowledge of the Hebrew language. (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 BreakInBox 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 #OneOffs #BreakInBox #Israel #Family

Photo above is property of BreakInBox Company: BreakInBox Game: The Blue Set and The Green Set Country: Israel 🇮🇱 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Family Date Played: August 6, 2023 Difficulty (based on 3 players): 4/10 (Blue), 8/10 (Green) Size of Team: Unlimited Time: Unlimited Price: $148 ILS (Approx. $40.00 USD) 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ BreakInbox presents an intriguing gaming concept set within three interconnected cubes, requiring collaborative solving to unveil the central prize. These cubes boast robust construction from durable paper material, fortified by grommet-reinforced holes, ensuring both enduring use and structural resilience. Utilizing a rubber band and a small lock mechanism, the cubes remain securely closed. A standout feature is their reusability, as no writing is needed, enabling easy sharing among friends. Notably, BreakInbox deviates from the convention of ascending difficulty levels within sets, opting for distinct standalone puzzles rather than a progressive challenge scale. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 BreakInbox introduces an array of captivating puzzle sets, each categorized into three levels of difficulty: Medium, Difficult, and Very Difficult. These sets consist of a trio of locked boxes, each posing its own unique challenge. To ultimately access the coveted prize within the smallest box, players must diligently solve the puzzles in sequential order. While many of BreakInbox's offerings demand external knowledge and involve the use of smartphones or the internet, certain boxes cater to individuals seeking an offline experience, providing a distinct challenge or allowing play during periods like Shabbat. For an optimal experience, having a laptop on hand is recommended. Some puzzles may incorporate interactive elements that require the precision of a mouse and keyboard. The gameplay itself revolves around deciphering intricate symbolic puzzles on each of the three boxes within a set. Should players find themselves stumped, assistance is readily available through a QR code accompanying each set, providing access to hints that can nudge them back on track. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The Blue Set The puzzles presented in the Breakinbox experience often lean towards the easier end of the spectrum. The method involves a sequential progression of puzzle-solving, encouraging players to logically deduce the final 3-digit solution necessary to unlock the next box in line. The puzzle sequence design is intricately crafted, leading participants through a cohesive and well-structured logic path. In our endeavor to tackle this challenge, we found that the need for hints was remarkably minimal, a testament to the well-balanced puzzle difficulty. As a team of escape room enthusiasts, the cohesive flow of puzzles engaged our analytical minds with ease. The Green Set "The Green Set" offered by BreakInbox stands as a formidable challenge within their repertoire. This elevated level of difficulty is rooted in the intricate task of deciphering and interlinking a series of images, each holding a crucial clue. This particular set is hailed by the company as their most demanding offering, and it's easy to see why. However, while the puzzles in "The Green Set" can be satisfying to solve, we did encounter instances where the logic required seemed to take larger leaps. Occasionally, this led to a sense of slight frustration as some connections felt almost unfairly distant or abstract. It's worth noting that cultural differences also played a role in this experience. Certain concepts that might be commonplace in Israel posed more of a challenge for us as American participants, emphasizing the need for a broader understanding of diverse cultural references. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 BreakInbox presents an intriguing range of puzzle sets, categorized by varying levels of difficulty, catering to different skill levels and preferences. These sets encompass a series of three locked boxes that need to be tackled sequentially, each culminating in the opening of the smallest box, revealing the prize within. The company offers both online-aided and internet-free variations, with certain boxes designed for a shabbat-compliant experience. "The Blue Set" is an engaging choice for those seeking medium-level challenges. Its puzzles are cleverly structured, primarily relying on sequential puzzle-solving to derive a final three-digit solution. The flow from one puzzle to another is seamless, and our team found minimal need for hints, given our collective experience in escape rooms. This set is a fantastic option for casual gatherings, offering an entertaining and satisfying way to share some brain-teasing fun with friends. "The Green Set", distinguished as BreakInbox's most demanding offering, showcases a higher level of complexity. Centered around the interpretation of interconnected images, this set requires a keen eye for detail and intricate deductions. The difficulty level here can be attributed to more significant leaps in logic, occasionally bordering on frustration due to the abstract nature of some puzzle connections. Additionally, cultural differences played a role, introducing concepts that might be commonplace in Israel but unfamiliar to American participants. This underscores the global nature of these puzzles and encourages a broader perspective when approaching the challenges. Both sets capitalize on the enjoyment derived from deciphering visual puzzles, providing varying degrees of intellectual satisfaction. While the Green set poses more formidable challenges, "The Blue Set" ensures a fun and accessible experience. Ultimately, BreakInbox delivers a unique form of entertainment that transcends geographical boundaries, offering puzzles that prompt participants to think outside the box. (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 BreakInBox 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. #MikeSchnurr #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlebyMail #OneOffs #BreakInBox #Israel #Family

Photo above is property of The Detective Society Company: The Detective Society Game: Trouble In Folklore Falls - Episode 1 Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Detective, Mystery, Fairytales Date Played: March 6, 2022 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10 Size of Team: 1-4 ppl (Ages 14+) Time: Unlimited (Approx. 90 - 120 Mins) Price: £30.00 (Individual), £27 (Monthly), or £144 (Whole season) 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Private Investigator, B.B. Wolfe is looking for help in a new case that has landed in her lap. It appears a serious of peculiar dognappings are happening around Folklore Falls and this criminal who goes by the name The Spider is out to taunt B. She needs your help unearth this fishy case, find The Spider, and stop the next crime before it is too late! Can you stop The Spider or will this serial dognapper continue their attacks on the poor folks of Folklore Falls? Video above is property of The Detective Society 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Episode 1 came in the Detective Society’s traditional cardboard envelope. Inside the envelope is a "begin your investigation here" envelope to start the game as well as a letter from B.B. Wolf, a business card from Detective Society with QR codes that lead you to the rules and hints website page, a rules of engagement pamphlet that provides tips on playing, a brown crime scene evidence envelope, and a larger brown classified envelope. The components of the game consists of papers from newspapers, letters, maps, pamphlets, business cards, interviews, etc. Overall, the game looked polished and clean, and I was excited to dig into it! Right off the bat, I could see websites and phone numbers to call (there is a switchboard for USA/Canada players). Photo above are property of The Detective Society 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This is the first episode of this series, but I feel the game play for this one will, generally, be the same throughout the season. Your tasks involve using websites, phone calls, and paper materials to examine crime scene evidence to develop a case, identify suspects, and narrow them down to find the criminal. You are also trying to stop the criminal from attacking again so in many cases deduction is key in this game. Once you have an answer, you will connect with Bea Wolfe via SMS/ Whatsapp (there will also be times you must message other characters to gain clues). As you complete your tasks, you will be prompted with links, phone numbers, and next steps to solving the case. One thing I really enjoyed with this game was the use of a switchboard. As a Canadian player, I can’t really call U.K. easily. So knowing that The Detective Society took the time to consider options to accommodate North American players in a meaningful way that kept the integrity of the game was great. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 "Trouble in Folklore Falls" follows a detective style of puzzling where you are hunting for clues to piece together and solve. The main task is to draw connections between objects and information to deduce answers. You are using the crime scene photos and witness statements to identify the vehicle of the criminal, establish a time, and a method of abduction. You are combing through the newspapers to see which suspect's alibi's check out and which ones don't. Websites are key for this game, and you should have a computer ready to be able to read through information and look at photos. In addition, there are radio calls with Bea Wolfe that break up the puzzling to indicate progression. I enjoyed the searching aspect of this game. It made me feel like an investigator as I double-checked statements and found my way into employee website portals. The added element of texting characters for assistance was also a neat touch to introduce new information incrementally. Overall, I enjoyed the structure of this game and had fun exploring all the websites. Just make sure to keep a keen eye out to ensure you catch the little clues that can be significant to breaking the case! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Once again, The Detective Society has produced another engaging narrative mystery game. There is a grittiness to this game that opens up for a lot of possibilities that I am excited to explore. I recommend this to those looking to put on their detective hats and those who love an equal mix of paper and technology with their games. With the way this one has ended, I am eager to see what comes next! In the meantime, check out our reviews of their other games that you can buy as a bundle to binge while waiting for the next Folklore Falls! Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game: (If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!) Disclosure: We thank The Detective Society for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #SubscriptionGames #Detective #Mystery #Fairytales #TheDetectiveSociety #UnitedKingdom