The Final Act: Murder at the Talent ShowHunt a KillerEscape roomTabletopI’ve actually been on an America’s Got Talent kick so this was a fun game to play in the moment! The overall whodunnit murder mystery is fine, though I wasn’t particularly impressed with the conclusions. I did like all the other mini mysteries and escape room puzzles though. There’s even a lock box! No X for this game. I’m going to have to say “Yes!”
Curse of the DarkProfessor PuzzleEscape roomTabletopSuperb escape board game! Feels like what you get if you combine EXIT and Unlock puzzle games, though I would say this is better than most of both those series. The fun comes in building a replica of the spooky castle, complete with large board tiles and 3D physical components. Definitely get what you paid for! It’s almost a shame that quite a few of the components get destroyed unless you print out cuttable materials. The game is long, so I would recommend taking a break when the game says to do so. The puzzles are mostly fun, but some are super convoluted. And worse, some are just not constructed to the best, and will lead to wrong solutions because of being fiddly. The scratchable hints and solutions are not a great idea, and there’s a silly use of an internet connected device that could have been removed. The story, while interesting, kind of fizzles out even towards the end, and I would have expected a greater finale for this epic escape board game. I highly recommend this for a fun mystery night. Just be prepared for a long night, hopefully it’s not a bad night to have a curse.
Lakeside Slaughter: The Last VacationHunt a KillerEscape roomTabletopA solid mystery game with its fair share of escape room puzzles. It even has its own lock box. I think the whodunit was fun to solve. It was a fair conclusion, and we were able to figure out what happened completely. There are some small, but fun goodies included with the package too! Although it’s technically replayable and shareable with others, you likely won’t replay it once you know the solution. As far as games in this series go, I recommend Lakesides Laughter! Wait, you mean the name is actually… AHHH!
Game Night Gone WrongHunt a KillerEscape roomTabletopI really liked this mystery game because it was basically a double mystery, a mystery-ception! The story takes place around a game night, and the suspects and victim happen to be playing a variation of Clue. The puzzles and timeline of the game’s events revolve around opening a lock box as a solution to the Clue mystery and figuring out the final whodunnit for the overall mystery. It’s a game within a game that’s good for a mystery game night within a game night!
The Girl in the WellHunt a KillerEscape roomTabletopThis mystery game is marked as easy, and it is as advertised. It plays out like other games where you read documents to solve a murder, in this case, a cold case. Attentive sleuths will quickly figure it out, but there are also a couple interesting puzzles that help to reach the solution. Still fun, but more hand-holdy than other games of this ilk. Weeeeelllll…
Rideshare HomicideHunt a KillerEscape roomTabletopFun 1-time mystery game involving looking at various documents. Since it involves the theme of rideshare, you can bet you’ll deal with car-related items like maps and air fresheners. I like the free items included actually. And the mystery was mostly fine, although the solution really boiled down to a few small details that are easy to miss. We ended up solving it, but we may as well have not if we didn’t jump to the correct conclusions. Not quite a 5 star Uber mystery but an enjoyable time for what it is!
Murder At The MotelHunt a KillerEscape roomTabletopI love mysteries, and I had a good time spending a night to sift through documents and solving this murder case. There are actually a few major puzzles to solve, and an actual lock box to open with a code, so it’s for sure escape room adjacent. The actual deduction was a little vague, so although we solved the mystery, it did feel like we had to jump to conclusions to do so. The ending was brief, and we had to sign into the game’s website and input our email address just to get an epilogue note. That same website can be used for hints and solutions, though they didn’t really help us for what we needed. Still a good fun board game for detectives who know there is only one truth!
EXIT: The Game - Advent Calendar - The Intergalactic RaceThames & KosmosEscape roomTabletopA fun 1-puzzle-a-day Christmastime game! The story is cute in this one, and some puzzles were really good. There were a few puzzles that I didn’t like, but it’s because I’m biased against puzzles that make you ruin materials, and this calendar in particular goes overboard. The reward for finishing is super cute!
Cold Case: A Pinch of MurderThinkFunEscape roomTabletopEnjoyed playing this murder mystery game! The whole game is actually just a set of files, some of them documents, others are photos. Your goal is to solve a murder and robbery by looking at the evidence and answering three questions online. I appreciated being free to look at any and all of the clues at once and discussing the mystery with my sleuth partner. Wish there was more fanfare at the end, but did like how the ending played out when we correctly figured out whodunnit?
Murder Mystery Party: The Night Hunter GameUniversity GamesEscape roomTabletopA fun package that combines escape rooms puzzles with cold case document murder mystery solving. Unlike other mystery case file board games, this one is actually much more focused on the puzzles side, which will likely be a plus for escape rooms enthusiasts here. However, the mystery aspect is not as strong here. The game holds your hand the entire way, giving you a few clues at a time to solve a multiple choice question correctly to proceed to the next chapter. The actual whodunnit is solved fairly early too with many of the later parts involving puzzles regarding the killer. So I was a disappointed as a mystery fan, but still enjoyed it as a fan of puzzles and reading mystery narratives. Awoooo!
EXIT: The Game - The Pharaoh's TombThames & KosmosEscape roomTabletopSolid fun, though don’t expect anything extraordinary. Like IRL escape rooms, Egyptian themed games are a dime a dozen. I liked most of the puzzles, the hieroglyphics wheel was a nice touch, and it didn’t feel like I was completely destroying the contents when I played unlike other EXIT games. It was sometimes confusing to know which locks we were opening because all the doors look the same. And it presents itself like a nonlinear game, but it’s secretly mostly linear with the added confusion of not knowing when you have enough info to solve a puzzle. A mostly fun experience still, but other more modern EXIT games are more fun for at-home escapes.
EXIT: The Game - The Venice ConspiracyThames & KosmosEscape roomTabletopEXIT keeps outdoing itself with how much outside (and of course inside) the box some of its solutions are. I don’t particularly care for puzzles that completely leave the games unplayable. Unfortunately, there are a few puzzles that completely destroy this game. I liked the other puzzles, but wasn’t a fan of that part…
Mother Of Frankenstein: Volume 1Hatch Escapes - OnlineEscape roomTabletopMother of Frankenstein is a full escape-like game from Hatch Escapes, best known for their amazing escape room Lab Rat. This game is very beautifully narrative-driven and based on the real life of Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley. The narrative and puzzles go hand in hand and culminate in a genius final puzzle. I thought the puzzles were very varied and catered to different intelligence strengths. Unfortunately, I was weak in one of them, and since the puzzles were very long and drawn out, I couldn’t really enjoy 1/4 of the entire game. I think my main issue was how long each puzzle was. I’m better with shorter puzzles usually found in escape rooms, whereas this game had me interacting with a singular type of puzzle for at least 1 hour each. This game is part of a bigger story with two more volumes already out, and the ending of this one made me very intrigued to play the next installment. Perhaps my opinions will fluctuate after I complete volumes 2 and 3. Then my complete review will be alive. IT’S ALIIIIVE!
The Werewolf ExperimentEscape Room in a BoxEscape roomTabletopThe Werewolf Experiment is a solid tabletop escape room game. There are a few lock boxes, which I wasn’t expecting from a tabletop game, as well as a few other props. The majority of the puzzles are paper-and-pencil based, which was a little disappointing albeit expected. There are a few surprises, but nothing super grand. It’s somewhat replayable because you can reprint the materials online, but I probably wouldn’t replay it. We got it on a big discount, so it was certainly worth our money and time. Awooooo!
Mystery at the Stargazer's ManorThinkFunEscape roomTabletopIn terms of play-at-home escape games, this is pretty good. I liked the tactile materials, which felt of a solid quality. The puzzles aren’t very difficult, and our team of 2 easily steamrolled through most of the puzzles. The final puzzles are a little trickier, which I appreciated. The decoder wheel is a little hard to understand, but it makes sense what you’re looking for in each puzzle once you get it. Unlike EXIT games, you’re not solving puzzles to find the next card. Instead, you’re solving puzzles to gain “permission” to open an envelope. It’s not as exciting, but it works. There are multiple endings depending on how long you want to keep playing. I say it’s worth it to see it through to the end.
Timescape: Saving ShakespeareRidley's GamesEscape roomTabletopSaving Shakespeare is an escape room game with an interesting time travel premise that falls a little short. The tale about going back in time to stop a Fakespeare is told with fun storybook pages. The puzzles are very straightforward, and they’re very easy for most, especially escape enthusiasts. The game isn’t trying to trick you in any way. Unlike EXIT games, the answer decoder just tells you if you’re correct, and a wrong answer doesn’t necessarily prevent you from just moving on to the next puzzle. It just hinders your score. Speaking of straightforward design, the back of the box itself tells you that there are only 6 puzzles, and they’re not very hard to decipher. It’s a one-and-done game, albeit technically replayable or regiftable. Whether it’s worth the asking price is another matter. To buy or no to buy, that is the question
Unlock! Mystery Adventures: The Tonipal's TreasureSpace CowboysEscape roomTabletopA solid escape game and leagues better than the underwater game in the same box. This pirate-themed game hits all the right notes and earns its bounty! There were only a handful of truly annoying puzzles, mostly centered around being able to understand something being said. Clever uses of the app and cards marks the spot!
Unlock! Mystery Adventures: The Nautilus' TrapsSpace CowboysEscape roomTabletopPossibly one of my least favorite Unlock! escape games. The puzzles are unintuitive, make little sense, and are needlessly frustrating. There is no real logic flow. The first few cards are literally unfair. It wasn’t a lot of fun, and I don’t really say this about most escape games.
Masters of Crime: RaptureThames & KosmosEscape roomTabletopMasters of Crime: Rapture is a great blend of mystery, choose-your-own-adventure, and escape room puzzle game. The twists were really good, and the final mystery solution really tests your grasp of the charcaters’ motives, alibis, and relationships. There are multiple endings too. The puzzles aren’t too hard, and there aren’t a lot, but they’re pretty good. The game also uses real websites (that are made up by the company), so there is a level of immersion research that I like. It uses its own website as well for puzzle and mystery solutions, so make sure you have internet access and pray that the websites haven’t gone down by the time you play. Overall, really good game for mystery lovers!
Unlock! Epic Adventures: Mission #07Space CowboysEscape roomTabletopThis escape game had a lot of fun puzzles utilizing role playing teamwork as several characters, clever app usage, and unique challenges that made us think outside the box. At times, it felt like Exit, which is an escape game series we also enjoy. The double scenario and 90 minute time limit worked hand-in-hand to deliver a thrilling spy experience that can be played at home!
