Ministry of Lost Things 2: Finders KeypersPostCuriousEscape roomTabletopAdorable! So many puns! Such cute puzzles! A sweet story! What's not to love?!
Squirrels Gone WildSpencer is PuzzlingEscape roomTabletopExtremely cute and silly! Nice beginner-friendly puzzles that are great for enticing newer puzzlers into the hobby, plus some slightly more substantive puzzling to cap things off.
Pandora's LegacyPostCuriousEscape roomTabletopThe new gold standard for a puzzle-packed jigsaw! This brilliant game accomplishes what all the other "escape room jigsaws" fail to — a premium jigsaw that progressively transforms into a range of unexpected physical props for varied, clever puzzling, all framed by a lovely narrative and a remarkably sleek web app. And on top of all that, the artwork, both in the jigsaw and online, is absolutely exquisite. 10/10, very highly recommend!
EXIT: The Game - The Hunt Through AmsterdamThames & KosmosEscape roomTabletopPretty decent as Exit games go. Nothing amazing, but nothing that made me angry either. And the Amsterdam theming made me nostalgic for awesome Dutch games!
Nine Codes: The TycoonFunbi GamesEscape roomTabletopA delightful, clever, and highly accessible entry point to Funbi's wonderful world of puzzles. I'm really enjoying this "Nine Codes" format — lots of rapid dopamine hits, easily solvable in a single sitting — and I hope he continues to make more mini games in this style! I particularly enjoyed the illustration style in this one.
Lost in MineFunbi GamesEscape roomTabletopSoooo many layers to this one! It's incredibly impressive how much gameplay Funbi managed to pack into the humble zine format, supplemented by a robust web app (which was also a really great mini graphic novel of sorts!) Highly recommend!
Nine Codes: The InitiationFunbi GamesEscape roomTabletopFunbi increasingly has a distinctive personal style, and I love it. Nine Codes: The Initiation presented a series of more bite-sized puzzles that are each cute, clever, and satisfying. Utilizing a range of puzzle mechanics, this game would provide a ton of fun for newbies and experienced solvers alike.
Puzzle MenuFunbi GamesEscape roomTabletopPhenomenal puzzle fest, with some pretty tricky puzzles in the mix (but all very fair and well clued!) I enjoyed seeing how Funbi really pushed the difficulty in this one, and I hope to one day see a longer-form puzzle book from him extending this style. If you're in for a challenge, this one is worth checking out!
Ministry of Lost Things: Lint ConditionPostCuriousEscape roomTabletopSO FLIPPING CUTE!! I've been a huge fan of every single Postcurious puzzletale, and MOLT is a particularly adorable and whimsical addition to their catalog. It's impressive how many ahas (and puns) they packed into a small package, with sky-high levels of meticulous design and enthralling illustration throughout. Highly recommend, especially as a more accessible (but no less satisfying) entry point to the Postcurious lineup. I eagerly await future MOLT cases!
Search for a SuperheroThe Mystery League RemoteEscape roomTabletopClever, layered puzzles + plenty of puns + gorgeous artwork = a super puzzle hunt experience! Every experience created by The Mystery League is top notch, and this game is a particularly polished example of their style.
Mystery in the GalleriesThe Mystery League RemoteEscape roomTabletopMystery in the Galleries captures all the most magical elements of a puzzle hunt and elegantly distills them into a tactile tabletop game that's quite approachable for a more general audience. Varied puzzles layer on each other brilliantly, leading into a satisfying metapuzzle.
Thornbright Mansion: Chapter 2EnvelescapeEscape roomTabletopSome of the worst puzzle design I've seen in any tabletop game. The popup itself is decent but quite flimsy and unsatisfying.
Escape from the MuseumProfessor PuzzleEscape roomTabletopShockingly bad. I don't understand how such unpolished, uninspired puzzles ever made it to print. Save your time and skip this one.
The Crate Gotham Challenge: Holiday Edition - CLOSEDGreat Gotham ChallengeEscape roomTabletopWith a dazzling array of puzzle types and presentations, this game included some truly memorable puzzle interactions. Layered solves were tightly integrated throughout a range of high-quality props and multisensory experiences. Individual puzzles were sufficiently compelling to demand our attention throughout the game, but the gameplay could have been elevated by a more continuous throughline or meta structure.
Humanity 2.0clueQuest - Print+Cut+EscapeEscape roomTabletopThis delightful print-and-play continues the same distinctive art style, cohesive storytelling, and whimsical video+digital content that solvers of the previous two episodes have come to know and love. While this episode had significantly less cutting than episode 2, I also felt it lacked some of the more impressive “wow” moments resulting from slightly more elaborate constructions that made the previous episode really shine. Nonetheless, Humanity 2.0 is brimming with diegetic tactile puzzles which make excellent use of the paper medium. As with the previous two episodes, this game vastly outpaces nearly every mass market escape-room-in-a-box in terms of both price and creativity.
Prison of Memories Part I.clueQuest - Print+Cut+EscapeEscape roomTabletopclueQuest has majorly stepped up their puzzle design game in Prison of Memories Part 1, with puzzles that are even more satisfying to solve, more diverse in mechanic, and more difficult (in a very good way!) than in any of their previous Print + Cut + Escape games. Presented through clueQuest’s eclectic, distinctive artistic style, this game immerses you in a fantastical reverie as it extends the alluring world and narrative threads established through all their other games.
Mechanics of the HeartclueQuest - Print+Cut+EscapeEscape roomTabletopclueQuest never disappoints, and Mechanics of the Heart is a more beginner-friendly print-and-play adventure which is just as clever, creative, and polished as clueQuest’s more challenging offerings. The art style is alluring, the online interface was smooth and user friendly, and there was a good balance of aha and process puzzles. This is a perfect Valentine’s Day game for partners or friends, and it’ll be a fun hour-ish for both novice and more experienced puzzlers.
Operation E.G.G.clueQuest - Print+Cut+EscapeEscape roomTabletopThis game eggs-eeded my eggs-pectations, and I think any-bunny would be hoppy playing it. Operation E.G.G. is whimsical in plot and was seasonally themed through an excess of egg and rabbit puns. I enjoyed the pre-game opportunity to lightly customize the digital script, and I could see that feature allowing for some particularly delightful moments for families playing this game. For me, Operation E.G.G. roughly ties with Mechanics of the Heart as the easiest of the clueQuest print-and-play games, though not in a bad way. The game is thoroughly enjoyable with a low barrier to entry. The puzzles were full of lovely little observational ahas and super smooth in process and flow.