Curse of the Dark

Superb 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.

To begin this game is absolutely stunning; as you uncover more of the castle grounds and you see the layout expand both on a 2D and 3D plain you cant help but feel excited by everything you're looking at. In saying this some players may feel a little overwhelmed by the expansiveness of the game and how much is going on, but I absolutely loved it! The hints and solutions element of this game is one of the best I've seen in a tabletop game, everything just makes sense and is easy to follow for where you're up to. The hints and solutions are covered with a "scratch card like" grey paint which allows players to only see what they need without accidentally reading more than needed. This is the same for the answer symbols; should you get a correct answer you are rewarded with a green square of the cards and tiles you need next; if you receive a red dot you have the incorrect answer and must try again. The map and layout for the castle grounds is beautiful; everything looks incredible and well thought out. Hidden details lie around every corner and have you not only looking at the puzzle cards but also searching through each room of the castle. But as with all escape games communication is key, we missed a key section of the game for a while because someone had overlooked the contents of the room and missed that we should have received a new tile. But because of the streamlined game format we quickly realised this and figured out where we'd went wrong. There are so many creative puzzles and elements to this game that I unfortunately can't discuss due to the potential for spoilers. I will although discuss the elements that are used in the advertising such as the stained glass window and 3D elements that really help to bring this game to life and immerse the players in the game. All of these additional elements play their own role in some incredibly unique puzzles that take a twist on the usual uses for such elements. This made the game really stand out for me among the other games I've played. There is another element that uses an internet connected mobile device which is so much fun and really caught me off guard during the gameplay. There we're a few puzzles that were broader in interpretation but discussing this with the group we were able to figure out what to do and progress past these points. 3 hours is a long time to be working on puzzles and you may benefit from taking a break at the halfway point but for us games night was in full flow and so was the food and drink so the time flew over. Overall I'd say for the money this is an incredibly unique tabletop experience that I would highly recommend to those who have played a few tabletop escapes! Difficulty - 3.5 / 5 Puzzles - 4 / 5 Theming - 4 / 5 Creativity - 4.5 / 5 Enjoyment - 3.5 / 5 Value For Money - 4 / 5 Overall Score - 4.25 / 5

➕Superb bang for your buck. The game is well playable with 6 players and we took ~3.5 hours to complete it. That's $7.50/pax for 3.5 hours of entertainment! ➕Immersive and spooky story. The story was well-made and easy to digest as they're staggered throughout the game. The use of the location tiles accentuated the feeling of being the investigator exploring the house. ➕Crazy good puzzles. The puzzles are SO varied, unique and interesting it's unbelievable it's priced this low. It gave us a handful of "a-ha" moments and none of the puzzles fell flat or unfair. The difficulty of the game hit the sweet spot with us being a group of experienced and beginner players. ➖Some fiddly components. We would've preferred a sturdier version of it but it's a hard ask given the price of the game. ➖Not resettable. Due to the nature of the answer system and puzzles, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to gift this game away once you're done with it. Hands down this is one of my favourite escape room games I've ever played. With fantastic puzzle design, engaging story and amazing table prescence, it's a must play for anyone who has a slight interest in puzzles or escape rooms.