Photo above is property of A Killing Affair
Company: A Killing Affair
Game: Season 2 - Playing With Fire
Country: USA 🇺🇸
Language: English
Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬
Genre: Murder Mystery, Detective
Date Played: May 28, 2022
Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10
Size of Team: 1-6 Players (Ages 14+)
Time: Unlimited (Suggested time 8 hrs)
Price: $170.00 (Set), $38.00/ Episode
Video above is property of A Killing Affair
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 1
It seems, despite being a small town, Lovely, Florida has once again become embroiled in a strange series of attacks…this time arson, and Detective Kim Kimbell is asking you to assist in their investigation! While these attacks seem to be happening over the course of the summer of 2019 Kim has suspicions regarding an old arson case from 2004 that she thinks may be tied to what is happening now. In addition, the mayor is involved so you know this case is serious for the community. Kimbell plans to send you the case files in chunks and needs you to try to eliminate suspects from the list that has been put together to date. The first case files include the old 2004 case and the first incident of 2019. It’s time to unpack everything and pour over the evidence to remove two suspects. What ties do these two cases have? Time to start looking!
Inventory List for Episode 1:"Welcome Back" Starting flyer
Letter from Detective Kim Kimbell
Lovely City riverside map
Sticky notes or notebook
Photo page of victims and suspects
Fire Investigation Report from The Law Offices of Doug and Wallenfang
Fire Investigation Report from Monkey Bar and Grill
News clippings from 2019 and 2004 arsons
Record of deeds from Lovely County
Law office flyer
Evidence bags (4) containing a t-shirt, a receipt, bar token,, matches, messages, and notes
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 2
While you may have removed two suspects, your journey has only just begun! The Mayor has reached out personally to pass along the next set of documents, urging you to keep pursuing this. In this box you have another arson case from August 24th, 2019, another victim, and the knowledge that one suspect must go. You now know there is something suspicious going on when it appears all the buildings thus far that have been attacked belong to the same person and that the arsonist is now actively planting accelerants and causing explosions. What has happened in the past 15 years? With the witness from 2004 unwilling to reveal much, you are pursuing all your loose threads in the case files and seeing what truth can you uncover this time!
Inventory List for Episode 2:"Welcome Back" Starting flyer
Letter from the Mayor
Photo page of witnesses, suspect, and victims
Hint envelope
News clipping from arson event
3 evidence bags containing a note left at the scene, a bracelet, a pen
Fire Investigation Report from Riverside Jewelry containing overview, injury reports, eye witness statements, and photos
Police Department file for the Riverside Jewelry arson containing statements, interviews, photos, business cards, etc.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 3
The next arson attack had no victims but the arsonist is getting bolder when they set fire to a wedding venue in September 2019! We now know that the arsonist is intentionally leaving strange notes behind at the crime scenes; we also know they are are specifically targeting buildings owned by a rather suspicious individual, and that a secret women-led group has been victim to each crime scene in 2019. While the witnesses from the 2004 case are still not opening up, one of them left a rather innocuous piece of evidence at the station. We have two suspects to eliminate so we better get cracking!
Inventory List for Episode 3:"Welcome Back" Starting flyer
Letter from Detective Kim Kimbell
Photo page with new suspects, witnesses, and victims
Evidence bags (4) containing wedding favours, advice cards, congratulation card
Fire Investigation Report for Izzy's Inn containing incident report, injury report, witness statements, crime scene layout, and photos
Police Department file for Izzy's Inn arson containing news article clipping, calendar left from suspect, investigation notes, and suspect interviews
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 4
Another life is lost in the series of arson attacks in Lovely, Florida. The police are struggling to piece it together and while you have been able to narrow down the list, suspects are lawyering up and information is scarce, Yet, you know there is something out there. It’s time to crack open the next file and see what you can uncover. What links these cases together? Who is the target? Let’s dive in!
Inventory List for Episode 4:"Welcome Back" Starting flyer
Letter from Detective Kim Kimbell
Photo page
Evidence bags containing a wooden box, cork with tag, crime scene note, and letters from suspect
Fire Investigation Report from Eve's Escape Room that contains an incident report, injury report, diagram of crime scene, and photos
Police Department file for Eve's Escape Room that contains news clipping, letter, notes from detective, interviews with various suspects
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 5
In the final episode, Detective Trish Tate from the Independence Day Killing investigation finally reaches out. She knows you are so close and she hopes the final incident, which she has a personal connection to, can provide the final clues you need. It appears this final victim may have been the main target but you still come up empty with the name of the attacker. What connects all these people and what do the coded messages from the killer really mean? With only a few suspects remaining, which one is the killer?
Inventory List for Episode 5:"Welcome Back" Starting flyer
Letter from Detective Trish Tate
"Thank You" gift
Evidence bags containing note from arsonist, pill bottle, sealed letter, and items found on the victim's desk
Fire Investigation Report with injury and casualty report, witness statement, and crime scene diagram
Police Department file for victim with news clipping, report notes, law documents, search warrant, photos, suspect interviews
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞
Each mailing comes in a box with an awesome newspaper graphic and a carefully singed caution tape which is an excellent touch. My game arrived in a box set with a box number stamped on the bottom of the box. Inside each box is a personalized letter from the Lovely Police force, case files, evidence bags, investigation reports and more that work together to help eliminate suspect(s) and to piece together what is happening in Lovely, Florida. As you move through the boxes you will continue to narrow down suspects and in between boxes are smaller envelopes that can introduce new characters and tease out plot elements. Some of the boxes may contain hint envelopes but A Killing Affair has transitioned away from the paper envelopes so hints are available online (access code to them is in your game introduction letter). In addition to the paper and physical elements, you will be expected to find websites, send emails, call numbers (if you are outside the USA a transcript is on the website), and access locked web pages to gather information. Finally, there is a checklist of what should be in each box on the website.
🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈
A Killing Affair seeks to immerse you in a detective world where you can truly learn about the town of Lovely, Florida. You are not simply just solving a series of arsons but learning about the lives of a series of complex people who have secrets, stories, and personalities that make this case anything but straightforward. Through reading their interviews, finding their websites, accessing chat logs, and more you get the true sense of the people and can use that to fuel your investigation into them. The game starts with an introduction letter that explains the format of the game, provides tips on what to expect and provides links or hints and more. The biggest thing to remember is to start with the introduction letter from the detective (or mayor in one box) who provides a synopsis of the road so far (ie. as you progress they will highlight the key things you learned) and give you your goal for the box - how many suspects you are eliminating. Once you have exhausted all avenues in the box and on websites you can submit your eliminated suspect(s) on the game’s website to check if you are on the right track.
This style of game is a true detective experience, which entails a lot of reading - one thing I recommend when you play with groups is to divide the reading and then debrief what you learned. I also highly recommend laying out chronology as you navigate the boxes and to also keep track of your suspects and their movements from each arson case. You will need previous information from other boxes at times so keep them close! There is an element of puzzling to this series but the core is about solving a crime which means deduction should be your focus.
🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂
The puzzling in "Playing With Fire" was light to medium level with careful intention. These are not escape room puzzles but rather they make sense in the world of the story from a series of coded messages from the arsonist, locked websites containing clues, and hidden messages spread around. In this frame of mind, a keen detective eye is the best tool for this. As you navigate the boxes, their puzzling increases but you feel prepared from the previous one. There is also layering in some of the puzzles that I found truly fascinating and they made me eager to keep pushing forward in anticipation! Make sure to really look things over and maybe you’ll catch a clue that will be useful in later chapters! Now, the puzzling doesn’t solve the case inherently but the information you gain fills in gaps in the story as you uncover what they are hiding and potentially why. As a player who loves connecting dots, these kinds of puzzles really stick with me as a story-driven player. As such I say the puzzling is light to medium because deduction is the heart of the game.
As mentioned previously, there is a well structured hint system on the website for each puzzle when you get stuck. I think the only time I accessed it was when I was unsure what to do with a piece of information I solved earlier. My advice is if you get a weird phrase, think about what things you have found that it could be applied to.
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
"Playing With Fire" provided an engaging investigation with an excellent “aha” in the culminating chapter. For those who love being able to truly explore when investigating cases this series provides a good variety while also not making it too overwhelming. This kind of series is perfect for those wanting to pull out their detective caps and hang up their cork boards because there is nuance to the story. You find different stories tangled together and unwinding them was a great fun. More experienced players can probably solve each box in 1-2 hours so I recommend ordering the full season if you enjoy bingeing your investigation or subscribe monthly if you keep a good record of notes to follow up. Ultimately, I am left feeling quite satisfied with myself and eager to revisit Lovely, Florida in the next season!
Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game:
Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
(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 A Killing Affair 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.
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