Photo above is property of Beadle & Grimm's
Company: Beadle & Grimm's
Game: Murders at Karlov Manor: The Case of the Three Blade Knife
Country: USA 🇺🇸
Language: English
Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬
Genre: Mystery
Date Played: February 7, 2025
Difficulty (based on 6 players): 7/10
Size of Team: 1+ Players (Ages 14+)
Time: Unlimited (Approx. 60-120 Mins.)
Price: $49.99
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Three murders have taken place that have stumped the Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations (RAMI). Lead Inspector Tam Sennic has reached out to you and handed the case file to you, hoping for your assistance. As a junior detective, this might be the mystery that can jump start your career. Are you ready to bring a killer to justice?
Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
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Folding open the package, we find a lot of organized notes to what looks like 3 murders, each with interviews, suspect list and more. There is also an additional envelope for Stage 2 that states not to open it until told to do so. Some other stand out items are the map of the tenth district and the beautiful Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations (RAMI) badge.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
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The game rules were impressively thorough, taking us step by step on how each stage works and when to proceed to the next one. A complete checklist of documents for each stage was also provided. All of this is helpful for beginners or anyone new to these types of games. From there, we were directed to the introduction note, which welcomed us as junior detectives in the Ravnican Agency and pointed us to what to look at first.
One standout item was the RAMI badge, a solid metal collectible that would make a nice display piece afterwards. The badge also integrated with the Pinfinity app, which utilized AR technology for hints, code cracking and where we would submit our solutions to continue. This was a clever piece to make the game more interactive.
The highlights of the game were how well designed the documents were with the posters, map, artwork and police case file notes. It was packed with Ravnican lore. We had one player who plays Magic: The Gathering and specifically the Murder at Karlov Manor set, who enjoyed the references and easter eggs sprinkled throughout. One downside of the game is the amount of reading involved. With our 6 players, we found it challenging to keep track of all the information as there were many documents and details to manage.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
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The game had a few basic puzzles and ciphers for those who enjoy decoding. The bulk of the challenge was the deduction and making connections through the various documents. The first stage required us to find the suspect who had the opportunity to commit the murders. However, with so many notes and documents to dig through, we would recommend a white board or something large enough to share notes for everyone to see. Using the RAMI badge was where hints were provided. Though simple, they were direct in what key information to look at to progress in the case. One aspect that seemed unbalanced was the pacing of the stages. The first stage took us almost 2 hours to complete while the second one took about 15 mins.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
"The Case of the Three Blade Knife" was a detailed, lore-full mystery, hidden in the high quality documents, that needed to be unearthed and connected. Careful deduction and attention to details was needed to solve this difficult case. With 6 players, we found it difficult to keep track of everything. We would recommend no more than 4 players, though 2 players would be ideal. This game was excellent for a rainy day with a few hours to kill. Rather than reading a book, you can immerse yourself in the lore of Ravnica. You don’t need to know anything about Magic: The Gathering for this game but fans of Ravnican will appreciate the connection and small details. As a bonus too, the RAMI badge is a beautiful piece to cosplay with or just keep around and display after you have solved the case.
(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 Beadle & Grimm's 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.
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