Cafe Nordo - "Nordo's Room Service - The Interrogation of Alice"

Photo above is property of Cafe Nordo

Company: Cafe Nordo

Game: Nordo's Room Service - The Interrogation of Alice

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬

Genre: Whimsical, Wonderland, Mystery

Date Played: February 6, 2022

Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10

Size of Team: 1-6 Players

Time: 1-2 Hours

Price: $99.00

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To Somebody. As opposed to Nobody as Nobody would be useless in this scenario. The Queens have asked for your assistance in investigating the curious future crimes of a young girl, Alice. The Mad Hatter and March Hare have already given the verdict but need you to uncover what will happen as they interrogate suspects and witnesses who helped Alice become something she was never meant to be…a Queen.

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Café Nordo does an excellent job in setting the stage for your experience. You receive a box with delightful shortbread cookies, cocktail ingredients, and a case file filled with evidence to help you through your journey. There is a letter from Café Nordo that highlights what you will need to do and also reminds you to stow the food and in a cool dry place. I will note, these deserts will go bad quite quickly because of how fresh they are so eat them as soon as you can, even if you have to delay the actual experience.

The case files have evidence markers labelled A-D, a forensic report, record of arrest, a letter to Somebody, case verdict, crime scene photos, a strange telegram, and more. The letter does let you know not to open anything until directed. Overall, I enjoyed the look of the game, and I felt the components were well made and fit with the theme and feel of the game. They were filled with whimsy, nonsense, and all the markers of a true Lewis Carroll adventure.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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"The Interrogation of Alice" follows the same format of the previous Café Nordo at home experience if you have played them. You first open the envelop with the Café Nordo symbol which provides general instructions and information about the deserts. This experience requires internet connection (computer, not phone) as you be guided through a series of video interviews of characters to help unravel the story.

Each video focuses on interviews with different characters who might have a connection to Alice’s future crimes. At the end of each video, you are directed to a piece of evidence or encouraged to investigate a specific element of the case file. To move forward you must solve a mini puzzle that will require other material in the case file to help you out.

The gameplay is straightforward. There are hints available on most puzzles as a “?” icon in the top right but there was one puzzle that was missing a hint system that I wished had one. In addition, the hints provide riddle type clues for solving. The goal is the embrace the madness of Wonderland, so I recommend taking your time with this experience.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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The focus of "The Interrogation of Alice" is the storytelling but to engage players from home there are a series of puzzles to help players navigate this quirky tale. The puzzles mainly consist of logic and spatial orientation. They rely of keen observations that allows you to make connections between what appears to be non-sensical or strange and slowly come to realize the truth in the madness, which I thought was very apropos for the theme. I admit I did get stuck on the second puzzle not because it was inherently hard but because I misunderstood the instructions of the game when it said to only interact with items when told so I hadn’t bothered to examine the crime scene and a few other pieces that helped immensely with the puzzling. To that end, the puzzles are fair but they may throw you off a little at first because the instructions are infused with Wonderland theme so you’ll have some words thrown in that may not have an explicit meaning you understand initially. Again, the key is patience. My favourite puzzle ended up being the dictionary one because I felt it really embraced the crazy of this magical world while paying homage to the world of logic puzzles.

Photos above are property of Cafe Nordo

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"The Interrogation of Alice" by Café Nordo is a frabjous and wonderful adventure that took the story of Alice in Wonderland and infused it with detective mystery and puzzles we can sink into. I would say people who enjoy theatre, Lewis Carrol, and logic puzzles would enjoy this the most because the videos and characters tame the limelight while the puzzle builds the theme and atmosphere. I particularly enjoyed the element of breaking the fourth wall in some of the video scenarios as it helped draw me the viewer into the narrative. In this fashion, I think Café Nordo did a good job creating an experience that immersive theatre fans could really sink their hands into, both in puzzles and delicious snacks. I look forward to being taken on the next adventure with them!

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Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of the game:

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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(If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Cafe Nordo 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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