Diorama - "The Vandermist Dossier"

Photo above is property of Diorama

Company: Diorama

Game: The Vandermist Dossier

Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱

Language: Dutch, English

Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬

Genre: Mystery

Date Played: September 15, 2021

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10

Size of Team: 1-5 Players (Recommended 2-4 Players)

Time: Approximately 2-3 Hours (without use of hints)

Price: $49 (Kickstarter)

🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈

You recently received a missing person's case dated back to 1979. Helena refuses to believe that her beloved sister Abigail is gone forever. She thinks that Abigail's disappearance has something to do with the case that she was working on at the time. Helena has handed over everything she's got from her sister to you. Hopefully this is enough to help you crack this case and reunite the long lost sisters...

🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞

Since this story takes place in the 1970s, it's really important for the players to experience that vintage feel. Diorama did a great job recreating the time period with the aged props and historical documents. From old photographs to wrinkled yellow pages to a beautifully illustrated town map, this game really took us back in time. We also really loved the packaging of this game. It's really easy to repack and store the materials and it definitely gives off that "case file" type of vibe.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈

Unlike some of the other tabletop games we've played, there's no instructions as to how to begin. You will not need to enter codes to check answers at any point. The entire game is played offline so for people who want to bring this with them on trips or get away from the internet for awhile, this is a great option. The final answers, however, will need to be submitted online as you'll get a conclusive summary of the case via email if you figure out the whereabouts of the sister.

Having no specific directions for game play was quite fitting for this game as it really made us feel like real detectives sleuthing through evidence and documents in order to find the appropriate connections to solve this case. The props in this game works in magical ways in moments you would least expected to give you those "wow" moments. I shall leave it at that so you can discover those secrets yourself.

Photos above are property of Diorama

🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂

The Vandermist Dossier had just the right amount of puzzles to pair up with an exciting and twisted narrative. This is a linear game so only when you solve something (and you'll know when you do), then you'll be allowed to move forward. If you get stuck, there are detailed hints and solutions (with images too which is always a plus) that you can use on their website.

The puzzles went perfectly with the theme of the story. Without revealing too much, using codes to communicate and deciphering hidden messages are exactly what I would expect from a detective game. The messages usually will lead you to the next step and often times, you'll get your "aha" moment just like ones you see in TV shows!

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂

Although everything in this game is fictional, the creator really made the game feel realistic. In the interview below, I had to ask the creator how much of it was real because the TV ads, yellow page listings, and even the town itself felt like they could have all existed during that time period. As a fan of detective games, I loved the suspense and mystery this game was able to offer to us. It felt more like a movie that we're creating with our minds rather than a tabletop game . I can't wait to see how this will continue to develop as a I'm definitely seeing a sequel is in the planning for the near future!

---

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

BUY NOW

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

Disclosure: We thank Diorama 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.

#CiciCao #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Diorama #Netherlands #Mystery