Above photo provided by Identity Games
Company: Identity Games (Distributed in North America by Kroeger inc.)
Game: Escape Room The Game: Secret of the Scientist
Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱
Language: English
Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬
Genre: Mystery
Date Played: 4/28/2021
Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10
Size of Team: Unlimited (Suggested 1-2 Players, ages 16+)
Time: Unlimited
Price: $19.99
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There's been a report of an "annoying alarm" going off at the old mansion in town. The officers think it's probably nothing so they assigned this case to you, a rookie. When you arrived at the mansion, you noticed the front door is unlocked...
Check out our puzzle spoiler-free unboxing video below:
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The game came in a rectangular box covered with intriguing and colorful graphics. Inside you'll find 12 key pieces, a puzzle decoder, 10 hint coins and 2 mysterious parts. There's also 6 compartments that were build into the box which could be opened up like an advent calendar.
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Read the instruction booklet to identify the starting point. If you rather watch a tutorial instead, you can check out this video HERE. You'll need a good amount of space for this game so make sure you have at least a 40in x 40in table.
Once you open the first instructed compartment, read the narrative first. This will actually help you with the jigsaw part of the puzzle as the story might give away some location hints on where to place certain jigsaw pieces. Once the jigsaw puzzle is completed, you'll need to solve another puzzle (logic, deduction, observation, etc.) in order to identify the right code. The code will always be a 4 part code consists of numbers or shapes. Use the decoder wheel to determine if your solution is correct or not. If it is correct, you'll be able to match up a symbol on the leftover unopened compartments and that will be the next one that you'll need to open.
You can play the game in "Escape Room Mode" or "Jigsaw Mode". "Escape Room Mode" will be timed and you can score yourself afterwards with the scoring chart provided in the instruction booklet. You'll be penalized if you took hints and that could be recorded with the hint tokens. We play the game in "Jigsaw Mode" since we want to be able to fully enjoy the game and appreciate the creator's ingenuity and creativity.
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The puzzles weren't too difficult for enthusiasts but they really reminded us of ones we would experience in a real life escape room. The additional props that came in each compartment also seamlessly tied in with the completed jigsaw puzzle. The jigsaw puzzle was not your typical 4 square corner type of puzzle. It took us a bit of time trying to figure out how the edges would eventually connect together. We really enjoyed this innovative design. This design also made us feel like we're going through room to room in a real escape room as once we solved a puzzle, a new area will be revealed. We didn't need to use any hints but there is a hint and solution section printed on the back of the instruction booklet.
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First of all, we love jigsaw puzzles. Having a game that has jigsaw puzzles combined with escape room type of puzzles was like a match made in heaven. Secondly, the package design of the game was genius. I love how it made us wait to open each of the compartments through solving puzzles. We felt like kids impatiently waiting to open an advent calendar for Christmas. Every one of them was full of surprises.
The storyline was also very enticing. Right from the start, there's a build up for a mystery. As the game progressed, we collected more information and characters and made the mystery even more convoluted. You could only discover the truth if you're able to make it to the end.
Another great thing about this game is the replayability. It was quite easy to repackage the game back together (I just taped down the compartments). I can't wait to bring this game over for my family to try one day. If you're a fan of this game series, they'll have a new one coming out this Fall!
Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of the game:
(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 Identity Games for providing us with a sample of this game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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