Identity Games - "Nightmare Horror Adventures: Welcome to Crafton Mansion"

Photos above are property of Identity Games

Company: Identity Games (Distributed in North America by Kroeger inc.)

Game: Nightmare Horror Adventures: Welcome to Crafton Mansion

Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱

Language: English

Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬

Genre: Horror

Date Played: December 29, 2021

Difficulty (based on 4 players): 2/10

Size of Team: 4-5 Players (Recommended Ages 16+)

Time: Unlimited (Approx. 120 Mins.)

Price: $51.90

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After many years, the Crafton Family finally returns to solve the murder of their parents. A grisly scene that burned down the shed in the garden with everyone’s familial bonds inside, all perishing that evening. There is tension all around when you meet your siblings on the front steps of the old family house. What are you going to find out? What secrets hide behind the doors. Discovering what happened all those years ago is what drives this game at its very core.

Each player will play one of five Crafton descendants. All follow a stereotypical horror trope but add their own unique character from not only the game’s contents, but through your own role-play during the night. Everyone will get a chance to shine throughout the night and discover all of the plot twists and turns that the story will take.

Video above is property of Identity Games

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The box is just as big as it needs to be. Cards telling players when to open them, inserts that hide hidden secrets, just by opening and revealing the components players will get excited to take on the role of the Crafton kids. When distributing contents, giving each player a blindfold, lets others know that this isn’t going to be your typical board game. Some players at my table weren’t too thrilled with the quality of the blindfold but I had no issues with it. The job to make sure information is hidden is the blindfold's purpose and it does just that.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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There are two types of play in this board game. There are the rules and how the game works but there is also the atmospheric aspect to this game. The rules are really very simple. Your group will decide on which action to take (move, search, reveal). After you choose your action, on the web app (that needs to be open during the whole experience), press the action button and time will move forward into the night. You only have a limited number of turns and every once in a while something will happen. Follow the prompts on the computer or tablet. When those are finished, continue taking actions as normally. The game only has a specific number of turns (the players are not told how many) which makes searching very important that you find the right information to finish the story.

The second type of play in this game is the atmospheric portion. This blows the game out of the water if done correctly. There are a lot of mentions about making sure the lights are low, candles lit, and be ready for a night of horror. Listen to this game, make an evening out of it! There are so many things that add to the feel and the characterization of not only the characters but the mansion's mysteries itself. If I were to replay this, I would send out “personal” invites to my players and tell them to expect a “Horror Adventure”. The app will tell you things to do during the game that add even more of an unexpected twist and allows everyone to get involved. Some of these include gathering “real” items, creating sound effects and interacting with other players and the decks.

Each player will also play as a Crafton kid. The game does a wonderful job of setting up role play for all types of groups. On certain cards, there are scripts that each character will read and not only does it give people an opportunity to play out their character, it also develops the personalities of the group. When the players stay in character for the 2hr experience the whole table will be invested in the story. If your group isn’t as experienced as role playing, the game does a great job in the scripts to allow players to dip their feet and go as far as they feel comfortable while not detracting from the game as a whole.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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There were very few puzzles in this game. Think of it more as a storytelling experience. The puzzle is piecing together what happened the night of the fire and by revealing flashbacks and placing them in chronological order. The other major puzzle of the game is gathering a dossier on who the potential killer is/was. None were too difficult to figure out if you have the information, although where the information hides in Crafton mansion is the true puzzle. Do your siblings and cousins know something you don’t?

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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This game has the potential to be a memorable evening for those who play it! On the box it reads “A Story-Driven Game”, that is the best description I can think of for this game. The issue our group had was trying to decipher what that meant before we played it. Well, after playing the game, my word of advice is that this plays more like a Role-Playing Game with board game elements. For those who are familiar with the world of RPG’s the app and the game mechanics acts as your Game Master and allows all people at the table to be players at the table. The characters are fun and memorable all while being vastly different in their characteristics. The storyline was well written and quite unique. Our table thought we had a solid idea of what happened but there were some pieces of information that we didn’t reveal that made the final picture completely clear at the end. It was set up to work in this world and as the app described the events of the game at the conclusion, we were all listening intently to see what we got right or wrong. This is a completely re-playable experience for different groups and the game includes instructions on how to set it up again for new players. I am excited to see what comes out of the Nightmare Horror Series and expect to be playing future games. If a night of horror role play sounds good for you and your group, Welcome to Crafton Mansion.

NOTES:

• The game shows that it can be played with 4-5 players. I recommend 5, as with 4 players one has to play two characters and it doesn’t make the game as enjoyable.

• There is touching of other players during the game, make sure everyone is comfortable with it (ex. taps on heads, shoulder taps).

• For the best experience, do what the app tells you to do! Set that atmosphere, have everyone follow the actions. You are all there to have a good, horrific time. This would be best played during the spooky season. (unless you are like me and Halloween doesn’t end)

• Hint: pay attention to the size of the event deck to help with timing

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

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(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.

#MikeSchnurr #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #Horror #IdentityGames #Netherlands