Key Enigma - "Calling Card (Deluxe Edition)"

Photo above is property of Key Enigma

Company: Key Enigma

Game: Calling Card (Deluxe Edition)

Country: Spain 🇪🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬

Genre: Murder Mystery

Date Played: March 31, 2022

Difficulty (based on 2 adult players): 7/10

Size of Team: 1-6 Players (Ages 14+)

Time: Unlimited (Suggested time 8 hrs)

Price: €65.90

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It all starts with a missing persons case. Roy Mirlo is having serious financial problems and has disappeared, as indicated on the milk carton bearing his image. You decide to investigate both the individual(s) behind the ad on the carton, and Roy himself. As the story progresses, you learn more about the missing boy and find yourself slowly, inexorably drawn into a dangerous world of backstabbing, deceit, and dirty tactics worthy of any reality TV show. Eventually, you must hunt down the criminal mastermind behind it all and work through their final puzzle gauntlet!

Video above is property of Key Enigma

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The standard box really sets the tone for the game, with a few nods to some of the details you'll uncover as you play. The largely black/white/grey color scheme gives it an appropriate film noir flair. The inside is similarly appropriately decorated. The thoughtful intent behind the box design is reflected in the variety of envelopes and immediate immersion in a different world. As you open the envelopes, you are given a wide variety of highly detailed objects that are sometimes straightforward and other times complex. There are even some different textures to play with, which add a fun dimension. The deluxe box kicks things up a notch with a much larger, snazzy external box, and a series of additional tangibles. Everything here feels very high-quality and professionally produced.

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This is really a hybrid game, with both extensive tabletop and digital elements. There is a main website where you start each chapter, enter codes and puzzle solutions, interact with various chatbots and callers, play games, and more. You progress through seven chapters in a linear fashion, opening a series of envelopes. Each chapter is a different unit in the website and can take from 20 minutes to an hour or more to complete, providing convenient break points. There is a tiered hint system accessible at all times through the chat bot. While the storyline and progression are linear, not all puzzles are one-and-done, so it helps to explore each piece fully when you open the envelope. While you may think you're studying a red herring, you may later find out it was worth paying attention to potentially meaningless details so you can more easily 'connect the dots'. After completing each chapter, you can see your time on the leaderboard and find out where you ranked among your fellow puzzle aficionados. Although it took a little work to find, there are also reset instructions available here.

Photos above are property of Key Enigma

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There were a wide variety of puzzles, from traditional to entirely new and unique. As a result, sometimes it took some exploration of a given piece of collateral to understand what aspect of it might be the puzzle, and then another step to solve it. There are codes to crack, physical items to manipulate, QR codes to scan, online games to play, and external websites to comb for clues. With seven envelopes, it never felt like 'oh, another one of those'. The contents always felt fresh and interesting. Along with the fun of having additional tangibles, the deluxe version also adds a few extra puzzles along the way!

Beyond the physical puzzles, there is also the fully active chat interface that serves to move the story along and also provides the means for entering answers. Characters pop in and out of the chat - (if you've played other Key Enigma games you may recognize a name or two), and also make and take phone calls from you! There are some fun digital puzzles as well. The variety in both the physical puzzles as well as the online interface is commendable; although, sometimes the chat required us to repeat answers a few times if something was off with the chat sequence immediately prior. That was one of a very few inconveniences, along with some confusing wording in a couple of spots.

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This is a great game for small groups of dedicated puzzlers who are willing to either take a full afternoon (and possibly evening) to power through all the chapters or savor it over a period of days. Letting too much time pass could lead to forgetting some of the many intricacies you'll discover as you explore the materials, so stay with it! The variety of physical manipulations as well could make it fun for some kids, although the expository chat dialogue could slow that process back down, and there are some dark aspects to the story. Fortunately, the narrative is engaging and cohesive, and the characters’ actions make sense, so the segments that do involve some click-through dialogue are still interesting. Overall, the immersive and multi-faceted experience makes it tempting to 'just start one more chapter', and the more difficult puzzles are also more rewarding once you find your way inside. The way the story is interwoven with the puzzles helps maintain the feel of being in the game, not just playing it. And the satisfying conclusion wraps up the adventure quite nicely. We previously enjoyed Key Enigma’s "Hack Forward", but thought this one even kicked it up a notch further. This is a fabulously fun and immersive game that we can recommend without hesitation!

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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, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Key Enigma 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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