Videos/Photos provided by Modern Treasure Hunt
Company: Modern Treasure Hunt
Game: Mysteries Of Alchemy
Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱
Language: English
Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬
Genre: Magic, Alchemy
Date Played: 2/4/2021
Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10
Size of Team: Unlimited (Suggested 2-4 Players) (Ages 14+)
Time: Unlimited
Price: €15 (digital copy), € 24.95 (Standard Edition), € 45.00 (Premium Edition), € 59.95 (Collector's Edition)
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Little John, an apprentice of the alchemist, has been noticing something strange lately. It seems like every time a student made a discover and told it to the alchemist, they would disappear. He followed the alchemist and discovered strange behaviors from him. John thought it's probably safer to not share his discoveries with the Alchemist. Centuries later, Bram van Amstel found a really old journal in a library. Could this be John's discovery?
Check out our unboxing video below for a detailed look on the game. There's no puzzle spoilers in the video:
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Mysteries of Alchemy came in a small envelope. Inside you'll find a small note with a website address and an unbound book. We receive the collector's edition as the review copy so every page of the book was aged and pressed by hand. There's a total of 14 pages.
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Start the game by going to the website. An intro video will be provided to explain the backstory. An automated chatbot will serve as your answer submission portal. Once you think you know the answer to a puzzle, just type it to the chatbot to confirm. You can also get hints and solutions through the same portal. Every time you type in the correct answer, the bot will record that internally. If you got an answer through hints, you will still have to type it to the bot or else you won't get a completion at the end. Make sure you keep tabs on which puzzle you've solved and submitted to the bot as there were no check marks provided on the ones you've already submitted.
The book was unbound for a reason. Since the puzzles were non linear and have no correlation with each other, you could take the book apart and work on individual puzzles separately. Each page had either beautiful illustrations or handwritings on them. Just like something an Alchemist apprentice would own to record their studies. The hand pressed aged paper also added a "rusty" feel to how ancient this book might be.
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There were 14 puzzles in total. All of them were non-linear and could be solved in any order. You'll need a scissor at some point. Each puzzle felt like a stand alone mini puzzle. We actually really enjoy this type of play as we each could take on various puzzles at the same time and join together for ones we are unsure of.
The difficulty felt like an apprentice level game. There were a good amount of "repeat" actions that we had take on solving a puzzle (I hope you like counting!). We did get stuck on one puzzle that we couldn't really make sense of even with the hint system. It did become clear to us after we received an explanation from the creator. I think the image created a bit of a red herring. There was a nice magical reveal moment as well. However we thought the answer was a bit too obvious.
The hint system in the chatbot was really easy to get to. The "nudging" type of hint style gave us an opportunity solve the puzzle before the final solution was revealed. We liked how each hint was right under the puzzle that we were working on in the chatbot so we could easily access it.
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Mysteries of Alchemist is a great game to start your adventure with Modern Treasure Hunt before you dive into their VOC Treasure game. It's a bit easier and you can easily take breathers with this one. We're always fascinated by old books that might contain a hidden message or even treasure. The production of the game took us back in time and gave us a conclusive ending. This game is great for large groups since all the puzzles could be taken out from the book and disperse to individual players. If you're looking for a night of fun with family and friends, then you might want to give this game a try!
Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these 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 Modern Treasure Hunt 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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