Plankton Games - "Doctor Esker's Notebook" & "Son of Doctor Esker's Notebook"

Some Photos were provided by Plankton Games

Company: Plankton Games

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬

Genre: Mystery

Date Played: 2/20/2021

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 8/10

Size of Team: Unlimited (Suggested 1-6 players), Ages 13+

Time: 1-3 Hours (Approximately)

Price: $14.99

🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈

Dr. Esker mysteriously disappeared. The only clues he's left for you are in these decks of cards. Will you stand up to his challenge and maybe find his whereabouts?

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🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞

Inside the card box, you'll find a hint card (with a web address and a QR code), an instruction card, a quick start card, a score card, 10 solution cards, and 58 puzzle cards.

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🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞

Inside the card box, you'll find a hint card (with a web address and a QR code), an instruction card, a quick start card, a score card, 10 solution cards, and 59 puzzle cards.

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🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈

Follow the instruction and start by setting up the cards. Make sure to put the cards face down (notebook side should face down) and group them by the images in the back. There should be nine sets (Son of Doctor Esker's Notebook has 10 sets). Place all 10 solution cards separately with the question marks facing up.

Begin with the puzzle set that has "Start" printed in the back of the cards. Each puzzle set will have different amount of cards that will be used. It could be anywhere between 4-12 cards. Solutions will always be in digits format ranging from 2-5 digits per puzzle set. Once you think you got the right answer, flip over those digits on the solution cards. If you answered correctly, the cards should give you a clear indication on which puzzle set to solve next. Make sure you put the solutions in the correct order or else you may have to rearrange them in order to see the answer clearly.

If you get stuck (and you probably will...), there are hints on the website. Some hints come with a final solution and some just leaves you with a final clue. If you still can't figure out the solution, the hints are actually placed in the order of the puzzle that you'll need to solve. You might just have to work backwards and find those solution cards relevant to that puzzle set in order to see the final solution.

You can play this game alone or with friends. We played it as two people and it seemed to be the right combination. We would take turns to look at various puzzles and then discuss our thought process afterwards. I think playing this game with too many people would make it harder since some puzzles would be hard to visualize if players continuously take cards to their possession. Some puzzles needs to be "connected" in order to see the bigger picture.

All the card decks are stand-alone games so there's no need to play the original and then play the sequel. You can play them in any order you like. Although your second game will most likely be "easier" once you understand the puzzle process.

🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂

At first glance, I thought this was going to be a quick game since there's not much reading involved and the drawings reminded me of my kindergarten days. Once we started our first puzzle set, I knew immediately that it was time for my cup of coffee. If you're able to spot the theme of the puzzle right away then that puzzle should be a breeze for you. Some puzzles used word play and photos that was quite difficult to interpret. We wouldn't be able to solve it without the help of hints. We did have to Google a few times as well on some of the puzzles that required us to recognize a person or an object. If you enjoy Math, then you'll be in for a treat! The final puzzle was a delightful surprise of a combination of deduction, Math and logic.

🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂

This is definitely a game for more experienced puzzlers. If you enjoy word play, there's plenty in this game. I would advise taking hints as it could get frustrating if you start to stare at these cards for too long. The solution cards are like another puzzle on its own. We've seen these solution cards used in tabletop games before but not like this. It's a really clever way to reveal the next step. We can't imagine how the creator was able to design 10 separate cards to reveal 9-10 solutions that's out of sequence. Remember to make that cup of coffee or pour a glass of wine before you get started with this game!

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Doctor Esker's Notebook

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Son of Doctor Esker's Notebook

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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 Plankton Games 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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