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Writer's pictureCici Cao

Printable Escapes by The Other Tales - "Gatekeeper"

Updated: Apr 25


Photo above is property of Printable Escapes by The Other Tales


Company: Printable Escapes by The Other Tales

Game: Gatekeeper

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: DIY Escape Kits 🖨️✂

Genre: Adventure, Mystery

Date Played: May 15, 2021

Difficulty (based on 4 players): 4/10

Size of Team: Unlimited (Suggested 1-6 Players)

Time: Unlimited (Suggested approx. 45-90 mins)

Price: $29.00


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You received a postcard from your Uncle Keith. It's a bit strange since you haven't spoken to him in ages. When you arrived at his old Victorian mansion, no one seemed to be around. I guess your first task is to figure out a way to get into this mysterious place...


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After purchasing the game, you'll receive 3 PDF files: an intro letter, hint and answer pages and the actual game itself. The game has 27 pages in total but if you wanted to save ink, only 4 pages had to be printed (in our opinion only 2 were really needed). Refer to the HELP website for more details. There was only one place you'll need to use a scissor.


The game has 3 chapters and an epilogue. Each chapter contained a number of puzzles. You'll know it's a puzzle because it'll have a unique symbol. Each puzzle's solution is a word. You can check the answers as you go. There's two ways to check the answers. You can use the answer checker which is well designed to not give any spoilers or go straight to the solution section. If you get stuck, there's also a nudging hint system. The instructions were very clear and easy to use.


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The puzzles were really family friendly. There's a good amount of hidden elements embedded in the beautiful illustrations. People who prefer less logic type of puzzles could be "the searcher". If you're planning to play the game as a group, you can divide the chapter puzzles (which is what we did) or work on it as a team. A few of the puzzles that required "transformation" really surprised us and we're pleased with the final reveal.


Photos above are property of Printable Escapes by The Other Tales


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The graphics really bought this beautiful Victorian home to life. We enjoyed the scenery changes from the library to the hallway to the study and more! Each time we "unlocked" a door with the correct code, we're eager to see where it'll take us next. For enthusiasts, the puzzles might be on the easier side but we made it into a fun experience over Zoom. Each of us took on a different accent (mine was probably the worst) and read the narrative in each of the chapters out loud. It was also a great way to practice group communication over the internet when we had to describe shapes or where something was located. Print-n-cut games definitely has a particular fan base and we found our perfect team of four!

 

𝔼𝕊ℂ𝔸ℙ𝔼𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ𝕆𝕆𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕤 ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟❜𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤

Helen B.


Gatekeeper was a printable "escape room" or "puzzle quest" which is one of my favourite types due to the slow pace, ability for everyone to work on the puzzles themselves and quite often the amazing artwork involved.


Gatekeeper is no exception. The artwork is incredible, and has a very magical, ethereal theme, with crystals, potions, keys and planets to contend with. A nice mix of 10 or so very different puzzles - we made our way through them slowly but steadily, enjoying the cleverness of the puzzles and how the keys come together, resulting in a sort of meta-puzzle at the end.


Every puzzle was very satisfactory, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. You really only need to print a few of the pages out of the large pack, so read everything first as it will tell you how to do the minimal printing option, to save paper, ink and the planet!


Definitely worth consideration.

 

(If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)


Disclosure: We thank Printable Escapes by The Other Tales for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.



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