Scarlet Envelope - "GAME VIII. Dinner with Anonymous"

Photo above is property of Scarlet Envelope

Company: Scarlet Envelope

Game: GAME VIII. Dinner with Anonymous

Country: Canada 🇨🇦

Language: English

Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬

Genre: Mystery, Horror

Date Played: July 5, 2022

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10

Size of Team: Unlimited

Time: Unlimited (Suggested 2 Hours)

Price: $25 CAD/Monthly

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Having been kidnapped by someone named “Anonymous”, you find yourself invited to a sick and twisted dinner party. Five guests are present and accounted for and Anonymous has challenged you as your puzzling reputation precedes you. Can you figure out who Anonymous is and why all these guests are here?

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Opening up the scarlet envelope, you can find a whiskey label, a lottery ticket, a beer coaster, a ripped page from a magazine, a lawyer’s business card and a recipe for Grandma’s pie. All of these are high quality items and feel quite authentic.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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Examining the items from the envelope, there was something that stood out which led us to the start of the story which is on a website. Scarlet Envelope does recommend accessing the website from a desktop computer rather than mobile (though they said they are working on etting it to work properly on mobile as I write this). Personally, we did find that the experience would be better played on a desktop computer as you can see everything clearly. From that point on, you learn a little more about your objectives and what is happening.

The websites and interface that you will need to interact with are what stands out and makes this game amazing. Ones that mimicked company websites were very realistic and the one to input the solutions was also high quality and amusing. Not only that, but Scarlet Envelope put a lot of effort into those cut scenes and videos and it shows. They were very creative in the way they set it up and were fun to watch, even if they were a touch creepy.

Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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There were a mix of different puzzles with a variation of puzzle solving techniques. Each of them had their own pleasant eureka moment as we went through each of them. One tip we offer is to be observant and check all the details. Most of the time, things are there for a reason. The puzzles were set up in a non-linear fashion, so this allows you to play with more people where you can divide up the puzzling. The puzzles worked well with the story as we were able to piece together who the guests were and why they were there as each puzzle was solved.

The hint system for the game is a multi-step system that will hand-hold you through each step and nudge you along the way. Never did we feel like we had gotten too much information or were told the answer. The link to the hint system seemed purposely hidden which did take us a little bit to discover. It would have been nice to have that from the start.

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Scarlet Envelope collaborated with USB Escape to make this game and it was an enjoyable partnership to go through. The game had a mix of cute and eerie at the same time, especially with the videos. Scarlet Envelope classifies this as a horror game, but we found it to have more of a creepy feel. There are no jump scares. The kidnapper, TV head (You heard it here first!) made for an excellent villain. The puzzles were challenging enough with just the right number of layers to peel away to the solution. As 2 experienced puzzlers, we did complete this in an hour but beginners might take up to 2 hours while a larger group might be able to finish under an hour. Overall, Scarlet Envelope continues their series with another spectacular game.

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Check out our interviews with the creators to understand more on the development side of their games:

Videos above are 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 Scarlet Envelope 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.

#MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #SubscriptionGames #PuzzlesByMail #ScarletEnvelope #Canada #Mystery #BehindTheMasterMinds