The GeoMystery Club - “Trail as Old as Time”

Photo above is property of The GeoMystery Club

Company: The GeoMystery Club

Game: Trail as Old as Time

Country: Australia 🇦🇺

Language: English

Type of Game: Digital Escape Game 💻

Genre: Mystery, Secret Society

Date Played: February 23, 2023

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10

Size of Team: Unlimited

Time: Unlimited (Recommended 90-120 Mins.)

Price: $30.00

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As part of the Geomystery Club, you, a Geomyst, have been assigned a new “Blaze-Seeker Mission”. After an agent has not reported back from their covert high-risk zero-communication mission (CHR0M), you must follow the trail of information left behind and discover what has happened to Agent Martin in Sydney, Australia.

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After reading the story at the start, we were given some images and a cryptic poem that would clue us on what we would need to do or look for in Sydney, Australia. As we progressed through the game, we found this to be a fun mix of a geocaching, “real-world” scavenger hunt and puzzle hunt. We spent most of our time in Google Maps, navigating in street view to search for the solution or clues to help us with the puzzles at hand. Neither of us are experts at Google Maps and we were able to play the game just fine but you will have to know the basics and learn how to jump to different times on Google Maps.

The story of the game told an intriguing tale and was easy to follow along. The Geomystery Club who was able to bring real world information and tidbits that seem irrelevant and weave them into a story that was creative. One piece of feedback is that there was a choice that needed to be made in the game that we do wish they explored a bit more.

The game plays on one of the smoothest interfaces we have ever encountered. Once you solve a puzzle, the screen extends downwards to continue the story. This made it easy to navigate back up if we needed to check out previous information or refresh ourselves on the story. The hints were easy to navigate on the side as well as a sleek progress tracker with the solutions to previous puzzle. The game also provides some non-distracting ambient music to play in the background if you would like.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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The puzzles in this game were a mix of escape room type puzzles and mystery cache puzzles. Each puzzle would revolve around a cryptic poem that would clue you on what you need to do. There was usually an attachment or an image that we would need to figure out how to use. As regular escape room puzzlers, there was a specific flavor to the game that took us a few puzzles to catch onto. Overall, we found the cryptic poems to be written well with the subtle clues that would result in some fun eureka moments. One tip is when you navigate Google Maps, make sure to be thorough. There were a few times, we did have to zoom in to find certain things or zoom out into the map view. If you know Sydney, Australia well, you may have a slight advantage to the game.

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As the GeoMystery Club’s first game, Trail as Old as Time was a creative twist from most online puzzle games that combined mystery caches and escape rooms. The puzzles are not your typical puzzles but were a fun blend of searching out information and piecing it all together. The interface was a true highlight with how easy it was to navigate and explore. We played with 2 people but feel this game can be played with up to 8 people. Everyone can be logged in on their own computer and progress together once the answer is input. Any armchair adventurer or geocaching lover would happily enjoy this game. If you cannot wander the streets of Sydney in person to solve a mystery, then this game is the next best thing.

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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 The GeoMystery Club for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

#MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #DigitalGame #Mystery #SecretSociety #GeoMysteryClub #Australia