Format

Style of Play:

• Research and investigation

Who is it For?

• Story seekers
• Readers
• Best for players with some experience

Required Equipment: Computer with internet connection, or a Steam Deck

Recommended Team Size: 1-2

Play Time: Expect 3-5 hours

Price: $6.99

Booking: Purchase and play at your leisure

Description

TR-49 is a puzzle investigation game in which the player is tasked with exploring and understanding the titular TR-49 machine in an alternate history universe.  Gameplay revolves around exploring an archive in nonlinear fashion by finding and entering codes into a machine. The story also unfolds via voiceover with subtitles.

Sarah Wilson’s Reaction

TR-49 shares DNA with investigation games like The Roottrees Are Dead, Immortality, and Type Help, with the gameplay consisting entirely of exploring a database to unspool a larger story. Normally I love this type of deduction game, but TR-49’s design choices made it more frustrating than fun for me.

The machine at the center of the research had some quirks and unpredictability that departed from the genre’s conventions in interesting ways, but also proved aggravating at times. The frequent chatter between the two main characters interrupted my flow; even though it was usually optional, I couldn’t be sure whether their conversation might be relevant to the puzzling. And the interface provided automatic note-taking, but the filing system wasn’t always explained, and the notes sometimes stated a connection I hadn’t yet put together myself. Side note: I’d recommend making your own notes, especially if you prefer less guidance in puzzle games.

Story-wise, TR-49 was somber, complex, and urgent—a demanding combination. I enjoyed the fact that a few clever deductions revealed more about the characters, but in the end I still wasn’t entirely clear about what was going on. Ultimately this game wasn’t for me, but I can see how people with more patience and a literary bent would appreciate it more.

Jacky Chang’s Reaction

I found the first 90% of TR-49 reasonably interesting and thought the core mechanic was fun. The game was very atmospheric, and I enjoyed discovering how I was meant to connect the various sources to their titles. For the bulk of the game, I had a lot of great aha moments as I pulled together all the scraps of information, and the voice acting and personal stories woven into the puzzles were very engaging.

I did have some issues with the interface being clunky and the overlapping text/ audio content being overwhelming. Eventually there was too much information for me to keep track of effectively, and I wish there had been some way for me to annotate in the game where I needed to still follow up. If you have ADHD, I would recommend only playing this when you’re fresh and haven’t exhausted your executive function for the day. Being able to chase a thread and then pop back up the stack to explore another path is important for not getting too lost. I ended up getting very frustrated at the end of the game when I just needed to find one last piece of information – I think a third of my play time was spent chasing the last source. That frustration sadly marred the rest of the experience for me, and by the ending sequence, I just really wanted the game to be done. It’s a real shame because the game has a number of alternative endings and some Easter eggs that I probably would have enjoyed uncovering if I hadn’t been so annoyed.

Lyra Levin’s Reaction

An eerie, story-rich deduction game that does a lot with a little — delve into the mysterious interface of TR-49 to discover the secrets of this enigmatic machine and the people caught in its gears. Though the pacing and urgency of the story and gameplay didn’t always align, both were excellent with completionists rewarded by a depth of material to explore and several satisfying endings. The texture and sound design of the game’s interface also deserve a call-out, though I found playing on a Steam Deck clunkier than I expect a keyboard and mouse would have been. Recommended for fans of The Roottrees are Dead, Her Story, and Type Help.

The post TR-49 [Hivemind Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Format

Style of Play:

• Asymmetric co-op. One player uses VR, and the other player is on a mobile device.

Who is it For?

• Best for experienced, patient puzzle solvers
• Players with VR experience

Required Equipment: Meta Quest or Valve Index VR hardware; mobile device

Recommended Team Size: 2

Play Time: up to 30 hours

Price: $24.99

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Elsewhere Electric is a two-player co-op game where one player uses a VR headset and the other uses their mobile phone to explore an underground laboratory. Because players shouldn’t see each other’s screens and there’s no built in voice chat, they need to find another way to talk, either by being in the same room or through another method remotely. The VR player will explore the facility, while the mobile player will unlock doors and equipment for them to use.

Theresa Piazza’s Reaction

Games by Stitch created a unique co-op game in Elsewhere Electric, but its gameplay prevents me from recommending this widely. The developers decided both players didn’t need to 1) purchase the game or 2) be familiar with Steam to play Elsewhere Electric, which significantly expanded who I could invite to play this game (always something I’m looking for). While one player needs a complicated setup (steam and VR headset), the other player only needs their mobile phone. Unfortunately the ease of playing ends there.

There’s no onboarding and no narrative story, so players have to be inherently curious about this game to continue playing past the opening screen. Additionally, because neither player should see the other’s screen, players must constantly describe their view to one another. Those elements are a recipe for frustration. Games by Stitch then piles on complications with mechanics like devices draining energy while using resources (reasonable) and invisible alien monsters stealing your energy (excessive) in certain rooms. Solving the puzzle mentally and then failing to execute physically against some arbitrary time limit or finicky piece of technology in an IRL escape room tops the list of my most frustrating experiences, and I couldn’t finish Elsewhere Electric as that seems to be its modus operandi.

Elsewhere Electric would benefit from an on ramp on either the VR or mobile players’s side, but I think most importantly it could also use two difficulty modes. One as is, and one that turns off elements of the games that put players under time pressure, so solvers can get the satisfaction of completing puzzles without needing to repeat the task over and over.

Tammy McLeod’s Reaction

This game started off promising with an intriguing premise. This is a Mandatory Asynchronous co-op game, with one person using VR and the other using a phone app. There were simultaneous challenges of discovery and communication. We had to figure out the interface, environment, and goals without any information or tutorial from the game. Meanwhile, we also had to figure out what we were even supposed to be communicating to each other.

The friction of this introductory experience caused me to lose my partner after an hour of trying to even reach something that felt like a fun puzzle. Unfortunately, it seemed like an asymmetric experience for the players, and a very patient phone partner will be required. I loved the concept, and found the VR portion that I did get to experience promising, but as a casual solo puzzler, this game is probably not my cup of tea.

Ryan Brady’s Reaction

Elsewhere Electric has a 70’s retro-future aesthetic that is refreshingly different and fun to be in. This game takes a huge swing for the fences with its central design concept: the game will tell you nearly nothing. Next to no world-building, no tutorial (beyond one critical item), no manual, nothing.

I believe the intention is for this to be a journey of discovery for players as they poke and prod, slowly determining how the world works. However, for us this was instead a journey of frustration as we struggled to understand how to accomplish simple tasks because we either didn’t understand the game system, or worse, had come up with our own incorrect assumption.

This frustration was compounded by the fact that failure in Elsewhere Electric is very punishing. Most actions require the use of a resource that can only be replenished through a tedious process that involves two scene transitions and starting the level over. I admit this process is thematic, but we were often hesitant to experiment because wasting the resource meant more trips to the van. I think the game would be substantially improved by ameliorating this somehow.

I firmly believe there’s a specific kind of puzzler out there for whom Elsewhere Electric will be perfectly targeted, but it wasn’t us. If that sounds like you, consider taking a leap, but I think this one will be feast or famine for most players.

Disclosure: Games by Stitch provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.

The post Games by Stitch – Elsewhere Electric [Hivemind Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Format

Style of Play:

• Point-and-click
• Rule discovery

Who is it For?

• Puzzle lovers
• Best for players with at least some experience

Required Equipment: Computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 1

Play Time: 2-3 hours

Price: $4.99

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Strange Jigsaws is a video game in which a series of puzzles are presented as different styles of jigsaw puzzles. As the game progresses, they increase in complexity and abstraction.

Peih Gee Law’s Reaction

Every single time after I solved a puzzle in Strange Jigsaws, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. All throughout the gameplay, we kept asking ourselves “who thinks of this stuff?!”

This game isn’t really about jigsaws, except in the most basic sense. Rather, it’s puzzles disguised as jigsaws. The creator is clearly someone who understands the nuance of jigsaw puzzles. This game does some funky meta things that very much gives the feel of solving a jigsaw, from the act of sorting pieces and making small connections until you see the whole picture.

The puzzles were weird and brilliant, and made me feel weird and brilliant, in the best way possible.

Tammy McLeod’s Reaction

I was excited about this game because I am a huge jigsaw puzzle fan. This is NOT a jigsaw puzzle game. Ostensibly it appears to be, but it is actually a logic puzzle game at heart – a genre which I also happen to love. The fact that the interface uses jigsaws is whimsical and comes across as a hilarious inside joke. It wields its MS Paint aesthetic ironically (the puzzles are sophisticated and refreshing) and I found it quite charming, and the levels went by quite quickly. It provided sufficient value for its low cost, but I found myself wishing for more.

Andrew Reynolds’ Reaction

Strange Jigsaws was a short game about solving jigsaws. But it was more than just that. These jigsaws evolved into logic puzzles and lateral thinking puzzles that tended to push the envelope of exactly what a jigsaw puzzle could be. Strange Jigsaws only lasted about 3 hours, but it was quality time spent thinking about how to solve a series of creative puzzles. In that short time, Strange Jigsaws even managed to layer in a short but endearing narrative that pieced the whole game together in the end. If you like a game that encourages you to figure out its rules while you’re playing it, Strange Jigsaws is a great choice for an evening’s entertainment.

The post Strange Jigsaws [Hivemind Review] appeared first on Room Escape Artist.

Format

Style of Play:

• Point-and-click
• Web-based inventory system
• Includes video segments

Who is it For?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Required Equipment: Computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: about 120 minutes (no game clock)

Price: $35

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Similarly to the other games from Wolf Escape Games, one player opens the game in a browser tab and is given clear instructions on how to stream the game to other players. Remote players access via browser a “virtual backpack” where items and information are collected so each player can review them individually. The host player is the only one that can interact with the game itself, so communication over video chat is necessary.

The game itself is mostly point-and-click to find puzzles and clues, with some typing answers in as well. After puzzles are solved, there are (really good) cinematics that act as scene transitions.

Tammy McLeod’s Reaction

I’ve played tons of online escape games, and The Pharaoh’s Tomb stood out. Great story, strong voice acting, and surprisingly polished animation and music. Its production values far exceeded the norm for the genre. The puzzles included some hefty logic challenges that required real teamwork to solve efficiently. The interface was intuitive and well-designed for group play, though the experience definitely benefits from having a host player who’s good at taking input from the rest of the team.

Brett Kuehner’s Reaction

• + Excellent onboarding made it easy to get remote players set up
• + “Backpack” mechanism allowed remote players to view items and documents so that everyone could contribute to the puzzle solving
• + The voice acting, audio, and cinematics are even better than in the already-terrific previous games from Wolf Escape
• – Navigation was confusing in a few locations
• + Puzzles were generally well-clued and nicely themed
• – Puzzle types felt less varied in this game than in previous games
• + Good puzzle entry mechanics – once we knew the answer, it was easy to enter
• + New puzzle tracker mechanism gave a good sense of progress and indication of how much gameplay remained
• + We learned the word “opisometer” as a side-effect of playing the game
• + Entertaining story with a few twists along the way
• + Appropriately dramatic ending

Andrew Reynolds’ Reaction

Wolf Escape Games has delivered another winner with their newest game, The Pharaoh’s Tomb. They have a formula that works for them and they stick to it, making little improvements along the way. The Pharaoh’s Tomb returned to using Sherlock and Watson as the protagonists in a way that didn’t feel cliche. Like their previous Sherlock game (Phantom’s Hour) many of the puzzles had a deduction aspect that felt right in line with the fictional detective.

The Pharaoh’s Tomb continued the tradition of Wolf Escape Games providing us with stellar visuals and audio. The introductory and interstitial cutscenes were visually pleasing and engaging, and fit very well into the action itself. They even included a travel montage that felt and looked perfectly in place within the world of the game.

An upgrade that we noticed as we played was in the entry method of some of our solutions. More than once we commented on how well-fit the solution entry was to a puzzle. It doesn’t seem like much, but having a variety of well considered input methods makes a game feel more thought out. And with Wolf Escape Games being so good the way they are, any improvements just take something already good and makes it even better.

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Charlotte, North Carolina is on the rise as one of the premier American escape room destinations. The city is home to outstanding games and the broader regional area offers even more top quality rooms.

If you’re in the area, you might also want to check out our guide to Greenville, South Carolina.

Here are our recommendations for escape rooms in the area of Charlotte, North Carolina, organized into categories.

Editor’s Note: You’ll notice we don’t have reviews for all of these games. We can assure you that a member of the Room Escape Artist has played these games and would recommend them. We hope to return to the area and add more reviews from this growing escape room market.

Market Standouts

• Quest for the Temple of Light, The Keepers of Balance 
• Nevermore, Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)
• Defenders of the Sunken Realm, The Keepers of Balance

Set & Scenery Driven

• Quest for the Temple of Light, The Keepers of Balance 
• Under Pressure, Key to Escape (Statesville, NC)
• USS McKoy, Black Mountain Escape (Asheville, NC)
• Wrecked, Masterpiece Escapes (Indian Trail, NC)
• Nevermore, Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)
• Defenders of the Sunken Realm, The Keepers of Balance

Puzzle Centric

• Vanishing Act, Black Mountain Escape (Asheville, NC)
• Wrecked, Masterpiece Escape (Indian Trail, NC)

Tech Heavy

• Defenders of the Sunken Realm, The Keepers of Balance

Newbie Friendly

• Nevermore, Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)
• USS McKoy, Black Mountain Escape (Asheville, NC)

Spooky & Scary

• Ripper, Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)
• Wrecked, Masterpiece Escapes (Indian Trail, NC)

Games with Actors

• Defenders of the Sunken Realm, The Keepers of Balance
• Nevermore, Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)
• Quest for the Temple of Light, The Keepers of Balance
• Ripper, Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)
• Vanishing Act, Black Mountain Escape (Asheville, NC)

A bit further away…

Hangover at Riddler State, located in Wilmington, NC is over 3 hours away from Charlotte, but it is worth checking out if you are in the area.

Golden Lock Award-winning experience

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Madrid might not be the first city you think of when planning an escape room trip to Spain, but it is home to some amazing games. Magic Universe is an experience like you won’t find anywhere else. The Madrid market features comedy, joy, wonder, and of course, horror. 

Barcelona is the more well-known Spanish escape room destination city. It’s not exactly nearby, but if you’re doing a multi-city trip, you might want to check out our escape room recommendation guide for Barcelona too.

For more on playing escape rooms in Spain, check out Spain: Escape Room Field Report and Tips for Playing Escape Rooms in Spain as a Foreigner.

Market Standouts

• Bites Motel, Bite the Fly
• Cryogenic (Criogenic), Criogenic
• Magic Universe, Madland
• Tao Room Escape: Japanese Massage Center, Bite the Fly (reviewed at Virus Room Escape)
• The Bride (La Novia), Black Lake Escape Room
• The Saint (La Santa), Shock Creations

Set & Scenery Driven

• Bites Motel, Bite the Fly
• Magic Universe, Madland
• The Bride (La Novia), Black Lake Escape Room
• The Saint (La Santa), Shock Creations

Puzzle Centric

• Cryogenic (Criogenic), Criogenic
• Tao Room Escape: Japanese Massage Center, Bite the Fly (reviewed at Virus Room Escape)

Tech Heavy

• Magic Universe, Madland

Spooky & Scary

• Bites Motel, Bite the Fly
• The Bride (La Novia), Black Lake Escape Room
• The Saint (La Santa), Shock Creations 

Games with Actors

• Magic Universe, Madland
• Tao Room Escape: Japanese Massage Center, Bite the Fly (reviewed at Virus Room Escape)
• The Bride (La Novia), Black Lake Escape Room
• The Saint (La Santa), Shock Creations

Something Different

Impostors: A Traitor Among Us from Experiencity Express Train – Inspired by classics like Werewolf, Mafia, and Traitors, this 3 hour live-hosted social deduction game stands out for its innovative game mechanics. The experience includes cocktail-style food and drink and is perfect for a group of friends.

Beyond Madrid

We don’t have complete recommendation guides to these other regions in Spain, but for those traveling more broadly, keep these standout experiences in mind too.

Cuarte de Huerva

• The Brotherhood of Shadows (La Hermandad de las Sombras), Castlemaniacs Escape Room (Mad Mansion)

Valencia

• Mr. Miyagi’s Tea Shop, Don Escape
• The Hairdressing (La Peluquería), The X-Door 

Vitoria

• A Legendary Adventure (Una Aventura de Leyenda), Mayto Kingdom
• You’ll Dream Too (Tu Tambien Sonaras), Mayto Kingdom 

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A trip to Switzerland is an otherworldly escape in and of itself. Between the breathtaking views, immaculate train system, and delicious chocolate and cheese, Switzerland may feel like a simulation of a more perfect reality.

On top of all that, Switzerland has a wealth of truly world-class escape rooms. Sprinkled around Geneva, Zurich, and beyond, these immersive experiences feature breathtaking set design, clever puzzles, and ambitious storytelling.

Here are some of our favorites, broken out by category.

Market Standouts

• Antenna Palace, Trapgame
• Aunt Hilda’s Room, Trip Trap
• Kaleidoscope 1963, Time Maze
• The Dark Memories of Elisa Doll, Next Level Escape
• The Garden of Madame Suzette, Trip Trap
• The House of Uncle Cornelius, Trip Trap
• West City, Trapgame

Set & Scenery Driven

• Alice in Wonderland, ROOM Escape Room
• Antenna Palace, Trapgame
• Aunt Hilda’s Room, Trip Trap
• Blacktrap Pirates, Trapgame
• In Search of Gulliver, ROOM Escape Room
• Jurassic Jones, Trapgame
• Kaleidoscope 1963, Time Maze
• Mr Trippolyte’s Cinema, Trip Trap
• Orient Express: The Death Journey, Next Level Escape
• Secret Tales: The Spooky Fairytale Journey, Next Level Escape
• The Dark Memories of Elisa Doll, Next Level Escape
• The Garden of Madame Suzette, Trip Trap
• The House of Uncle Cornelius, Trip Trap
• West City, Trapgame

Puzzle Centric

• An Evening with the Voodoo Queen, Trip Trap
• Aunt Hilda’s Room, Trip Trap
• Orient Express: The Death Journey, Next Level Escape
• The Antiquary’s Testament, Trip Trap
• The Chest: Rackham’s Revenge, Trip Trap
• West City, Trapgame

Games with Actors

• Antenna Palace, Trapgame
• Secret Tales: The Spooky Fairytale Journey, Next Level Escape
• West City, Trapgame

Grand Trip Trap Hotel

While not an actual hotel, the Grand Trip Trap Hotel is one of three escape room locations that Trip Trap operates near Geneva. With multiple Golden Lock Award-winning and TERPECA Top 100 games in the same building, this location is unequivocally a destination worth traveling to.

 Golden Lock award winning experience

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Format

Style of Play:

• Point-and-click

Who is it For?

This game was designed for corporate team building, but there was not enough content to justify it as a standalone game. There was definitely an effort at story and there were puzzles, but they felt like exercises strung together rather than a cohesive experience.

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection, voice conferencing connection such as Zoom or Google Meet

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: about 40 minutes

Price: $249 per team, geared toward corporate team building

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Using a web-based interface, and a separate video calling platform, your team progresses through the world of Dream Team, entering a character’s dreams to… save her in some way?

This game is designed to be played in a web browser, and everyone is playing in the same instance of the game. The inventory is not shared, but the progress is. Some puzzles require interaction and information sharing.

Brett Kuehner’s Reaction

• + Early puzzles required teamwork and communication, or at least benefitted from them
• – Teamwork seemed limited or less valuable in much of the later part of the game
• – Several choices were required, but it was not clear either before or after what our choices meant
• + The game voting mechanism was more systematic than voice-only voting
• + Some variety of puzzle types, including a light logic puzzle
• – None of the puzzles was very deep or satisfying
• – Final sequence was very confusing, and it was unclear if it was possible to complete
• – Ending seemed sudden and especially unsatisfying
• – Game felt short overall, given the price and lack of live host
• ? The analysis goals are good, but the results don’t seem justified by the gameplay. They drew conclusions from what feels like insufficient data.

Theresa Piazza’s Reaction

Disappointingly incomplete. While I’ve had positive experiences with Amplio’s other games, unfortunately Dream Team is more like a Nightmare Scenario. Save your money and skip this experience. During our team’s play through, we encountered a game-breaking bug. Unable to progress at the time, we came back some time later and played through the remainder of this game, only to remark “that’s all that was left?” From the puzzles to its copy editing, the game felt underbaked.

Tammy McLeod’s Reaction

Having played previous offerings from Amplio, I came into Dream Team expecting a game-like experience followed by insightful analysis and actionable feedback, which is a structure I’ve enjoyed in the past. The concept here is strong, and the idea of using gameplay for team analysis is an appealing one.

That said, I found the user interface less intuitive than expected, and the pacing made it tricky to get fully engaged before each stage ended. The amount of game and puzzle content felt brief compared to the length and detail of the post-game report, which made the analysis feel somewhat disconnected from the experience.

On the technical side, we encountered a bug that required rescheduling our session, and some small polish issues such as typos. These didn’t prevent play entirely the second time around, but they did affect the overall impression.

With additional refinement to the game flow, clearer UI guidance, and more thorough quality assurance, I think Dream Team could fully deliver on its promising premise for its corporate customers.

Disclosure: Amplio provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.

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Format

Style of Play:

• An online escape room in Gather

Who is it For?

• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 45 minutes

Price: $150 per team

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Escape the Ancient Ruins is played in Gather, an online collaboration tool that plays like a video game. Players enter into voice/ video chat with their teammates, choose their avatar, and collaboratively solve puzzles using the Gather interface.

Matthew Stein’s Reaction

I spent a nontrivial amount of time during the pandemic in Gather, roaming around in various virtual escape rooms and immersive theater shows. A few years later, at a time when I can see my friends in person again with ease, it was enjoyable to revisit Gather and see that yes, it’s still a fairly novel and meaningful way to spatially hang out with friends from afar.

Raid the Room designed Escape the Ancient Ruins in a similar style to their previous Gather-based virtual escape room, Escape the Island. While both games are primarily targeted at a corporate audience, they run smoothly and take advantage of the unique features of Gather. The puzzles in Escape the Ancient Ruins were enjoyable, well clued, and varied, with a mix of wordplay, logic, and spatial communication.

While Escape the Ancient Ruins in many ways leveled up the “what” compared to its predecessor, implementing even more technically ambitious and interactive puzzles, I wished it had put a little more thought into the “why.” I don’t need every game to have a deep story, but a clearer objective, giving us a sense of purpose and connecting the scenes together, could have made Escape the Ancient Ruins more than just a random pile of fun puzzles.

Brett Kuehner’s Reaction

• + Enjoyable puzzle variety
• + Great pixel-style graphics
• +/- Integration of instructions into the graphics makes them obvious but also makes the screen cluttered and less attractive
• + Some puzzle styles were adapted to work surprisingly well in this format (word puzzles, logic puzzles)
• + Several puzzles required coordinated teamwork to complete, using the medium well
• – Some “secret” control keys (like “ghost” mode) should be part of the introductory training, because they make the game more pleasant and are hard to discover on your own
• + It was entertaining to build a custom avatar or pick a premade one with special graphics
• + Being able to zoom in and out on the map was very helpful
• ? Story is minimal, with a primary focus on puzzles
• ? The planned competition mode, with cash prizes, might make the game more stressful and less fun, and will amplify any problems with controls or internet connections

Andrew Reynolds’ Reaction

Escape the Ancient Ruins was a series of five puzzles created and hosted in Gather, a collaboration platform. I missed out on playing Raid the Room’s first game back in 2022, so I was eager to get a chance to play their newest offering.

Escape the Ancient Ruins made learning how to interact in Gather very easy. That’s not the purpose of the game, but the first level was a word game that needed our team of three to know how to move, interact with the world, and communicate with each other. That set the stage for the next four levels, each centered around a different puzzle type but always increasing the need for communication and collaboration.

One puzzle style in the middle of the game felt like an odd choice at first, it being the kind of puzzle I don’t typically see as being collaborative. While it wasn’t as team oriented as the others in the set, it was one of the easier to digest forms of this particular puzzle type. We intentionally slowed down to discuss it, which was the right thing to do even though it likely stopped us from setting a record.

I wanted more out of this game narratively. There was no overarching story to tie the levels together. They were set on the same island but the whole game lacked any sort of set up to explain why our team was there and why we needed to escape. While the puzzles were enjoyable and our team really enjoyed solving together I would have liked to have seen at least an attempt at a basic story. This doesn’t take away from the puzzles themselves, though. The back half of Escape the Ancient Ruins truly needed us to work together, and it all felt very natural.

After we played, the developer told us that they plan on running this game as a competition, so be on the lookout for updates from Raid the Room about that!

Christina Rohlf’s Reaction

Editor’s Note: Christina wasn’t planning to review this game, but she happened to book it right around the time the REA group played. Bonus review!

When the targeted Facebook marketing ads told me that Escapopolis was hosting an online escape room competition with the potential for real prize money, how could I say no? I rounded up the rest of the Natural Crotchkeys and off we went to Escape the Ancient Ruins.

For the competition at Escapopolis, the game environment appeared to be able to host up to 20 groups at the same time. Our time started automatically once we entered the first level. NPCs in each level gave generic instructions for how to solve the puzzle in the level. There were 5 levels; we were not told how many levels there were at the start of the game. Supposedly, the top 10 fastest teams received cash prizes (1st $1000; 2nd $750; 3rd $500; 4th-10th $150); however, we were told that the prize amounts would be proportionally less if fewer than 200 teams registered to play. No hints were available during the competition.

Escape the Ancient Ruins was a series of 5 levels, each with a unique puzzle to solve. NPC characters in each level provided some direction for how to solve the puzzle at hand. In general, we enjoyed the puzzles. They were logical, clever, and did a fairly good job at keeping all four of us occupied. I absolutely loved the polymorph puzzle. However, we found the map interface for one puzzle frustrating, because there was no good way for the person at the map (who should have been directing the puzzle) to also see the location of the players. We also were disappointed that there was no leaderboard. While we were told our time at the end of our playthrough, the only follow up was a vague email indicating “the winners have been notified.” Since this was a competition, I would have liked to see how we stacked up to the other teams. In general, the Escape the Ancient Ruins competition was an enjoyable Sunday afternoon activity and a good excuse to get the band together to do some puzzling.

Disclosure: Raid the Room provided the first three Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.

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Format

Style of Play:

• Print-and-play
• Tabletop escape game
• Includes video segments
• Escape room party kit

Who is it For?

• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Required Equipment:

• Computer with internet connection
• Printer
• Pen and paper
• Scissors
• Tape

Recommended Team Size: 1-4

Play Time:

• Prep times can take up to 3 hours (although it can be done in 90 minutes)
• Play time can range from 1 hour – 2.5 hours.

Price: ~ $24

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Forsaken Souls: Cursed Artifact was a print-and-play escape room kit intended to be played as a full escape room throughout three different rooms of your home.

To set the game up, a gamemaster must cut out 23 pages of game materials, organize those pieces into 15 containers (anything they can find at home or tape together your own printable lockboxes), and affix a unique padlock image to each container. The gamemaster then hides these objects in three different rooms, though the specific hiding places are not prescribed by the game.

Players search one room at a time for clues and padlocked containers. When they solve a puzzle, they enter the solution into a QR-coded website and receive a 3-digit “key.” If that key matches a padlock, they open the associated container to receive more clues. (There is also an online hint system and occasional cutscene videos to watch.)

Be warned that the prep time is extensive. One person is the dedicated gamemaster who prepares everything in their home. However, they don’t know any puzzle solutions and can still participate in the fun.

Finally, it’s possible to play this game as a set of puzzles without hiding and then finding all the pieces. However, someone still must cut out and organize all the game pieces.

Forsaken Souls: Cursed Artifact successfully launched on Kickstarter in July 2025 and is now available on Etsy.

Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction

In this print-and-play game, you enter the gates of Finch Estate. Their heirloom seems to be missing. Can you figure out why and where it went?

At its best, the download files came with detailed instructions. Although you need to appoint one person as the gamemaster who prepares and runs the game, they can still help to solve the puzzles because they don’t know the solutions. There’s also a website with a smartly designed answer validation, a great hint system with multiple small nudges, and a couple of cute cutscene videos.

At its worst, the prep time was extensive. Even trying to be speedy, it still took me 1.5 hours before starting to play. Cutting out all the game components felt especially cumbersome. The story had an interesting approach but failed to captivate me, as puzzles rarely had a connection to the theme. The first riddle felt misleading and led to a rocky onramp. Ultimately, the game was too linear to justify keeping up to 6 players occupied.

There’s clearly a lot of passion that went into creating this project. Make sure you have some time to prepare, the printed pages and scissors, and a smaller group and you’ll have a great time.

The Lone Puzzler’s Reaction

Significant (1 hour or more) time to cut and prepare game. Game had elegant “props” and worked very well, but very short and relatively simple puzzles. Best use might be for a party game, but it was a bit of a letdown after the set-up. The puzzles had some fairly intricate pieces and lead-in, but while clever in general, they would be a short solve for most players. Simple home box escape games are more engaging without the cutting. However, the price and ability to access online might be appealing to some players. I would prefer to have a more tangible set of play items than flimsy printer paper. Also, moderate fear of losing a piece out of the 100+ that were cut out.

Sarah Mendez’s Reaction

If someone handed me Forsaken Souls: Cursed Artifact in a ready-to-play format, I’d be happy with the experience. Its 1-2 hour play time was full of entertaining puzzles and a compelling enough story, substantially more content than most escape room kits offer. It was a solid puzzling game that I enjoyed. However, as a print-and-play make-your-own escape room, it also required more than an hour of cutting and organizing materials, prompting some cost/ benefit analysis.

The success of this game as an in-home escape room hinges on how well you can calibrate your environment for interesting yet reasonable searching, a difficult task that plagues most escape room kits. In this case, searching for game pieces seemed like the only enhancement in playing the game as an escape room rather than as a tabletop game. The puzzles did not use the physical space in a meaningful way, the game pieces weren’t recognizable objects that promoted a sense of place on their own, and the setting of “the Finch Estate” wasn’t evocative enough to inspire extra decorative efforts.

For me, then, I wished this game had been presented more as a tabletop game with pre-packaged materials, allowing me to focus on its strengths. That said, if someone offers to host this game for you, go for it… and maybe bring some cookies. Your host deserves some thanks.

Disclosure: Forsaken Souls provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.

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