My family has tried a few escape rooms now and has really enjoyed them, so you can imagine my delight when I saw this game at a thrift store for less than $5! New, most of Thinkfun’s escape room games seem to go for $15-20, so about on par with EXIT the Game. I was even more excited to realize that we had stumbled upon an unopened copy.
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Thinkfun Escape the Room Games are a Perfect Balance of Online and Off
This escape room game is almost entirely self-contained; you can think of it like partway between EXIT the Game and Finder’s Seekers. EXIT the Game requires no internet access and all you need to provide is pencils, scrap paper, and scissors. Finder’s Seekers relies heavily on utilizing the internet; you can’t complete any of their puzzles without their website. Thinkfun’s escape room games, however, don’t require the internet but you can access hints via their website.
Escape room games are often one-time-use and not all of them can really be rehomed. However, I am thrilled to report that while we can’t really play this game again because we know the answers to the puzzles, we can rehome it. In fact, on the page with the hints, they even have instructions for repacking your game, complete with videos.
The Escape Room Puzzles
It could be that my family has gotten better at escape room games, but I think it’s that these puzzles are easier. (I’m also not trying to avoid destroying the game because you don’t need to cut or tear anything, so I’m sure that helped, too.) We still felt challenged, but were able to complete it in one sitting and didn’t feel as mentally exhausted after we finished. Also, we actually finished within the maximum time (I don’t think we usually do, but we also don’t usually time ourselves).
These puzzles were also a better mix. Other escape room games have been entirely cerebral, which is probably why they were so mentally exhausting. However, this one includes some physical manipulation puzzles that were different, fun, and worked different parts of our brains. I can’t say that other Thinkfun escape room games will have similar puzzles. I think it’s likely, though, especially when you consider all the spectacular single-player games Thinkfun has available.
The Solution Wheel
I also really like how the solutions are found with the solution wheel. We don’t need to look online or use an endless deck of cards; it’s self-contained on the wheel. If the matching symbol shows in two of the windows with the same orientation, you found the correct solution to the puzzle!
We did have to use just a few of the hints, but not too many, and most of them (that we used) were actually helpful. Having the hints online made it easier to keep track of the materials on the table.
Opening the Escape Room Box
When we opened our game, the instructions were on the top, followed by the start to the story: the first scene. The bottom of Scene 1 is folded over and contains an ending if you don’t finish the game in time. Spoiler: It’s not good. (Well, the story is great, it’s just not a very happy ending.)
Under the first scene were the four envelopes and finally the solutions wheel. Each of the envelopes have to be unlocked, but don’t worry. There are more than four puzzles. Some of the envelopes have envelopes inside of them, and there are even some choose-your-own-adventure options! This made me very happy to see the repacking instructions, as we quickly lost track of what went where.
Fun Extras
Finally, there are also mood music and costume suggestions online for each of their games. How cool is that?!? It’s billed as a party game (like a murder mystery dinner, except this escape room does not include murder), so that’s a fun addition.
Overall, Thinkfun’s escape rooms are my favorite physical escape room games. I will definitely keep my eye out for more. Unfortunately, there are only four games in their Escape the Room line. Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor, The Cursed Dollhouse, and Murder in the Mafia are the other three. If you can find one, though, I definitely recommend them, especially as your first exposure to escape rooms!