Bloody actors
Location: at home
Date Played: May 26, 2019
Team size: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯; we recommend 2-3
Duration: 1-3 hours
Price: $29.95 per month ($83.85 for 3 months, $159.60 for 6 months)
REA Reaction
Sleuth Kings has come a long way since we played Case 001: The Guilty a year and a half ago.
19 cases later, it’s still a fun and solid puzzle game. The gameplay flowed well and the solves were satisfying.
Sleuth Kings has cleaned up the response time issues and minimized the emailing by adding an alternative hint system.
Sleuth Kings’ cases are more challenging than escape rooms, but still quite approachable. If you’re looking to expand your puzzle solving skills outside of escape rooms, this is a good choice. Its consistent puzzle content delivered to you in a well-organized format with as much hand-holding as you want. For more experienced puzzlers, it won’t offer anything novel, but it will give you a monthly puzzle fix.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- Armchair detectives
- Any experience level
- Players who want a monthly subscription
Why play?
- Solid puzzles
- Interactive gameplay
- There’s a new one every month!
Story
In Case 020: Blood P.I., we had to identify who’d been stalking Rosalyn Neal, the actress who played Rebecca Blood, the lead character in a popular vampire detective show. She’d just been shot, and while she would recover, we were under the impression that this stalker was behind the incident.
SETUP
Sleuth Kings sent a slick cardboard box containing a case file with various printed materials. These included an investigation report and various clues to the case. Everything was clearly labeled for orderly solving.
We emailed Detective Sullivan King to begin our investigation.
Gameplay
Sleuth Kings’ Case 020: Blood P.I. was a play-at-home detective game with a moderate level of difficulty.
The puzzles were more challenging than typical escape room puzzles, but quite approachable. They were substantially easier than you’d find in a typical puzzle hunt.
Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, decoding, puzzling, and emailing the detective.
Analysis
➕ Case 020: Blood P.I. delivered varied and interesting puzzles. Some resolved with aha moments. Others took a bit more process to complete. Overall, it was a satisfying collection of solves.
➖ Although the puzzles were solid, they weren’t revolutionary or particularly memorable.
➕ The story made sense. It was a bit hokey, ridiculous even, but I don’t think it needed to be believable. The gameplay worked within the story.
➖ There was a lot of reading involved in solving this case. The story was told through text rather than through the puzzles themselves. Additionally, in a couple of instances, the font choice was a tad arduous.
➕/➖ Case 020: Blood P.I. contained generally high quality printed materials. That said, it still felt a bit homemade, some pieces more than others.
➕ The mailing was well organized and clearly labeled. It was easy to get started. While there were a lot of materials, they never felt overwhelming. The gameplay flowed smoothly.
➕ There was a nuanced hint system. A Clue Analysis was included with the Investigation Report in the mailing. Players who need a nudge can take a peek. The detective’s assistant, Celest, had a website where we could find additional hints. We could always email the detective. He replied pretty quickly, but if there was lag time, we had this other tool at our disposal.
❓ Although I liked the organization, and always knowing where to focus my attention, this may come across as too much hand-holding for some, especially when coupled with some of the additional hint-y materials available in the package.
➕ While there was still lag time in the detective’s responses, it was no longer momentum-killing, as it was when we first played. Sleuth Kings has minimized the emailing; we had a quarter as many email threads this time around. In this playthrough, the emails made the game more interactive, in a positive way.
➕ Sleuth Kings has managed to churn out one case a month. Although we haven’t played the others, we hear the puzzle quality is consistent and the meta mystery through the series is interesting.
Tips For Player
- Required Gear: You need an internet-connected device (we recommend a computer), and pen and paper for taking notes.
Subscribe to Sleuth Kings, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Thank you to Darren and Melissa for sharing their copy of this game with us.
Note that your purchased subscription will start with the current month’s game. Case 020: Blood P.I. as other past cases can be purchased here.
