Room Escape Artist

The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes is a tabletop escape game created by Exit: The Game.

Format

Style of Play: tabletop escape game

Who is it For?

• Puzzle lovers
• Story seekers
• Any experience level
• Fans of Exit: The Game

Required Equipment: pen & paper, scissors

Recommended Team Size: 1-3

Play Time: 90-120 minutes

Price: about $15

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Sherlock Holmes had gone missing, and Dr. Watson needed our help to track him down through the streets of London. Beginning with a mysterious letter, clues guided us a puzzle at a time through various pamphlets representing locations in our search, occasionally incorporating other objects to give depth to these places. We used a typical Exit: The Game decoder wheel to validate our solutions and reveal the next clues.

Cindi S’ Reaction

In The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes, we puzzled our way through an investigation to not only find the missing Holmes, but to solve a gruesome murder. You don’t need to be familiar with Sherlock Holmes to play, but fans of the detective stories will recognize key characters in the artwork and narrative. Gameplay followed Dr. Watson, as he explored different locations around town looking for clues. As expected, we encountered puzzles that were truly clever and inventive, but also several that were frustrating and finicky. One puzzle was hard to see without some manipulation, which in turn caused pieces to repeatedly fall out of place, making solving difficult. Yet other puzzles worked really well; my favorite used strange items to recreate a key scene and discover a code in a nice “aha!” moment. We were kept guessing until the very end, where we unfortunately guessed wrong, ending the game on a low note. While not one of the stronger games in the series, sometimes Exit: The Games are worth playing just to see the cool puzzles they come up with, even if not all of them land as intended.

Sarah Mendez’s Reaction

This game is a fair homage to Sherlock Holmes that captures the essence of Holmesian mysteries while reimagining some of their classic characters to allow for broader representation. We appreciated this take on the genre as well as the majority of the puzzling, and I particularly enjoyed the physical constructions in this installment. However, the later stages of the game left a rough final impression, suffering from red herrings, faulty signposts, and an overwhelming final mystery. To be fair, Sherlock Holmes is famous for sorting through dense details, and the game captured that vibe well. We simply didn’t have the energy left for such a feat at the end of the game.

Exit: The Game completionists and committed Sherlock Holmes fans should play this. If you’re more selective about which installments you play, here are the distinguishing factors of this one:

• The physical constructions in this game were more involved than usual. I enjoyed the endeavor, but beware if papercrafts aren’t your thing.
• A use of asymmetric information for one puzzle introduced unusual gameplay, but ultimately felt extraneous and confusing.
• The overarching mystery at the end was more involved than other Exit: The Game meta-puzzles. It would be a gratifying endeavor for anyone with patience left to complete it.

Theresa W’s Reaction

Exit: The Game has been gradually making their games more memorable and varied. While this progression has been slow, The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes took the Exit: The Game series to a whole new level. It’s rare for our team to get through Exit: the Game installments with 0 hints due to some minor logic leaps, but this edition did a wonderful job of conveying puzzle elements and solutions. Each puzzle had an aha moment that was fair, satisfying, and multi-layered (both physically and mentally). The lengths at which Exit: The Game went to design multiple 3D elements for puzzles and actually make them work well showed through creative mechanisms. The art was beautiful throughout, with lots of story beats to draw the players further into the world. If you’re looking for a new tabletop game, even if you’ve sworn off Exit: The Game installments, pick this one up. You will not be disappointed.

Disclosure: Exit: The Game provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.

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