Room Escape Artist

Pride & Prejudice and Zombies Puzzles

Location:  at home

Date Played: December 8, 2023

Team size: 1; we recommend 1

Duration: 180+ minutes

Price: about $24

REA Reaction

Marjolein Bastin’s The Jane Austen Escape Room Book was exactly what it claimed to be: a romp through Regency era drama alongside Elizabeth Bennet and a host of familiar faces from Pride and Prejudice.

The book contained 18 puzzles. There was a significant range of what I was expected to solve and how long each puzzle lasted. Some puzzles could be described as an activity where the solution didn’t render an answer, but the task was meant to be completed to move forward.

I had the most difficulty with knowing if I had the correct answer. To confirm a solution I had to refer to the solutions page near the back of the book. If I wasn’t careful I could easily spoil future solutions. The clues section was set immediately before the solutions, but the introduction for this tool was subtle and I did not realize clues were available until after I had completed the story.

All of the art included was gorgeous and the style felt accurate to the time period. I had fun riding along as all of the drama unfolded, and felt satisfied by the happy ending. This book reminded me why I am a fan of Jane Austen. The writing had her voice and it made me want to curl up with some tea and put on the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. If you love Pride and Prejudice this book should be right up your alley. 

Who is this for?

• Story seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Jane Austen fans
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Jane Austen fan fiction is your favorite thing.
• Regency Era drama is your jam.
• A desire to experience a mix of activities and puzzles in book form.

Story

Help Elizabeth Bennet unravel the events that led to scandalous rumors, and then fix her reputation to win back the favor of Mr. Darcy.

Setup

Find space on your table to gather a piece of paper, writing utensil, scissors, and tape. Crack open the book and get started, there is no internet-enabled device needed.

Gameplay

The Jane Austen Escape Room Book was a standard puzzle book with an easy-to-moderate level of difficulty.

Gameplay revolved around making visual connections on current and previous pages, deducing wordplay, and some maths.

Analysis

➕/ ❓ This book doesn’t bury the lede. If you like Pride and Prejudice, this book provided a fun way to revisit those characters and go on a small adventure. Those that are unfamiliar with Jane Austen won’t catch many of the references and will likely not have as good of a time. 

➕ The puzzles and activities were varied both in style and challenge. They tended to be on the easier side so don’t expect many brain burners in this book. I enjoyed most of the puzzles provided and it was clear what I was expected to do before moving forward in the story. When there was a solution to find it was satisfying to piece together the information needed.

➖ Gameplay typically involved solving a puzzle to arrive at an answer, and moving ahead to the next page only after finding a solution. However, at times, the book presented activities that didn’t resolve to answers. In these instances, I found it difficult to know if I had done enough to move on, without referring to the solutions section of the book.

➕ The flowers, the scenery, and the maps were all gorgeous. This book had great art that fit the period perfectly.

➖ The hints section was disguised in a newspaper near the end of the book. The newspaper was only briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book and was not labeled as a hint system. I completely missed it as a resource until I had finished all of the puzzles. As I reviewed the hint system it offered one written nudge before I was expected to look at the solution to move on from the puzzle. As a hint system, this left something to be desired.

➖ Many of the solutions in the index were on the same page, which made it challenging to not spoil future puzzle answers.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: A small table
• Required Gear: Paper, writing utensil, scissors, and tape

Buy your copy of Marjolein Bastin’s The Jane Austen Escape Room Book, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Andrews McMeel Universal (publisher) provided a complimentary copy for review.