Room Escape Artist

A bewitching blend of puzzles and story

Location: at home

Date Played: September 2026

Team Size: 1 or more; we recommend 2-3

Duration: about 6 hours

Price: Kickstarter price is $59, MSRP will be $65

REA Reaction

The Witching Hour balanced story and puzzles into a bewitching blend, bolstered by the beautiful design PostCurious is known for. This play-at-home game is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter and will eventually be available for retail purchase.

If you’ve played previous puzzletales by PostCurious, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect: a premium-quality boxed game with slick design, intriguing components, and smooth gameplay. 

Designed by writer Rebecca Channon, The Witching Hour stood out for its hefty dose of storytelling. Over two sittings, we progressed through the two acts of the game by following the path indicated by a large deck of numbered cards, reading the story, and solving related puzzles along the way. We found the gameplay to be generally stronger than the writing, but when combined, the complex, generation-spanning narrative and the varied puzzles melded into an immersive brew that kept us engaged and curious to see what happened next.

The Witching Hour required a good deal of reading and rewarded close attention to the story. The themes were sometimes dark and ominous, but more YA fantasy than horror. (PostCurious recommends it for ages 14 and up.) If you’re enticed by the idea of immersing yourself in a perilous tabletop puzzle adventure, consider backing The Witching Hour on Kickstarter.

Who is this for?

• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Players with at least some experience
• People playing without an internet connection

Why play?

• Beautiful art and design
• Engaging puzzles
• Rich story integration

Story

In the village of Old Miring, the residents were wary of dangerous witches, who were said to kidnap children twice every century by luring them into a mysterious maze. We followed the story of Thea, a girl whose family had lost loved ones to the maze in the past. The day before her 16th birthday, Thea was so close to being safe from the threat of the maze… until something happened that drew her in.

Setup

A deck of cards contained most of the story and puzzles. We drew numbered cards from the deck as the story and puzzle cards instructed, and also opened envelopes and boxes to reveal additional documents and artifacts when the cards told us to. Divider cards helped us distinguish between our draw pile, revealed cards, and discard pile.

PostCurious provided hint cards in the box, so The Witching Hour was entirely playable without an internet connection. They also included a transparency sheet and dry erase marker so the game materials could be preserved and reset for another team to play.

Gameplay

The Witching Hour was a play-at-home puzzle game with a moderate but variable level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around observing, following directions, making connections, and reading the story.

The story and gameplay were divided into two acts, with a clear intermission point about a third of the way in.

Analysis

➕ The visual design was elegant, from the cover art to the illustrated cards and documents, and even the envelopes holding them. A whole team of artists contributed, and it showed. The design elevated the game and heightened the mysterious, intimate tone of the story.

➕ Mixing puzzles and narrative isn’t easy, but The Witching Hour made it work. It wasn’t that the puzzles made logical sense under strict scrutiny, but more that they were harmonious with Thea’s experience. We internalized details about Old Miring and its characters through solving the puzzles. This was obviously by design, and it was impressive.

➖ Though the story was engrossing, the writing itself mostly felt functional. The text did its job, but it didn’t shine, especially when compared to the other elements of the game.

➕ The incremental hint system made the game more approachable, making room for PostCurious to safely include puzzles of variable difficulty. We found the tactile nature of the paper hint system to be more fun and in-world than looking up online hints.

➕ The puzzles varied in theme and were mostly frictionless and satisfying. We especially loved one late-game puzzle that required a deep understanding of the story we’d just experienced.

➖ The final puzzle had so many possibilities built in that we couldn’t find our footing without multiple hints. We were going in circles for long enough that our victory felt less than triumphant.

❓Story-wise, the ending felt a bit abrupt. A few loose ends made us wonder if the point was to leave room for a sequel. (Note to PostCurious: We’d play one!)

➕ We appreciated that PostCurious made sure The Witching Hour could be played offline and reset to its original condition. These considerations make the game accessible to more players, which is a big plus.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: a small table
• Required Gear: ruler or straightedge

Some puzzles require close examination, so good lighting is a must, and have a magnifying tool handy if you think you might need it.

Note: We played a preview copy of The Witching Hour, so the final version will have minor updates that shouldn’t affect the gameplay.

Back PostCurious’ The Witching Hour on Kickstarter, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: PostCurious provided a complimentary game.