Duration: 4 mailings arriving over the course of 3 weeks, active play time is 6+ hours
Price: $135
REA Reaction
Writing and world-building are central to games by Crack-a-Nut Mysteries. Through articles, journals, letters, and props, they fabricate worlds and let you get lost within them. It’s a tall order for a tabletop experience, but they do it consistently.
Image via Crack-a-Nut
Double Major is the third Crack-a-Nut Mysteries game that we’ve played, but it was their first creation. It was originally made as part of a Christmas puzzle exchange that built a bit of a reputation for itself. Co-creator Angela Lawson-Scott told the story of this game on our Tabletop panel at RECON 21:
Double Major is a very cool, very ambitious product. It’s not as refined as the more recent Root of All Evil, which is a must-play for those seeking narrative puzzle adventures. However, if you liked Root of All Evil, and you want more, Double Major felt substantially larger and is a worthy experience.
Crack-a-Nut Mysteries crammed so much into this game, and if you are looking to dive into the deep end, order yourself a copy. There’s a lot to enjoy.
Who is this for?
Story seekers
Code breakers
Armchair detectives
Players with at least some experience
Why play?
The story is cool and well written
Volume – there’s a lot going on
A few memorable moments continue to stick in my mind
Story
Something was rotten at the University of Michigan. A box of unusual evidence had found its way to us by mail. Lives were lost, people were missing, and nefarious experiments were afoot.
S.O.U.P. was a light-hearted and approachable puzzle game with a fantastic sense of humor.
While largely paper-based, this game was deeply personalized and made with an abundance of care.
The writing in S.O.U.P. was superb, and drastically different in tone and style than that of Root of All Evil. It’s impressive to see creators shift tone and approach so elegantly.
S.O.U.P. is an easy game to recommend. Because of the level of personalization, I suspect that it would make a great surprise gift.
Who is this for?
Story seekers
Puzzle lovers
Prop collectors
Any experience level
Why play?
Impressive personalization
Amusing and succinct storytelling
Strong, well presented puzzles
Story
In S.O.U.P. we had recently been recruited into the Society for the Observation of Unknown Phenomena. As junior investigators we were told to expect packages to examine strange happenings around the globe.
Root of All Evil is included in our recommendation guide forRemote Horror Games. For more of the best remote escape games in this style, check out the recommendation guide.
Sinfully Entertaining
Location: at home
Date Played: April 12, 2020
Team size: we recommend 2-3
Duration: more than 60 minutes, length of play depends a lot of your play style
Price: about $130 plus shipping for the US; more internationally
2022 Golden Lock Award Winner
REA Reaction
Root of All Evil delivered deep dark storytelling, beautiful props, ciphers, and an atmosphere reminiscent of the movie Seven, if it had been set 70 years earlier. Playing it felt like we were unearthing something that had long been buried.
This was a game world worthy of exploration. While it had a lot of written materials, we were eager to read them because the writing captured our attention. This so rarely happens in the puzzle gaming world.
Root of All Evil culminated in a climax that was truly worthy of the experience. It was strange and bold.
I’d love to see Crack a Nut Mysteries build a far more robust self-service hint system to couple with this experience. This would ensure that everyone gets everything that this experience has to offer.
Root of All Evil was a high-commitment game. It was noticeably more expensive than many play-at-home game, but for the price point, it delivered a lot of value that players can sink their teeth into over time.
Who is this for?
Adventure seekers
Story seekers
Cipher breakers
Collectors of beautiful objects
Players with at least some experience
Why play?
Fantastic writing
Gorgeous and aesthetically compelling
There was a lot of depth
Surprising moments
Story
We’d received a cryptic wooden crate filled with evidence of a series of unusual murders. We had to unravel the string of religion-fueled slayings.
Setup
Root of All Evil was a detective game.
The crate of evidence was filled with articles, journals, and physical evidence to examine, interpret, and decipher.
A lot of the magic of this world came from the objects. They were beautiful and felt like they truly belonged.
Gameplay
Crack a Nut Mysteries’ Root of All Evil was a story-driven, puzzle-based mystery game.
It was more challenging than a boxed escape room game, but not as challenging as a typical puzzle hunt.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, reading, engaging with the story, and deciphering.
Analysis
➕ We enjoyed reading a lengthy journal in Root of All Evil. There. I said it. The writing was honestly compelling. The more we read, the more we were drawn into the story.
➕ Crack a Nut Mysteries hid a lot of secrets in Root of All Evil. We found some of these immediately. We really had to work for others. The payoff was worth it. They hid some brilliant reveals that we wouldn’t have expected from a boxed play-at-home game.
➕ The gameplay was woven around a narrative. Each solve and each reveal made sense in the game world… especially as we read more of the journal.
❓ Root of All Evil relied heavily on ciphers. Your enjoyment of the puzzles will depend on your interest in deciphering.
➖ Root of All Evil needed a stronger, tiered hint system. It’s currently presented as a mystery that you more or less solve or don’t. It would be a better experience for more people if it allowed them to engage on whatever level they wanted.
➖ Additionally, Root of All Evil would benefit from a dedicated website (beyond the Facebook page linked to below) that sets expectations clearly for the subject matter, content style, and commitment level.
➕ The late-game interactions and ultimate conclusion were intense and creative.
Tips For Players
Space Requirements: a table… small will work ok, but you might prefer larger
Required Gear: pen and paper. We also recommend a computer for quicker deciphering.
Buy your copy of Crack a Nut Mysteries’ Root of All Evil, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
