Hivemind Archives - Room Escape Artist

Exit the Game – Kidnapped in Fortune City [Hivemind Review]

29 November 202127 November 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Exit The Game, Hivemind, Tabletop Escape Game

Kidnapped in Fortune City is a tabletop escape game created by Exit: The Game.

Looking for holiday gifts? Find Kidnapped in Fortune City and other great games in the Room Escape Artist Holiday Gift Guide – 2021.

Exit: Kidnapped in Fortune City box depicts the old west. A sheriff's badge laying on the ground.

Format

Style of Play: tabletop escape game

Why is it For?

Puzzle lovers
Any experience level

Required Equipment: pen & paper

No scissors were needed, which is unusual for this series.

It is helpful to take notes in this game, as you collect information from the locations and characters.

Recommended Team Size: 1-3

Play Time: 1.5-2 hours

Price: about $15

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

The sheriff of Fortune City disappeared after a gold robbery, and it was our job to search the town, interview witnesses, solve the crime, and find the sheriff. We had more materials to help us than in other Exit: The Game installments: a map of the city, the sheriff’s notebook, clue cards, a set of “strange items,” several location pamphlets to explore one at a time, and a decoder wheel for entering the solutions to puzzles. Because this was a higher difficulty game, the puzzles were not presented linearly, and we had to determine what game pieces to use for each puzzle. As in all Exit: The Game installments, we had to use game pieces in unexpected ways, but there was not as much destruction in this game as in others.

Game contents include a number of old west themed items.

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Afternoon Apps Inc. – ARia’s Legacy [Hivemind Review]

15 November 202114 November 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

ARia’s Legacy is an augmented reality app game created by Afternoon Apps Inc.

A stone slap rendered in augmented reality. In real life, a very cute dog peers from beyond it.

Format

Style of Play:

Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
Play on demand
Augmented reality experience

Required Equipment: mobile device

Your preference for phone versus tablet probably depends on the size of your phone, and your tolerance for holding a tablet in the air.

Recommended Team Size: 1, or maybe 2

Play Time: 20 minutes

Price: free for the Prologue (3 episodes), $3.99 for Chapter 1 (also 3 episodes)

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

In this game you explore rooms in a mansion through the magic of augmented reality (AR). At the beginning of each room, or “episode,” you calibrate the game’s world within your own space by aligning a rough sketch of the room with what the tablet detects of your space from its camera. The game uses this information to display its objects and set pieces within your space. To have the images in the game rendered correctly, you need a flat open area that is well-lit.

You navigate this world by physically moving around your own room, pointing the tablet towards the parts you want to explore, and tapping on objects to interact with them. Gameplay involves searching, collecting objects, finding clues, and solving puzzles.

You play this on a single device, so the number of players is limited by how many people care to use the same device at one time. With a tablet, you might be able to play as a duo.

An assortment of digging tools rendered in augmented reality.

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Moroi Springs – Winterlore Chapter I [Hivemind Review]

13 November 202122 November 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Winterlore Chapter I is a point-and-click game created by Moroi Springs.

Moroi Springs Winterlore title screen shows a forest in a blizzard.

Format

Style of Play:

Play on demand
Point-and-click

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection or mobile device

Recommended Team Size: 1

Play Time: No game clock; expect 30 minutes at most.

Price: $1.00 on itch.io, $0.99 on Google Play

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

This was a standard point-and-click game for one player. Find inventory items and combine them with other items, or use them in the environment to solve puzzles and advance the story.

Inside of a small kitchen, there are many cloth items with vibrant colors.

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True Clue – The Eighth Wonder [Hivemind Review]

3 November 202126 October 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

The Eighth Wonder is a print-and-play game created by True Clue.

An illustration of a bronze age port with the Colossus standing over it.

Format

Style of Play:

play on demand
print-and-play

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, printer, pen and paper, scissors

Recommended Team Size: 1-3

Play Time: about 2 hours

Price: $20, or $16 with a coupon earned for solving a sample puzzle on their home page

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Players will print the puzzle book. Each puzzle is introduced on the website, has some paper component, and the user enters the solution on the website to proceed to the next puzzle.

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Lock Paper Scissors – Envy [Hivemind Review]

25 October 20211 November 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Envy is a print-and-play escape game created by Lock Paper Scissors.

Cover art, illustration for Envy, depicts a flapper dressed up and holding a martini glass.

Format

Style of Play:

Play on demand
Print-and-play
Escape room party kit

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, printer, pen and paper, scissors, tape or glue

Recommended Team Size: 1-2

Play Time: 20-40 minutes

Price: $29

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

The police have failed to solve the murder of Lord Carnegie, so you must explore the aftermath of the party where he was killed. You explore eight separate puzzles that contribute information to a final metapuzzle, which theoretically validates all of your answers.

These materials are designed to be presented as an escape room party where the printouts (or physical substitutes) are arranged in “logical” locations throughout a room. You can also play the game as a tabletop experience just by printing out the materials.

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