Tag: Brett Kuehner

Agent November – Mind Heist [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Agent November, Hivemind

Mind Heist is an avatar-led, livestreamed escape room, created by Agent November in the United Kingdom.

First person view, a pair of hands holding two security badges in front of a locked box with a timer on it.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Avatar controlled by the players

Required Equipment: Computer with internet connection, pen and paper

Recommended Team Size: 2-5

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: £14 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Mind Heist was a standard avatar-led escape room. Player decisions affected the story and the difficulty of the puzzles. It was a choose-your-own-adventure-style virtual escape room.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

Read more about our Hivemind Review format.

Continue reading “Agent November – Mind Heist [Hivemind Review]” →

Puzzleverse – ISS Crisis [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

ISS Crisis is an online puzzle game created by Puzzleverse.

ISS CRISIS Created by the Puzzleverse cover art of the cosmos displayed in Zoom.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Light puzzle hunt

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-5

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: $20 per person with a minimum of 4 players ($80)

Booking: book online for a specific time slot OR purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Puzzles are presented via Zoom as a series of slides. Players can collaborate verbally and using Zoom annotation tools.

Story card explaining that we work up on the International Space Station and found ourselves locked in our sleeping quarters.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

Read more about our Hivemind Review format.

Continue reading “Puzzleverse – ISS Crisis [Hivemind Review]” →

Walking Shadow – Reboot [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind

Reboot is an online play with puzzles created by Walking Shadow in Minneapolis.

Someone kneeling by a computer desk in an 80s looking office space.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Avatar controlled by the players
  • Video-based experience
  • Interactive NPC(s) (other than a player-controlled avatar)
  • Immersive theater
  • Text adventure (optional)

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: You book individually into a public event, like theater, and you’ll play in a group of about 6-10 people.

Play Time: 90-105 minutes

Price: ranges from $30 to $60 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Reboot accurately describes itself as “an online play with puzzles.” It is an immersive theater performance with puzzles that the audience collectively solves at various points in the show. It takes place in Zoom and across different websites.

You’ll be playing with a group, likely people you don’t know. You’ll need to interact with performers and other players to solve puzzles and make decisions that affect the outcome of the show.

An older man sitting at a desk. It looks like a screenshot from grainy old video.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

Read more about our Hivemind Review format.

Continue reading “Walking Shadow – Reboot [Hivemind Review]” →

Webscapade – Season 0: Welcome to Argenia! [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Season 0: Welcome to Argenia! is a ARG-esque light puzzle hunt created by Webscapade.

Image of a hotel room the morning after a fun night. Champagne, and room service dishes sit on a table beside an unmade bed with clothes on the floor.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Play on demand
  • Light puzzle hunt

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 1-4

Play Time: about 90 minutes

Price: $25 per team

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Welcome to Argenia! involved light ARG-style narrative puzzling. Players need to access a variety of webpages to progress through the game. There is simulated hacking as well as puzzles to solve. The story unfolds throughout the game.

A website for booking a room at the Capital Hotel in Argenia.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

Read more about our Hivemind Review format.

Continue reading “Webscapade – Season 0: Welcome to Argenia! [Hivemind Review]” →

Morpheus – Manor of Lies [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Manor of Lies is an audio role-playing game created by Morpheus, based in the UK.

In-game: A completely black image with nothing visible.
First person view

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Audio game
  • Interactive NPCs
  • Immersive theater

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection, blindfold, and headphones (preferred)

Recommended Team Size: 3-6

Play Time: about 2 hours

Price: £39 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Manor of Lies is a fully audio game. Players are asked to wear a blindfold and headphones for full immersion as they play a dice-free role-playing game. This game focuses more on investigation and interrogation of NPCs.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

Read more about our Hivemind Review format.

Continue reading “Morpheus – Manor of Lies [Hivemind Review]” →