Tag: The Lone Puzzler

E-Scape Rooms – The Sword of Drakul [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

The Sword of Drakul is a point-and-click game created by E-Scape Rooms in the UK.

3D rendering of a pedestal in an ancient temple.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Play on demand
  • Web-based inventory system
  • Point-and-click

Who is it for?

  • Puzzle lovers
  • Story seekers
  • Good for newbies
  • Any experience level

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-3

Play Time: You have an unlimited timer and the game link is valid for up to 4 days. It took our reviewers less than an hour to play.

Price: GBP 14.99

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

You are traveling through rooms in a castle virtually (point-and-click) and solving various puzzles to move from room to room. This is a standard Telescape game with 360-degree pictures. You look around for clickable items that help you to solve puzzles and enter codes.

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Exit19.pl – Necromancer [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Necromancer is an avatar-led online adaptation of a real-life escape game, created by Exit19.pl in Wroclaw, Poland.

A strange still life with a face that has eyes of different colors.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Adaptation of an in-person game (can be played IRL)
  • Avatar controlled by the players
  • Web-based inventory system
  • Includes video segments

Who is it For?

  • Adventure seekers
  • Story seekers
  • Any experience level

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-5

Play Time: 70 minutes

Price: 405 PLN (or about $100) per team for the English version

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Necromancer is an escape room in real-life that we played through Zoom. There is a Telescape inventory system plus 360°-view pictures of the spaces. There are 2 people operating the game: our gamemaster in front of the camera and the cameraman.

Avatar approaching a wall of skulls.
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True Clue – The Eighth Wonder [Hivemind Review]

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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Mojec Hyper Industries – Dracula’s New Friends [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Dracula’s New Friends is a live-hosted point-and-click game created by Mojec Hyper Industries.

Illustration of a grand study with large statues and an animal pelt rug.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Point-and-click within Telescape
  • Interactive NPCs

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 65 minutes

Price: $25 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Dracula’s New Friends combines point-and-click gameplay (run within the Telescape game engine) and live interaction with characters through Zoom. There are numerous puzzles and activities that allow you to advance from location to location in a version of the classic vampire story.

Host character with an illustrated live background of a chair.
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Enibot – Mission: Mars [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Enibot, Hivemind

Mission: Mars is an online game played through a chatbot created by Enibot, based in Israel.

A news report about traveling to Mars beside a text chat with a bot.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
  • Play on demand
  • Point-and-click

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Note that you need a strong internet connection to load this game. Also, be sure to follow the guidelines for an incognito Chrome browser.

If your game is unable to load at any stage, it will automatically save and reload where you left off, which we greatly appreciated.

Recommended Team Size: 1-3

Play Time: 45-80 minutes, less for experienced puzzlers

Price: $30 per team

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Using a text “chat” interface on the side of a webpage, the game sent us through a series of puzzles revolving around becoming an astronaut and going to Mars. We entered answers into the interface and received images of puzzles to solve next. Some of the puzzles were very point-and-click; others were purely visual.

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