NEWB REVIEWS
“Is That Blood?”
A Newb’s Review Of Professor Puzzle Games’ Curse of the Dark: A Two-Part Collaborative Escape Room Game
Hello, and welcome to NEWB REVIEWS! This is an article series with one singular goal: FUN! We will explore some popular things, a few underground things, and I will assess them based on their approachability, difficulty, time requirement, replay factor, and most importantly, the fun factor. All of this is in hopes of helping you find something extraordinary that is worth your investment of money and time. I am not an expert on the topics discussed, oftentimes I am a newb. Whether you’re a newb like me, or just curious about our topic in this review, thank you for stopping by My Geekology!
NEWB REVIEW GRADING SYSTEM
10 Possible Points
2 Points Can Be Earned In Each Category
Higher Scores In Difficulty And Time Requirement Are Better and Indicate Flexibility
What Caught Our Attention
My wife and I remiss about the decline of couch co-op experiences in gaming. We will get excited about a game and discover we cannot play it together. We both love many of the worlds, narratives, and general adventures video games provide. However, those experiences are less and less common. Even for companies like Nintendo, this can be an afterthought at times. For this reason, we find a lot of joy in a good board game.
One that caught our attention was Professor Puzzle Games’ Curse of the Dark: A Two-Part Collaborative Escape Room Game. The box cover featured a spooky far-off castle, with bats visible in front of a blood moon. Decrepit trees are speckled across a jagged landscape along the bottom of the box. As the spooky season is nearly upon us, it felt like a must-buy! After confirming that two players could play it, we picked up the game and gave it a try!
DISCLAIMER: Professor Puzzle Games’ Curse of the Dark: A Two-Part Collaborative Escape Room Game is designated as 14+. It also requires an INTERNET CONNECTION. We did not anticipate this, nor is it indicated on the exterior of the box. This could possibly be prohibitive to some parties.
The Play Experience
The game can be played with any number from one to six players. This, we thought, provided a lot of gaming flexibility depending on different peoples’ situations. The possibility of having a complete board game experience as a single player is commendable! On the other hand, this is an escape room experience, so it really is a one-time playthrough. On the back of the box the text warns “As the puzzles are designed to be interactive, requiring some ripping and tearing, this game is a one-time play experience.”
The immediate question that arises cannot be answered until the game’s completion. Is a game with a $24.99 price tag worth the purchase when several other sources of entertainment are available at this price point? Compounded with the “14+” designation as well as a requirement on an internet connection? We will find out!
My wife joined me for the playthrough. She is way better at puzzles than I and the game does present like it would be a fun party experience. My wife and I’s journey began with a thematic introductory insert that explained to us what Mordengraf was and what the mystery we had to resolve was. The instructions at this point were very clear.
At this time, it was immediately clear the ways in which this game is designed to be a single playthrough. The answers to the puzzles must be scratched off to be visible. You cannot “un-scratch” them obviously. If someone attempted subsequent playthroughs the solutions would always be visible.
The game recommended we set a time for 90 minutes (their estimated time for phase one of the playthrough), so we did, and our journey began. A question of mass hysteria or real monsters is the crux of the mystery. We will not discuss specific puzzles of solutions or plot points beyond this to not spoil a future playthrough for someone.
The game’s pieces interconnect wonderfully. A newspaper may lead you to a portion of the map, which may lead you elsewhere. You have decoders and vague clues, the game both respects the intelligence of its players but also does not alienate them. That is really great. At times the immersion is very real and wonderful. An obvious and very significant amount of thought went into the actual play experience.
Scoring The Game
For difficulty, I give the game both points! The game was at times challenging but never to the point of discouraging. The instructions were also clear, and the puzzles were not unfair. This was a good mix. We enjoyed the “solving” process and the way the game has us go through their mystery.
For approachability, we awarded the game both points! The design of the box is very attractive. The color scheme is a good amount of scary and the font choice of “Curse of the Dark” is great and fits the theme. The artistic care for the inserts and the painting images under the box lid are fantastic. The art inside the booklets was also just absolutely wonderful.
We only deducted a single point for the time requirement. The reason for this is that it requires roughly 180 minutes (two 90-minute phases) to complete the playthrough. This is a lot more than most game playthroughs, however, a group could plan for this to be the activity for an evening, so it is not unworkable.
We had to deduct both points on the replay factor because it didn’t have it. The game makes it clear that it is a one-time experience. This is understandable; however, it is a little tough. It seems like it would at least be worth exploring ways to replay something that requires the financial and time investment that this requires. We did discover that you can download files from their website to replay the game with, however, this doesn’t change that it spoils the outcome of the game.
Now for the most important score: the fun score! We gave Professor Puzzle Games’ Curse of the Dark: A Two-Part Collaborative Escape Room Game both points! This game is a delight to play through. There is great care taken in each facet. If one is not detracted by the single playthrough, the price, the internet connection, or the age recommendation (I know that seems like a significant list), my wife and I do recommend this game for a great evening with friends!
Final Scores
Approachability (2/2)
Difficulty (2/2)
Time Requirement (1/2)
Replay Factor (0/2)
Fun Factor (2/2)
This is the most important
NEWB REVIEWS SCORE: 7/10
If you want to order Curse of The Dark for yourself click HERE.