ThinkFun Escape The Room Stargazer's Manor - A Thrilling Escape Room Game in a Box for Ages 10 and Up | Enhances Logical Reasoning | Perfect for Family Game Night | Ideal Gift for Puzzle Lovers

My husband and I tried Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor with our 13-year-old daughter. My husband and I do in-person escape rooms and he & my daughter do online escape rooms. With that experience we were able to put the clues together pretty quickly. We solved it in about one hour.Each envelope that we "unlocked" had an interesting challenge inside. This was a fun way to spend an evening! And I think it's really cool that the website offers instructions on how to reassemble the box, so you can pack it all up and pass the box on to a friend so they can solve it, too. My daughter is really excited to share it with her best friend.We also have a 10-year-old and a 7-year-old. For whatever reason, they didn't feel like playing with us. I think my 10-year-old would have liked it, had he participated. We would have had to slow our process down a little and explain the puzzles to draw him in and keep him included. But I think my 7-year-old would have struggled to understand the challenges and would probably have gotten bored. So, I agree with the manufacturers' 10+ age recommendation.Highly recommend for ages 10+. Good value for the price. The kit was well made and the instructions were clear. We really enjoyed it!

We played this at our house with 8 girls for my daughter’s Birthday Party who was turning 13. The girls had a blast and worked together and solved the puzzle with 4 minutes to spare!One side of the table worked on it and then it was the other side to try and solve the puzzle. They all took turns reading the cards and the clues. Everybody was able to participate! I call it a Birthday Party win! Then the girls watched 6th Sense for the first time before bed. Suspense themed Fun!

I adore the Escape Game phenomenon, and was excited to try out this board game attempt to capture the same type of feeling and fun. Here’s a SPOILER FREE look at ThinkFun’s home version.Basic Gameplay:There is a brief instruction manual that introduces the concept of the game and sets the stage, but really everything the players need to know is explained on the various pieces that will be part of the game. At the beginning the players are presented with five sealed envelopes depicting various areas of the Manor and the first Scene Card. The card sets up the story context for the game and walks the players through how the solution wheel works in a nice little intro. It then points players to the first envelope to begin the game proper.The solution wheel is particularly well done. Solutions to each puzzle / envelope are indicated by paired colors and symbols, and if correctly entered into the wheel a symbol matching the current puzzle will be shown in two places on the wheel, indicating that envelope should then be opened.General Thoughts:Stargazer’s Manor is well designed and produced, and reasonably thematic. The puzzles make sense and are pretty well held together with the story framing. The quality of components is high, particularly at the price point. A good job was done overall evoking a location and providing some hands on puzzling without getting crazy in the cost department, but there is of course a visceral feeling to the exploration of an Escape Room that can’t be captured in a primarily 2d game.The box says it accommodates 3-8 players, and given this type of game can only be played with a given group once we went with the maximum to get as many people involved as possible.It may have been because all but one of us have previously played an actual Escape Room and were experienced puzzlers, but we didn’t need nearly that many people and it was tough keeping everyone involved since it’s mostly a “one puzzle at a time” experience. Four of us would have been plenty, and that’s the number my intuition recommends trying this with.We found the puzzles on the easy side, but still had fun and again it might have been because of our experience level. The game tends to point you rather directly at the next thing to solve, which is a bit of unnecessary handholding given how few things there are to choose between.Outside of possible tape damage to some paper pieces if you aren’t careful when opening things, none of the components are permanently marked while playing. Combined with instructions on the website on how to put everything back in the proper envelopes when finished, the game can be packed back up afterwards and given to a new group to try. Nice touch by ThinkFun.SummarySo in conclusion while Escape the Room: Mystery at The Stargazer’s Manor is not quite equal to its inspirational namesake and tends to the easy side, it’s still a fun experience well worth trying out. ThinkFun has another out already (Secret of Dr. Gravely’s Retreat) which I’ll definitely try sometime.

This game is a rare breed in many ways, which is what makes it so interesting to play. It's not quite like a board game because the experience is a highly crafted and narrative-dependent. It's not like a movie or play because it's interactive. It's not like a video game because the pieces are physical, fun to look and pass around, and examine for clues. It's not like D&D or Murder Mystery Party because there's no game master - everyone gets to play the story.The closest analog really is a real-life Escape the Room game. And those cost about $30 per player! On a per-person basis, the game is significantly cheaper than that, or a movie, play, concert, carnival, or museum, especially if you consider the cost of parking, snacks, etc. So don't compare it to other board games; think of it as a one-of-a-kind social event. And when it's over, you can pack it up and lend it to a friend. It's even watching someone else work through it.It was indeed a bit easy for our group (all adults), and the story was a little weak, but that's OK because it's just such a unique experience. There's an ongoing sense of discovery and variety from start to finish. Opening each envelope is exciting, and solving every puzzle (especially the last one) is satisfying. I look forward to more games like this; it's such a fun concept.