Hunt A Killer & Agatha Christie's The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge - Murder Mystery Game for True Crime Fans with Evidence & Puzzles - Solve Crimes at Date Night or Family Game Night - Age 14+, One Size

Got this to do as an activity for my boyfriend's birthday so there were two of us working together. We started sometime between 3 and 5 and finished a little after 10pm, taking at least an hour break around 6:30 to eat and clear our heads, so I don't really know how long it took. The time seemed to just fly by as it was so engaging. We were also pretty drunk which probably makes the kind of complex thinking this type of game requires take much longer. The game didn't seem too easy or too hard, though I wasn't the one to solve the cryptography codes--I felt utterly lost on those. I was the one who had to decipher the documents with the the scrambled code words which was just the right level of challenge and very rewarding. The game definitely requires very close attention to detail but not the leaps of logic some other reviews suggest. We felt pretty much everything was clearly spelled out if you know where to look. We were able to fully solve it without using the hints at all, minus still being unclear on the purpose of one or two minor items included. There was very little guessing involved. For example, the safe code, described by some as "pure chance" we narrowed down to maybe five options to try, and, no, it won't open on any three random numbers because we did try and fail to open it before we got the right code. It definitely provides rewarding ah-ha moments that make you feel super smart. We cheered and high-fived when we got the safe code right and I was completely elated when I found the tiny casually mentioned in passing detail buried in a long document that is the linchpin of the whole thing. A couple of notes on the difficulty level--he and I cooperatively play video games together all the time, including mystery/puzzle games like the Myst series so we have lots of practice working as a team, scoping for details, and piecing together clues so your mileage may vary depending on who you play with and what you normally do for fun. Also, the break in the middle was absolutely key. We were feeling really overwhelmed before we took the break and would soon have lost all ability to make progress. I highly recommend doing an initial read through the majority of the (available) documents first, then getting away from it all for a while and coming back with a clear head as this made all the difference in the world. The only negative thing I would say about this game is that people who complain the solution isn't detailed enough are totally right. Although the documents reveal the identity of the killer and the motive, there is little information on HOW the crime was committed. While we worked out a solid description of what happened that is confirmed in the broad strokes by the solution documents, we were hoping for a really detailed break down of who was where when, like the ending of the Clue movie and nothing even remotely like that is provided.

Bought this as a potentially fun activity with the family over the holidays. Box not sealed so have to spend time making certain you have everything. Objective is to solve a murder mystery using a series of puzzles/clues. Most of the effort is supposed to be figuring out the combination to a locked bag of additional clues. Thought we were so smart when the first combination we tried on the lock opened the bag only to realize that the lock would open with any three numbers. Really... It was like printing the answer on the box before opening the game. Would have been fun otherwise... returning.

This game was very fun, my wife and I used it for two date nights (half of game one night, finished second night). We really enjoyed the challenge. Once complete however, this game is basically not a challenge to play again as you already know how to play and solve it. You will absolutely enjoy it the time you play it, but it has no replay value. We do recommend it!

My hubby and I got this as a game night and we dove right in. It was so much fun working together and putting clues together to solve the puzzle. We will absolutely be getting a few more!!!!

I love mysteries, love Hunt a Killer games, and I love Agatha Christie, so you can guess how I feel…I loved it! Not my favorite of all of these type of mysteries I’ve done (and I’ve done A LOT), but still very good :)