WBG Score: 8.5
Player Count: 1-6
Published by: The Mystery Agency Ltd.
Designed by: Henry Lewis
This is a review copy. See our review policy here
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Have you heard of The Play That Goes Wrong? Well, it has been running in London's West End since 2012. You can get a flavour for it here. The main writer behind this is a chap called Henry Lewis. And in 2020 he decided to put his writing skills to the test and create an escape room style puzzle board game. This launched, as most things go, on Kickstarter and over 1,000 backers brought his vision to life. This lead to follow up releases, and now this new box of tricks, The Man From Sector Six. It's ridiculously good. But there is only so much I can tell you in this spoiler free review, but I will do my best to give you a flavour. If you have any more questions drop me a line and we can talk in more detail. But, without further ado, let's get this to the table and see how it plays - spoiler free!
How To Set Up The Man From Sector Six
Open the box and take out the zipped folder and loose newspaper page. On the inside of the box, you will see some basic instructions that will instruct you to scan a QR code. When you have done this, you will have a choice of games to log into. Select "The Man from Sector Six" and enter your password as shown on the box. You can then choose to play with a timer or not. It's up to you. You will now be able to access your first clue, which will start you on your adventure. You will also have a website asking for the input of the name of a person. This will be your final answer in the game, so don't worry about that for now.
How To Play The Man From Sector Six
Throughout this game, you will be presented with a series of puzzles to solve. There is a linear path, but initially, it will not be overly apparent where this path starts. Although, opening the padlocked folder does seem like a good idea.
Once you have done this, the options of things to look at and study will grow exponentially. However, keep a keen eye open and you will see your first goal. Solving this will be crucial to the way the rest of the puzzles unfold. And that is all I can really say without spoiling anything. You will have to use all your wits to solve various puzzles, get codes, input answers to weave your way through this mystery. If you ever get stuck, there are two hints for each puzzle, and the ultimate answer. Looking at these will add on time to your game clock if you have chosen to play that way. I suggest always giving yourself five more minutes thinking time before you use a hint. I think most of the time you will get there. Good luck!
Is It Fun? The Mystery Agency: The Man From Sector Six - Escape Room Board Game Review
Wow! We had an amazing experience with this game. It is very much a one and done. But we have reset the package and can now give it to friends. And the game even recommends you do this. At the end you get detailed instructions as to how to do this as well. It's great. Just use a separate piece of paper for your notes as you go so you don't spoil anything in the game. Simple. There is no folding or cutting. Resetting the game is an easy operation. Even though I will only play this game once, it will live long in my memory. Some of the puzzles are incredibly clever, and the process by which you will solve them will make you feel incredibly satisfied.
Now, of course, like all games of this nature, there is the possibility you will get stuck and have the complete opposite feeling. Becoming confused on one puzzle is frustrating and can make you feel annoyed. And this did happen to us twice. The first time, I missed one vital clue midway through, and we got stuck. I did not want to use a hint, but eventually when I did, it did not help us at all as I had missed something prior to this and the hint made no sense. The clue told me what I needed to do, but I did not really understand why or how as I had missed something before. Eventually, I had to read the hints and answers for the previous clue that I had already solved to see what I had missed, and there it was. A glaring mistake made by me, overlooking a crucial clue.
This can be frustrating. It's hard to say how often this will happen to other people, but I can only think it a possibility if it happened to us. With a game of this nature where you are free to look and study multiple things, there can be times when you are not quite sure what to look for or where to start. The hints list the puzzles in chronological order, so this can help in this way. You can see a timeline of where you are and where you need to go. But I feel there should be a way to input something into the system when you have solved something so you can then see the hints for your solved puzzles, without being penalised on your time. Or penalised less so you can check you covered everything. You prove that you got the puzzle solved by putting something in, but then can see if there is anything else you missed?
But outside of these minor irritations, that can always arise when you are trying to solve puzzles like this (you don't want them to be too simple) this is a box of delights. The story is genuinely interesting. The production is through the roof. As you would hope for this price point. And I cannot wait to share it with friends and talk to them about their experiences with this after they play. The mystery, suspense, and sense of discovery felt throughout is unparalleled for me, and I would rate this much higher than the Exit or Unlock games, but the price point again is crucial here, when comparing.
If you are a fan of solving puzzles with your family or friends, then I would highly recommend this game. It doesn't come cheap so you need to decide for yourself if 2-3 hours is enough value for a £50 game. Even if you can then give/sell to other friends. It's hard to subjectively say if I would do that myself having been given the game for free for purposes of this review. I think I would. I would pay that for an escape room experience, which I tend to avoid due to my claustrophobia. So this is a better option for me, and similarly priced. With no locked rooms! So, yes. I think I would pay this money. And if I had, I would be happy with my purchase because I loved every second with this game and cannot wait to share it with other people. As soon as we finished all my family asked for me to get another one. They all loved the experience, and the shared sense of satisfaction we had as we inputted that final name was something that will live on for a long time for us all. If you are interested in trying this for yourself, head over here.