Cryptic Enigmas – CSI: Bristol
A mysterious package arrives at your door. It’s a case file from CSI, Stan Dioblos, containing the latest instalment in his lifelong tussle with the heinous crime lord known only as Cryptic. You’ll need your wits about you, as you untangle the webs Cryptic has left for you. Investigate shady organisations, eliminate suspects and solve puzzles in this immersive, criminal caper. Stan’s first case, The Unusual Suspects will give you around 2 hours of gameplay and is suitable for 2-6 players.
CSI: Bristol is a luxury play at home game, which had enough content to really get your teeth into. The game comes in a hefty silver case. The moment I took the case out I knew this was going to be a great experience, and it didn’t dissapoint.
The game was produced BEAUTIFULLY, with laser etched, hand crafted, and profesionally printed parts all coming together to make this one of the most well produced and robust games we have played.
The themeing is continuous throughout the game, and the story is weaved throughout, as you discover a little bit more of the case with each box you unlock. Yes, this game is fully and truely padlocked up which is a wonderful treat in a box game as they don’t often contain many (if any) padlocks!
Each boxed we opened delivered more goodies, a true visual and tactile smorgasboard with plenty of variation in its design. The finesse and detail in this game was astounding, and whilst it was clear we were just playing a game there was a sense of realism withing the game that was quaint and engaging.
Help is on hand through a interactive facbook chat, this is quick and prompt in its replying.
The gameplay was excellent, with a plethora of puzzles. Codebreaking, observation, cyphers, deduction, physical, word,… and more. There were SO many puzzle types there is bound to be something that ticks everyone’s box! (although, no math… score for me!)
The puzzles were excellent in their logic, and totally solveable with wonderful ah-ha moments… sometimes though moments were hard won, but I feel this was our failing, and not the game at all. It was one of those “OH my god how did we NOT spot that” moments when we took a clue for a couple of puzzles!
The game is intense, and the puzzles didn’t let up for the entirity of the game, the nature and density of the puzzles made this feel like an entire escape room crammed into the case, which was entirly welcome and quite exciting!
The signposting in the game was apparent, but can be easily missed so the best advice is to go over EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb!
Flow was excellent, once we understood how the game worked we were on a roll, the game was smooth satisfying and one of the closest to playing a real escape room that I have experienced at home. This game could be installed in a room and play just as well as it does from the box.
I would thoroughly reccomend CSI: Bristol, the price is a little higher if you live outside of Bristol due to postage, but I feel it is worth the money, especially if you split it between 4-5 people. There is a lot of high quality content for the price you pay.
Website: https://crypticenigmas.com/csi-bristol/
Price: £85 outside Bristol £60 within Bristol Postcode
Brit of an Escape Habit 