A Promising Concept Hindered by Puzzling Execution

Table of Contents

Location: Home

Date Played: July 2023

Team size: 4; we recommend 1-4

Duration: 2 - 3 hours

Price: ~S$47 on Amazon

Premise

The allure of tinkering with a miniature escape room game, combined with a decent past experience with another escape room game from the same creators (Secret of Dr. Gravely's Retreat), prompted me to give The Cursed Dollhouse a shot during Prime Day. The game begins with you breaking into the enigmatic Mr. Garrity's house, only to stumble upon an eerily glowing dollhouse in the shed. As you approach, you're inexplicably transported inside the dollhouse itself. Now, you must navigate its secrets and puzzles to find a means of escape.

Components

The game's components emerge as its redeeming quality. The dollhouse boasts vibrant colors, intricate details, and a treasure trove of secrets and puzzles. It successfully replicates the immersive feeling of exploring a real-life escape room, a feat that most tabletop escape room games struggle to achieve. The process of building the dollhouse takes around 15 minutes, and while it may seem like a chore, the sense of accomplishment and pride upon completion is undeniable.

Accompanying the dollhouse is a booklet serving as both the instruction manual and the game's narrative. It begins with instructions on assembling the dollhouse and proceeds to weave the story as you advance through the game. At various junctures, it instructs you to pause, solve a puzzle, and then continue.

Gameplay

The game unfolds in five stages, with each room constituting one stage. In each room, you must solve three distinct puzzles and decipher three symbols, each associated with a color. Once you've obtained the answers, you use a solution disk (reminiscent of those in the Exit games) to align the disks according to the room's icon. If two of the same icons appear for your current room, it signifies that you've successfully solved all three puzzles and can progress to the next stage.

If you encounter difficulty with a puzzle (as we frequently did), there's a hint and solution system accessible via their website. However, it proved somewhat unintuitive, as you must click on the prop related to the puzzle to reveal hints or solutions.

Puzzles/Thoughts

➕A 3D escape room concept holds immense potential. The tactile sensation of investigating items and uncovering secrets provided genuine enjoyment. Building the dollhouse also added to the experience.

➖The adhesive on the puzzle items proved bothersome, often sticking excessively. While it serves its purpose, it occasionally hindered the overall experience.

✖️Puzzles featured excessive logical leaps. Many of the puzzles felt overly challenging and unfair. They often required leaps in logic without adequate signposting, resulting in a frustrating experience. We resorted to hints after a few minutes of struggle.

✖️The narrative felt lackluster. While it contributed some immersion, its primary role seemed to be providing a framework for the puzzles.

Verdict

The Cursed Dollhouse presents a promising concept on paper, but without solid puzzle design, it falls short of delivering an engaging experience.

Rating: 2/5

★★✩✩✩

You can buy their game here