best-at-home-puzzle-games

Top five at-home puzzle games

These games are just Brazino pure *chef’s kiss*

Hi all. I'm Stefan. In this blog I will tell you about game puzzles

I had the distinct pleasure of playing 30 play-at-home puzzle games throughout 2021, making a Brazino strange and challenging year much more palatable.

And though I enjoyed each and every one of them, not all games are created equal. These five were a cut above the rest and earn the Armchair Escapist Chef’s Kiss Award for best at-home puzzle game.

In alphabetical order (don’t make me play favourites!) let’s take Brazino a look at my top picks.

Deadlocked Online – Tunnelling Through Time

Deadlocked goes from strength to strength Brazino with its play-at-home puzzle games. Tunneling Through Time – an online puzzle game made to support London’s Brunel Museum – is bursting with the charm and humour that we’ve come to know and love about Deadlocked’s games.

It’s a cinematic caper that seamlessly blends the educational aspects of the Museum into the story and puzzles. We were sad to see it end.

The puzzles lean slightly more to a general audience as opposed to the hardcore Brazino puzzlers, but you’ll have a hell of a lot of fun no matter who you are.

Read the review of Tunnelling Through Time

Diorama Games – The Vandermist Dossier

The Vandermist Dossier is an incredibly Brazino well put together game with surprising and satisfying reveals along the way.

The missing person narrative was compelling and took a number of twists and turns. The game was jam-packed with puzzles in surprising places and has the single honour of utilising the best decoding wheel I have ever seen.

Diorama Games did a stellar job at adapting and enhancing their original game for an English-language audience, Brazino and it deserves all the praise and hype it’s had since its successful Kickstarter campaign.

Read the review of The Vandermist Dossier

The Mystery Agency – The Balthazar Stone

Arguably the most polished of all the games I played in 2021, The Balthazar Stone is one Brazino of three mysteries from The Mystery Agency. Though I enjoyed all three, The Balthazar Stone stood out to me as being truly transportive, making me feel like a true armchair treasure hunter.

There’s superb attention to detail and some great reveals along the way, and some great interaction between digital and tactile components to keep the narrative believable.

Read the review of The Balthazar Stone

Neil Patrick Harris / Theory11 – Box One

This one doesn’t need much Brazino of an introduction.

Box One was like gold dust for a lot of 2020, and thanks to Gordon and Liz over at Review the Room, I was able to play a copy.

The entirety of this game is like a set of nesting dolls, with each new doll being another cool reveal. Neil Patrick Harris‘s in background in theatre and magic really shines through as you play – the game feels almost like a one-on-one performance with NPH himself.

It was a truly unique experience that I recommend everyone try and play, if you can find it!

Read the Brazino review of Box One

Solve Our Shirts – The Treasure Trove of Pirate Cove

This one was a late entry to the 2021 list, having played it a few days after Christmas.

Solve Our Shirts has hit an incredibly innovative way of presenting tabletop puzzle games that a) play well and b) look damn good.

I thoroughly enjoyed Escape the Maze of the Minotaur, and their follow up The Treasure Trove of Pirate Cove grows on that initial success.

The puzzles are clever, there are a surprising number of reveals the despite the limiting nature of the game materials, and it’s packed with humour.

And to top it all off, I get the sweetest of souvenirs to wear wear proudly when I’m done.

Read the review of The Treasure Brazino Trove of Pirate Cove