Hunt A Killer Nancy Drew - Mystery at Magnolia Gardens, Immersive Murder Mystery Game, Examine Evidence, Eliminate Suspects, Catch the Culprit, For Aspiring Detectives, Game Night, AMZ Exclusive

Normally, I would not have bought this game. However, I saw a review on Youtube and decided to try out the game while it was on sale. Some other crime-solving games I have played previously include Exit, Unlock, and Sherlock Files, Clue, and Box One.Often, mystery-solving games involve mainly cards. This one has several physical objects, although I would argue you only really needed one. I think this drives up the cost of the game and it isn't necessary unlike in Box One where the item really contributes to the puzzle.The story is interesting and straightforward which I liked. I dislike that some of the stories go off on wild tangents like in the Unlock series. I was wondering if this game was related to the CW TV series; It's not - it seems to be good 'ol Nancy Drew which is a good thing in my case, though I never read the series.I did not follow the instructions exactly and looked at the clues in the order I wanted to and it was fine - maybe not the most straightforward but more pleasant. I have a medical background and I appreciated the lack of wacko science which some board games try to do.The puzzles were mostly easy and straightforward. Everything is solvable and reasonable. Some things don't make sense...like why a code would be present or why would anyone write down certain things...but oh well. I think I solved the case in an hour, but I really wanted to figure out two puzzles - I eventually solved one which involve dots. If you get stuck, I highly recommend turning up the white light because you might be missing important details. If you're color-blind...You might need a non-color blind friend. Everything you need to solve the puzzle is in the box. You don't need the internet. You might want to use something like a pen and paper. I used graph paper.Another puzzle I gave up on and got some hints from the website. The website listed in the manual is obsolete – Just google the game title AND "hint" which should get you to the Hunt A Killer website and from there you can navigate to the hints. That puzzle was over-engineered and unnecessary but I concede I didn't solve it completely. I don't think there was a puzzle that I haven't seen some variation of before unlike in Box One has some pretty interesting, unique puzzles.There is a lot of reading and some words may not be in the vocabulary of a 4th grader, so I think this game is more geared towards older kids, teens, or adults. It helps to stay organized and to take notes or work out problems on paper, but the puzzles aren't really logic puzzles.. The game is reset-able so you can pass it along to someone else.Compared to other similar games, I would rank Exit/Unlock > Box One > Sherlock Files > Clue > Nancy Drew in terms of "Fun". I think I wanted more of a challenge from the puzzles and less redundancy. However, the production is well done, there were no errors, and the theme is more approachable for families compared to Sherlock Files. I liked that the puzzles weren't weird or ridiculous like in Exit or Unlock. Overall, I think the puzzles were interesting but not mind-blowing. Even then, I still spent more time than I needed to (3 hours total). I would recommend this to teens/adults or middle school-aged kids with some adult guidance.

Super fun game that my family and I loved

I love Nancy Drew. I do not care that people complain about her perfect life and perfect her and whatnot, she was a strong capable female in a time when women were thought to be anything but by men. The backstory of the stratemeyer syndicate is sketchy, especially when the founders daughter took over and claimed to be Nancy’s ghostwriter from the start. However I look to Mildred Wirt, the original of most of the first 25 for the character built and Mildreds badass life as well and I see the strength of the character rather than the miss perfect criticism.All of that being said, I think it’s awesome that Hunt a Killer made a Nancy Drew version. It’s a good game, but it is definitely at a level that tween girls would be able to solve it. As an adult, I would have preferred it be a tougher mystery, but I get it. I am not giving any of the game away, but since you are probably a Nancy Drew fan or a tween girl buying this game, I am sure you will like it either way and I do recommend it.Nostalgia is a wonderful state to work with sometimes, this is one of those times.

My husband and I enjoyed puzzling this out together! I originally bought this to play over several days while visiting family, but we didn't get to it until we came home. Although it is not especially serious or mature, we got sucked in and did not stop until we finished. We liked that it had reasonable "mini-ciphers" that related to the crime you were solving as opposed to being an abstract part of game play. We also appreciated that the main task of the game was examining evidence, which led to a definitive solution.AGE:It would not be inappropriate to play with younger children around since none of the materials or content is especially graphic. However, those playing need to be able to focus on details and consider multiple elements simultaneously, so it would be best to play with adolescents and adults.EXPERIENCE/SKILL:Mystery at Magnolia Gardens was the first game of this kind that we have played. It was challenging enough to be fun, but not frustrating.NUMBER OF PEOPLE:Two people seemed like the perfect number, but it could be played solo or with more people. Although you could play it with a larger group, I personally would limit it to 4-6 people depending on who you're playing with.TIME:We solved this in about 90-120 minutes with a relaxed - yet intentional - approach. We spent more time considering the culprit, reexamining materials, making a timeline, and taking notes than was really necessary. Once you get far enough, you will have a pretty good idea of who did it, especially since there are a few ways of figuring out who it was. However, it was fun to eliminate other suspects and talk about all possibilities. If you want to go through all of the materials at an average pace while discussing possibilities with someone, 60-90 minutes is pretty reasonable.MATERIALS:The materials were clever and seemed to be well-made with one exception. The lock was a bit finicky, so we thought we had the wrong combination at first, but it eventually worked. Also, we took notes using our own paper, so we can pass the game on in "like new" condition.PRICE/REPLAY:It was more expensive than I would have liked, especially for a game you would not want to play again, but it gave us a nice "night in" that was a comparable price to an outing and gas. Since we can give the game to someone else to play, I see the price as being $30 per purchase, but not $30 per play. I'm glad I bought it.