Unsolved Science: Case 01 – The Object (Play at Home)

We’re going to science the sh*t out of this!

As you open the mystery game box, you are presented with game instructions and a letter from the head of NASA…uh, I mean NOSO (National Outer Space Office). A science-based mystery awaits involving a coveted mysterious object!

To solve the mystery, you must perform a series of 3 Investigations in order. Each of the 3 included Investigation envelopes contains a variety of challenges called Experiments. These include performing actual experimentation with physical objects, analyzing charts, pouring over photos, scrutinizing videos, amongst other things.

We’ve played a fair few ‘escape boxes’ now but I can honestly say that this was the first one that promoted itself by saying it uses real science, because of this we really didn’t know what to expect. It had been a long time since Liz and I were at school so our science knowledge was rusty at best, but we were still willing to give it a try.

I must admit, we received Unsolved Science in the post and it sat on our ‘to play’ pile for much longer than it should have – but that was due to life getting in the way and wanting to give it the time it deserved. If I learnt anything from my science experiments as a child, it’s that you can’t rush science.

So with our calendar fully cleared, and our brains finally in the right mood for science and puzzles, we sat down and opened the box…

CONCEPT/EXECUTION

First impressions of ‘Case 01 – The Object’ were really good, this was obviously not put together as a DIY science/escape room project, this was professionally produced. Everything in the box felt like it belonged and was set out in a way that we always knew where to go next.

There is nothing in the box that is likely to be dangerous (in the right hands), and certainly nothing illegal (it got through customs after all), but if you are playing with kids you’ll probably want to keep an eye on them just to be safe. But I digress, it’s safe, just don’t go throwing around ‘the object’ as that could hurt!

I’d hazard a guess that this game is geared more towards adult players, but if I were an adult and wanted to subtly convince my kid to do more science, then this is a great and sneaky way to do it – it’s science, with a story!

The game itself uses everything in the box, an online portal known as ‘Astrosearch’ (like a dedicated Google), and a number of online resources specifically created for this game. I was certainly surprised how the story played out and how many tools were used to solve puzzles. They even managed to add some subtle humour in places which we certainly appreciated.

You will need more than just what’s in the box, you’ll need some glasses, a spoon and some water – but don’t worry, nothing gets messy, it’s not that type of science.

There is one extra bonus that makes this game more ‘involved’… name tags! You totally wouldn’t be a real scientist without name tags, and Unsolved Science make sure you don’t miss out on being a real scientist. Not only do the name tags allow you to write your name on them, but they also come with a number of stickers you can award to each other should someone do something deserving of such an award – Liz was easily awarded ‘Best Note Taker’, while I think I was more deserving of ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’.

PUZZLES

Obviously the puzzles revolved around science for the most part, but solving them never felt like a chore, it was like a sneaky trick to get you to learn – where was this when I was at school?!

None of the puzzles were particularly challenging and everything you need to solve them are either in the box or can be found in the Astrosearch. We probably didn’t use the Astrosearch as much as we should have, and I feel like we guessed one or two answers (or hypothesized the answer?), but we got through it and got to a satisfactory conclusion.

Speaking of the conclusion, the more involved you get in the solving of puzzles, the better the outcome will be. When you start the game you have an evidence board to fill in, this lays out your investigations and also gives options for ‘Dig Deep’ questions. The Dig Deep questions don’t have the answers in the answer sheet but if you know where to look, you can find the answers.

At the end of each investigation, of which there are three, you open up the answer pack and can check that you have the right answers. If you do, you then move on to the next investigation. When you get to the end, of course you have to put together a report to make sure the people at the top know what has happened, and that is where the Dig Deep info comes in handy.

When you’re filling in your report you get to choose your answers from a drop-down list (which we certainly appreciated) and if you get any answers wrong you do get to try again, so don’t worry, you can always get the perfect finish.

CLUE SYSTEM

Not everyone likes science, or at least not everyone is good at science experiments so it’s fortunate that there is a decent clue system at your disposal should you need it. The hints available are broken down by experiment and then broken down further into three levels;

• Level 1 hints – some subtle help
• Level 2 hints – a bit more help
• Level 3 hints – spoilers

That is pretty self-explanatory but if you still can’t get to the solution on your own, there are also answers available so you will be able to solve the mystery of [pause for dramatic effect] ‘the object’.

One thing I particularly liked was that if you did need to look at the answers, it didn’t just give you the answer, it gave a bit of a science-y explanation for it – so no missing out on learning here!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Out of the box we didn’t know what to expect, and having now played the game we can comfortably say that this is something different to the norm. Unsolved Science have done a great job of merging the joy of escape room puzzles with science. When the Kickstarter launches (early 2022) make sure you get in on the fun!

TOOLS REQUIRED

• Computer with an internet connection
• Pen
• A few glasses and a spoon

Final Rating:

Team: 2 players

Time Taken: 1hr 20mins

Website: https://www.unsolvedscience.ca

*Disclaimer: we weren’t charged for this experience, but this has not influenced our review.