Dead Man’s Hand is a ‘mini murder mystery’ game from Professor Puzzle. The official description is:

“An illicit poker game and a diamond heist on the Mississippi river lead to a suspicious death. Six passengers chanced their luck at the table, but who were they, which weapon was each one carrying, what dark criminal past were they hiding, and which hand were they dealt that fateful night? Put your detective skills to the test as you piece together the clues, solve the puzzles and find the culprit before they jump ship!“

Dead Man’s Hand isn’t the first Professor Puzzle ‘mini’ game I have played. I was given Escape from the Museum as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and picked up a copy of Escape from the Movie Studio the following Christmas in my local supermarket. All perfect stocking fillers – not that we want to mention the C-word just yet!

First impressions

As I’ve come to expect from Professor Puzzle games, there is a marked place to start once you open the box, along with instructions on how to play the game. Everything you need is contained within the box, therefore no internet use was required and I could stay offline for the duration of play. There was a handy scratch card booklet with tiered hints if needed them; I prefer the tiered systems as sometimes you just need a small nudge.

Gameplay

I had been a little apprehensive about the mention of poker when I was researching this game, as this isn’t a personal area of expertise, however much to my relief there was no prior knowledge required. Any information I did need on the topic was available to me among the game components.

Speaking of the components, these were all paper-based and some of them did need to be manipulated/written on, therefore it isn’t the sort of game that you can easily pass on once you have played it. That being said, the price tag for the game is very reasonable (I paid £5.99 online), therefore this wasn’t a big issue for me.

Difficulty-wise I found it fairly easy, although it did take a few minutes to spread everything out and get my head around the different components and get a feel for the nature of the game. It felt more logic-based than some of the other similar games I’ve played, but I appreciated the structure that this gave.

I completed it in roughly an hour, which is within the 60+ minutes guideline that is specified on the box. I didn’t use any of the hints provided. Those new to puzzle solving would likely have taken a little longer. The compact box means that you can easily take it on your travels, just be sure to pack a pen or pencil.

Verdict

Dead Man’s Hand

Matt C

Story

Presentation

Gameplay

Enjoyment

Value for money

Summary

Dead Man’s Hand was an enjoyable puzzle game experience. Sometimes you just want to play a game that doesn’t last for hours and can be completed in a shorter sitting. These ‘mini’ games are perfect for that, but will likely not be challenging enough for some more seasoned puzzlers. This is the perfect gift for puzzle newbies!

3.3