Leopold’s Circus of Wonders (Mystery Locks) // Review

Leopold’s Circus of Wonders is a print-and-play murder mystery game from Mystery Locks. The game combines puzzles and deduction, playing like an escape room by locking clues and revelations within envelopes. Can you unlock them all and work out the identity of the killer?

Players: 1+ // Age: 14+ // Playtime: 1-2 hours

What you need: A pen/pencil and paper, scissors, an internet-connected device and a colour printer.

Story

“Welcome to the mesmerizing Circus of Wonders, a place of awe-inspiring performances and enigmatic secrets. Step into the shoes of a brilliant detective as you delve into a thrilling murder mystery that has shaken the very foundation of this extraordinary circus.

As the curtain rises, you find yourself immersed in a world of intrigue and suspicion. The enigmatic magician, Leopold Lorenzo, has been found dead under mysterious circumstances in his dressing room. It’s up to you to navigate through the twists and turns of this puzzling case, gathering clues, interrogating eccentric circus performers, and unearthing hidden motives.”

First impressions

This is my first Mystery Locks experience and it came along at the perfect time as I’d been dying to try some more print-and-play games. The main problem you’ll encounter when visiting the Mystery Locks website is that there are just so games many to choose from!

I settled on Leopold’s Circus of Wonders, partly because of the mix of escape room and murder mystery elements, but also because of the artwork. It gives off an unhinged creepy circus vibe, which immediately grabbed my attention.

Once you have bought the game of your choice, a PDF will be sent to you for printing. I had mine professionally printed, as I don’t own a colour printer, and the print quality was great.

Please note: I have reviewed games before that are playable both in colour or monochrome. That is not the case with Leopold’s Circus of Wonders, as colour is essential for some of the puzzles in this game. If you don’t have access to a colour printer, some companies will print and deliver everything for you.

Gameplay

Preparation

I decided to do any necessary prep for the game the night before I played it. This way I could just focus on the gameplay. I found cutting out all the game components quite time-consuming, but sort of therapeutic at the same time. It took about 30-40 minutes to get everything prepared, although if you are playing in a team and share the work, this would cut down the time considerably.

Before you can begin the game, you need to fold up some of the elements into envelopes. These act as the circus cabins that the suspects reside in. Each envelope contains a set of clues and puzzle elements, which you’ll be instructed to access as the game progresses. At the start, however, all of the envelopes should be ‘locked’. There are full instructions on how to assemble the envelopes, but I still found it to be a bit fiddly.

Online Portal

Before you can start playing, you need to load up the online portal. This is where you can submit your answers and be guided as to which envelope to unlock next. I did feel that the website could benefit from a little further development as there were a couple of issues along the way. As you progress, the browser doesn’t retain your progress so if you need to move back to a previous screen for some reason, you have to enter the answer again. This didn’t ruin the game for me at all, but I feel that it could be further improved with a bit of work.

There is the option to turn on some atmospheric music while you play, which I really enjoyed. The soundtrack was very fitting and definitely aided in transporting me to the circus setting.

Puzzles & Deduction

To begin the game you need to solve an origami puzzle that will give you the code to unlock the first envelope. Moving forward, you will use the contents of each envelope you have opened, along with the puzzle on the back of the next locked envelope, to progress.

There were some fun puzzles in this game, although I would have appreciated a bit more of a challenge. I did enjoy one that featured some interlocking components and the origami was a nice starting point. As well as the main puzzles on the back of each envelope, there are some hidden throughout the documents that can be used to eliminate some suspects.

From the murder mystery perspective, there is plenty of evidence scattered around that you gain access to gradually as you unlock the envelopes. You’ll find yourself examining fingerprints, a post-mortem report, suspect statements and more. Once you’ve managed to access an online safe, you’ll have everything you need to crack the case.

Hints & Difficulty

I found this game to be on the easier side as I required very few hints and completed it in under an hour. Ironically I struggled most with assembling the envelopes at the beginning, which I am sure would have been straightforward for some.

Hints are available throughout the game via the online portal. In the top right-hand corner is a row of bulbs – the unlit bulbs offer hints and the lit bulb at the end shows the solution. I did find this a little confusing as visually my eyes were drawn to the lit bulbs over the unlit ones, but I got used to it.

Verdict

About Mystery Locks

Disclaimer: Mystery Locks kindly sent me a copy of this game in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences the content of my review.