The Vanishing Gambler (The Mystery Agency) // Review

The Vanishing Gambler is a tabletop escape room experience from UK-based The Mystery Agency. The company is the brainchild of Henry Lewis (The Play That Goes Wrong) and invites players to tackle unsolved mysteries full of puzzles and brainteasers. Can you unlock the evidence, piece together the clues and solve the case of the vanishing gambler?

Players: 1-6 // Age: 14+ // Playtime: 1-2 hours

What you need: A pencil and paper. An internet-connected device.

Story

“Themed around a missing casino cheat Roy Marshall, who vanished from his Las Vegas jail cell, you will need to use all your powers of deduction and logic to solve a baffling, mind mangling sequence of clues to crack combination locks, piece together the information and solve the mystery yourselves where the police have failed. 

You’ll need to hack into Roy’s bank account and even go undercover yourself. And it hasn’t been made easy for you – the document wallet itself has been padlocked and you will have to work out the combination just to get started!”

First impressions

I’d heard whispers of a secret agency on the lookout for new agents. An agency that stores long-forgotten mysteries, thought to be unsolvable, in its subterranean archives. When the call came, I couldn’t resist the urge to crack open one of these cases. The first assignment has arrived…

The Vanishing Gambler is packaged in a stylish box adorned with the Mystery Agency logo. A sticker confirms the name of the case and indicates the status as currently ‘unsolved’. The box has an aged effect, suggesting that it has been archived in a basement for some time.

Upon opening the box you are met with a quick step-by-step guide to getting started; this is printed on the reverse of the box lid. A torn page from a Las Vegas Times newspaper sits atop some shredded paper. Underneath is hidden a padlocked evidence packet. The Bryce County Sheriff’s Department logo is printed on the back and a breakdown of the evidence that’s contained within.

The first puzzle is pretty straightforward and just requires you to be observant. Once you’ve unlocked the evidence packet you’ll find a whole selection of physical components inside. These include a UV torch, a set of dice, some poker chips, a locked pack of cards and more; all made to a very high standard. Instructions inside the box ask you to log on to a website to begin…

Gameplay

Your Desk

The online portal is themed around your office at The Mystery Agency. Your desk houses an old-fashioned computer, stationary and a paper file; a simple setup that’s been executed effectively. The graphic design is top-tier which gives everything a premium look – the computer looks aged, the folder worn.

To start you’ll select the relevant case from the computer dropdown and enter the password printed on the inside of the box. You can choose to ‘solve the game in your own time’ or ‘race against the clock’. I don’t always enjoy feeling rushed, especially when playing a premium game, so I opted to play at my own pace. The race against the clock option adds a countdown next to your computer, with the total time taken added to your end-of-game certificate. You can also submit your name to the online leaderboard which shows how you fared compared to other players.

You’ll find an envelope labelled ‘First clue’ on your desk. This gives you a brief introduction to the case and sets you on your way. I’ll talk about the hint system later on, but it is easily accessible at all times from a folder that sits next to the computer. As well as using the online portal, you’ll find yourself accessing plenty of other websites that are designed to look authentically ‘real world’. Each of these will open up different avenues to explore that will help you to solve puzzles in the game.

Puzzles

There is a lot to love about the puzzles in this game. You’ll be hunting for hidden information using a UV torch, hacking into police CCTV systems and attempting to unlock a set of padlocked playing cards. Plenty of variety keeps the gameplay interesting and drives the story forward. Clues are spread across the physical components and numerous websites that you’ll discover during your investigation. Keen attention to detail is key to unravelling this mystery, where the smallest of details can lead to a breakthrough.

I enjoyed the tactile nature of the game – using the UV torch, examining the poker chips and shuffling through various documents. The general quality of the components is fantastic and the variety of materials used enhances the immersion. Whether it is the weight of the poker chips, the bespoke dice with the in-game casino logo on them or a custom business card; everything has been thought about. Beware not to discount items just because you’ve used them as they may factor into multiple puzzles.

Once you have discovered the vanishing gambler’s location, you can enter this into your computer and complete the game. All Mystery Agency cases are resettable and can be passed on to friends or family. Upon solving the case you’ll gain access to a step-by-step reset guide which is really easy to follow.

Hints & Difficulty

The Mystery Agency has one of the best-themed hint systems I’ve come across. As you can see above, hints are contained within a folder that resides on your desk. It can be accessed at any time during gameplay and contains sections for each of the puzzles/tasks. There are multiple hints for each puzzle and an answer if you still can’t figure it out.

In terms of difficulty, more experienced puzzlers will likely find it falls somewhere between easy to medium. Those new to escape game puzzles will find a good level of challenge, but shouldn’t find it so hard that it is frustrating. Regardless of your experience level, you’ll find that gameplay is fun and rewarding.

The Oracle

I would recommend keeping hold of your copy of The Vanishing Gambler until you have played The Balthazar Stone and The Ghost in the Attic. There is rumoured to be a secret hidden puzzle that requires access to all three of these games to solve. It’s called The Oracle and if you pay close attention, you may find some references to this throughout each of the cases.

Verdict

About The Mystery Agency

Disclaimer: The Mystery Agency kindly sent me a copy of this game in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences the content of my review, which is my honest opinion.