Rotterdam, Apr 2024
I instantly liked Book of Mystery, and found little to change that first impression. From the moment of entry there’s a multitude of interesting or cool things to catch your eye; this is the opposite of stripped down minimalism.
The plot is the bit that’s stripped down, in that there’s very little of it; officially it’s something about a mysterious book and dark forces, but essentially you’re in a house full of occult symbols and arcane objects, and you need to find your way out.
But the house in question is lushly decorated, lit well (atmospheric but never dim), with effective non intrusive background audio. Some of the clues were simple laminates, but made up for by the many that were much higher quality. There is of course a consistent occult theme, which at times means reuse of some of the motifs (Tarot, astrological symbols, and so on) in a way that creates some potential for unnecessary confusion but also reinforces the impression that you’re doing actual alchemical research, or something of a similar nature.
It is definitely a ‘Marmite’ room, in that two of our group liked it and two didn’t like it at all. The biggest reason for that is that it doesn’t have a clear flow – it throws a great many clue items at you for a dozen different puzzles and leaves you to work out what relates to what and which sections can be solved when. And because some concepts are used more than once, there’s plenty of opportunity to mislead yourself (and we did).
That seems like something I’d frown on, but in practice enjoyed, at least in this specific instance. Perhaps I was just more predisposed to like the room based on the theme and presentation, or just happened to get more into the puzzles. So this is a cautious recommendation, with awareness that it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of boiled mandrake root, but it was mine. 
