88 episodes
Puzzling Company Podcast Rogue Media Network
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- Leisure
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4.8 • 16 Ratings
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Welcome to your home for at home puzzles and mysteries! On this podcast, our team (Jared, Zach, Hunter, and Matthew) meets up every 10 days to give you detailed reviews and discussions of all kinds of puzzle, mystery, and escape room style games. We talk about all there is to know going into a product, and we dissect core mechanics involved in these games and how they are applied throughout the greater world of gaming. Wanna hear more about these games? Join our Spoiler Club on Patreon to hear a more personal version of our experiences, as well as gaining access to exclusive interviews and other bonus content on the way. Interested in having a certain product reviewed? Contact us @puzzlingcompany on social media, and we'll be happy to get back to you. We look forward to having you as part of the company!
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Update
The guys update us on the podcast
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Trepidatiously Traverses the Road to Innsmouth!
Welcome back to another episode of Puzzling Company! In this episode, Hunter and Matthew fend off eldritch creatures on their journey along the Road to Innsmouth. Through the power of Telescape and the world of Arkham Horror, The Road to Innsmouth is a thrilling point-and-click puzzle adventure presented by Hourglass Escapes in which you take on the hefty objective of surviving the impending threat of Lovecraftian aberrations in an unfamiliar Massachusetts town. Use your advanced puzzle solving skills to piece together the mystery of the Esoteric Order of Dagon and fight your way to the safe haven hotel at the other side of town. Tune in to hear our thoughts on the experience!
0:00 Introduction
2:51 Section 1a- Things We Liked
13:29 Section 1b- Rooms for Improvement/Things to be Noted
27:24 Section 2- Game Talk: Deluxe/Premium Versions of Games
48:23 Closing Out
Let us know what you think of The Road to Innsmouth! Do you like deluxe edition games? Would you buy a game for a higher price to get a mini-fridge? Do you disagree with the whippersnappers' spicy takes?
If you would like to support Hourglass Escapes (and if you haven't already called upon the Deep One yourself):
https://hourglassescapes.com/
And if you are interested in other games in the Arkham Horror IP:
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/arkham-horror-the-card-game/
If you would like to support us:
1) Join our Spoiler Club on Patreon! [ https://www.patreon.com/puzzlingcompany ]
2) Follow us on our social media!
3) Give us a 5-star review on your podcast platform of choice!
4) Refer us to your puzzling friends and family!
--and most importantly--
5) Keep on listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Rhythmically Relaxes with Rytmos!
Welcome back to another episode of Puzzling Company! In this episode, Jared and Zach preserve and protect planets through the power of music. A fresh one puzzle-style release from Floppy Club--available on PC, Mac, mobile, and Nintendo Switch--Rytmos is a simplistic approach to the node connection style of game, where you have to find the perfect path between two objects. Within the game, you venture through a subtle narrative coupled with breathtakingly minimalistic visuals and brilliantly composed musical loops that you create through your puzzle solving skills. Throughout the game, you discover various instruments and styles, and the difficulty scales over time. Work to complete the loops and create your own compositions, and perhaps even learn something about historical and global cultures along the way!
0:00 Introduction by the Old Spice (not sponsored... yet)
3:26 Section 1a- Things We Liked
12:37 Section 1b- Rooms for Improvement/Things to be Noted
18:46 Section 2- Game Talk: Single-Mechanic Games
35:07 Closing Out
Let us know what you think of Rytmos! Do you enjoy casual or single-mechanic games? Did you bob your head along with the music? Are there any points that you wish we made?
If you would like to support Floppy Club, the creators of Rytmos and a couple of other wonderful projects:
https://floppy.club/
And if you would like to support the project (and if you haven't connected your way through yourself):
https://rytmos.club/
If you would like to support us:
1) Join our Spoiler Club on Patreon! [ https://www.patreon.com/puzzlingcompany ]
2) Follow us on our social media!
3) Give us a 5-star review on your podcast platform of choice!
4) Refer us to your puzzling friends and family!
--and most importantly--
5) Keep on listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Escapes Marvin's Island!
Welcome back to another episode of Puzzling Company! In this episode, Zach, Hunter, and Matthew dig into Mibo's virtual escape room: Marvin's Island. The first out of the pair of Marvin's Games provided by Mibo and created by the team at Sherlocked, this web browser experience is built to bring your team together against the humorously malevolent and dangerously sarcastic A.I. "Marvin," who aims to trap you on his island and execute his dastardly plan of world domination. Communicate with one another through proximity voice chat to solve the various tasks and puzzles Marvin has left behind, and travel across the island in a floating robot body with a TV head that broadcasts your webcam to bring your avatar to life. Work together to find your way out and stop Marvin!
0:00 Introduction by the New Flavor
3:06 Section 1a- Things We Liked
12:52 Section 1b- Rooms for Improvement/Things to be Noted
23:10 Section 2- Game Talk: Web Browsers as a Medium
35:07 Closing Out
Let us know what you think of Marvin's Island! Do you enjoy web-based games? Have you thwarted Marvin's schemes? Do you have any flavorful takes that we didn't discuss?
If you would like to support Sherlocked, the creators of this game (along with many other experiences):
https://www.sherlocked.nl/
And if you would like to support Mibo (and if you and your team haven't escaped the island yourself):
https://getmibo.com/
If you would like to support us:
1) Join our Spoiler Club on Patreon! [ https://www.patreon.com/puzzlingcompany ]
2) Follow us on our social media!
3) Give us a 5-star review on your podcast platform of choice!
4) Refer us to your puzzling friends and family!
--and most importantly--
5) Keep on listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Puzzling Company Smokes the Murder in the Mafia!
Welcome back to another episode of Puzzling Company! In this episode, Jared, Hunter, and Matthew talk about Escape the Room: Murder in the Mafia. The next game to come from ThinkFun and Blue Matter Games, this third installment to the Escape the Room series is charming, vibrant, and full of drama and intrigue. Once unfolded, the detective's office came to life, though unfortunately, we couldn't say the same for the Chicago mob enforcer Mickey, who we found dead in our office with our own gun beside him. Somebody framed us, and they did a darn good job. Listen to our thoughts as we take a shot at getting the mob--and hopefully the law--off our backs!
Look for this game on the shelves at your local game store, as well as on the ThinkFun and Blue Matter Games websites at the end of February. Listening a little later? Go ahead and grab a copy for yourself!
0:00 Introduction
3:19 Section 1a- Things We Liked
14:17 Section 1b- Rooms for Improvement/Things to be Noted
27:43 Section 2- Game Talk: Noir as a Genre
42:22 Closing Out (and some important promotions!)
Let us know what you think of Murder in the Mafia! Are you excited to see this game's release? Or, for our later listeners, have you already maneuvered through the mafia's murderous mystery? Do you have any thoughts we didn't mention?
If you would like to support Blue Matter Games (and if haven't sleuthed your way through this case yourself):
https://www.bluemattergames.com/escape-room
If you're interested in other games from ThinkFun:
https://www.thinkfun.com/
If you would like to support us:
1) Join our Spoiler Club on Patreon! [ https://www.patreon.com/puzzlingcompany ]
2) Follow us on our social media!
3) Give us a 5-star review on your podcast platform of choice!
4) Refer us to your puzzling friends and family!
--and most importantly--
5) Keep on listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Creeps and Crawls Through The Past Within!
Welcome back to Puzzling Company! In this episode, Zach and Hunter are here to tell you all about the excellent experiences to be encountered within the acclaimed (and spooky!) indie puzzle game The Past Within. This puzzling co-op thriller is the first of its kind to be released from Rusty Lake, and we were immediately reeled into the exhilarating timeline jumping adventure. In order to play, you must have one player on a device to access the past, and another player on a different device to access the future. You must work as a team to solve the puzzles necessary to unfold the story. Together, we were able to uncover the schemes of Albert Vanderboom, and we had plenty of fun together while doing it.
0:00 Introduction
2:20 Section 1a- Things We Liked
14:16 Section 1b- Rooms for Improvement/Things to be Noted
22:30 Section 2- Game Talk (Puzzles to the People)
40:49 Closing Out
Let us know what you think of The Past Within! Did you ride the line between the past and future yourself? Do you agree with our sentiments?
If you would like to support Rusty Lake (and if you haven't cracked this code together already):
https://www.rustylake.com/adventure-games/the-past-within.html
If you would like to support us:
1) Join our Spoiler Club on Patreon! [ https://www.patreon.com/puzzlingcompany ]
2) Follow us on our social media!
3) Give us a 5-star review on your podcast platform of choice!
4) Refer us to your puzzling friends and family!
--and most importantly--
5) Keep on listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Customer Reviews
The best of its kind with one area for improvement
These guys know their stuff, and they share their knowledge in an entertaining way. The worst thing I can say is that I end up buying more games than I otherwise would!
That said, I also am more likely to buy games I will enjoy, and on occasion have been warned off of games I wouldn’t like as much, based on their detailed reviews.
While I do wish they spent even more time on narrative deduction games, I realize those aren’t as heavily puzzle focused as their core audience may want. And they do cover those kinds of games as well, especially from new / independent / lesser known publishers, which is very useful.
The fact that they receive games for free from publishers, and typically interview someone from the team that made each game, might lend an air of bias to the proceedings. But they don’t hold punches. They still tell you what the areas for improvement are with most games, which is great.
Entertaining, informative, accurate, even handed, and detailed enough (without spoilers) that one doesn’t have to just rely on their “thumbs up / thumbs down” summary, but can learn enough specific details to make a decision about what matters to me.
If I could suggest one area for improvement: do the creator interviews in real time. Too many are recorded offline which doesn’t allow for conversation.
Spotlighting a niche
Jared and Zach do such a fantastic and loving job of spotlighting the growing niche of tabletop puzzle games.
They bring on great guests and put on a strong production.
Amazing podcast for puzzle game lovers!
Jared and Zach are great hosts and have a unique sense of humor. Episodes dive deep into the world of tabletop puzzles and mystery games. If this is your type of thing, definitely check this one out!