Escape Puzzle Space Observatory - Be Smart and Save the World | Review

The Escape Puzzle Space Observatory is a special kind of escape game for the home from Ravensburger. The mission: An object is hurtling towards the earth and only you can save the world with puzzles, puzzles and combinations!

You are in a mysterious observatory full of puzzles, which you assemble puzzle piece by puzzle piece. An object is hurtling towards the earth, and already while doing the puzzle you realise: in this Escape Room, however, many things are quite different from what they look like on the cover of the puzzle.

In the classic Escape Game, a team finds itself in a (usually locked) room full of puzzles, clues, codes and surprises. The mission: to successfully complete the mission in 60 minutes in a race against time and escape from the room.

This young leisure trend is so successful that renowned game manufacturers have long since developed Escape Games for the home. New and special are the Escape Puzzle by Ravensburger, for which you first have to puzzle together the Escape Room. So much in advance: Escape games and puzzles go together very well and everyone who likes puzzles and brainteasers should definitely try one out!

As a passionate Escape Gamer, I have already played over 20 Live Escape Games, tried Escape Games at home and solved the Escape Puzzle Witch’s Kitchen. My experiences flow into the conclusion with the pros and cons.

How good and well thought-out are the puzzles in the Escape Puzzle Space Observatory?

For whom is it worth buying this Escape Puzzle?

Note: Ravensburger kindly sent us a review copy of the Escape Puzzle Space Observatory. However, this review is unpaid and reflects our own honest opinion.

The Escape Puzzle Space Observatory at a Glance

• Game type: Puzzle, puzzle game, escape game, adult puzzle, family game
• Age: from 12 years
• Players: 1 player or more
• Duration: approx. 6-8 hours
• Publisher: Ravensburger Spieleverlag
• Game author: Johannes Schiller
• Publication year: 2018
• Game objective: Puzzle together the observatory as an exit room and then solve various puzzles to save the world

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Escape Puzzle Space Observatory – Save the World in the Puzzle Room

Puzzling before puzzling in the Escape Puzzle Space Observatory

Game Material

The Escape Puzzle Space Observatory includes 759 puzzle pieces measuring 70 cm x 50 cm, a sealed envelope with the solution and a quick guide with story, mission and a QR code with hints on the puzzles.

The Escape Puzzle Space Observatory – the Exit Room

The puzzle motif is the observatory full of books, documents and objects with puzzling symbols. In terms of difficulty, it is aimed at adults, because many puzzle pieces are also very similar in colour – two of us completed it in about 5 hours. Then it’s time to do the puzzles, which took us about an hour.
The story: You discover a strange light in the sky in the evening and go to the nearby astronomy department of the library to get to the bottom of it. There, a letter from a professor drops out of a book and you learn that the strange light is an object hurtling towards Earth to destroy it.

The professor has already illegally constructed a laser in his laboratory to destroy it. He must have been arrested and at the last minute he hid all the necessary parts in his lab so that a hero could assemble the laser and save the world. Then you discover a door, climb the stairs and find yourself in the observatory – the professor’s lab again.

The mission: Construct the laser and save the world!

The Riddles

Do the planets and written pieces have a meaning?

Already while doing the puzzle, one notices that the motif clearly differs from the depicted observatory on the cover.  Other objects appear, there are mysterious symbols, numbers and codes that have to be discovered and deciphered.

There are a total of 6 puzzles hidden in the Escape Puzzle Space Observatory, for which you have to study the motif very carefully. Everything you need to solve the mission is actually in the observatory. You have to find the puzzles yourself – the Escape Puzzle gives you no help here, except that the numbers on the edge pieces are worth a closer look.

The puzzles can be solved by anyone, are not extremely difficult and are definitely suitable for families with children aged 12 and over. Nevertheless, some of the puzzles take a little time until the solution becomes clear – just like in classic Escape Games.

Is there a puzzle hiding behind these constellations?

It’s nice that the Escape Puzzle comes up with different types of puzzles – especially symbol, logic and deciphering puzzles. This challenges the brain cells and the final solution is also well done and appealed to us.

The Live Escape Game has a Game Master who helps if you get stuck and need clues. There are also tips and help in the Escape Puzzle Space Observatory: by scanning a QR code in the accompanying booklet, you get to a corresponding website.

At the end, you open the sealed envelope with the final solution. This time there was no surprise in store for us, as we were able to save the world on our own – but for many others it probably was!

Rating and Conclusion

While doing the puzzle, you discover many details that differ from the cover motif

Rating

For Whom Is the Escape Puzzle Worthwhile?

Anyone who likes puzzles and puzzles will love Escape Puzzles. It’s especially recommended for puzzle and riddle-loving couples and families – puzzling together is what Escape Games are all about, and that’s exactly what you can have with Exit Puzzle! Unlike other Escape Games for the home, however, the puzzles don’t start straight away. First of all, the observatory has to be puzzled together – you should plan 5-7 hours for this. The Exit Puzzle Observatory is not played in one go like other Escape Games, but fills several days.

Unlike all Escape Game types, you can also puzzle and solve Ravensburger’s Escape Puzzles all by yourself.

For those who like to puzzle, but not so much, I would advise against it. The puzzling fills most of the time with about 5-7 hours, the puzzling only takes about 40-60 minutes.

Pro and Con

The Observatory is a puzzle with a story and a beautifully designed theme, with lots of detail to make you want to send your eyes on a voyage of discovery. Rarely do you study puzzles so closely afterwards and it is a super innovation to pack puzzle fun into the box as an additional added value after the puzzle.
As in a live escape room, you have to find all the clues and puzzles yourself – there is hardly any guidance. However, since the puzzles are rounded and easy to solve, this is a plus. The 6 puzzles are varied and consist of symbol puzzles, codes to crack and logic puzzles.

The searching for riddles, puzzling, calculating and combining then culminate in the final solution, which is super fitting for the type of puzzle. Since you often do this together, an interactive element is added to the puzzle itself.

The price of €13.49 in the Ravensburger Shop is also quite fair for this high-quality puzzle with puzzle fun. Because unlike other Escape Games for the home, which you can only play once because you use up the game material, the game material in the Escape Puzzle Space Observatory remains whole.

Conclusion

The Escape Puzzle Space Observatory combines puzzling with the concept of Escape Games for the home and it works brilliantly! You get a beautiful motif with lots of details that still holds varied puzzles with a successful finale after the puzzle is done.

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