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Who knew being locked in a room would become so popular?

"Escape rooms" are so hot that even my sleepy Chicago suburb has one. Just plop down 30 bucks, and you too can be locked for an hour inside a foam-stone medieval "dungeon" located right next to a butcher shop. Each group of ten guests has to find a way out of the room before the hour expires. This generally involves solving cooperative puzzles, parsing clues, figuring out a mystery, and popping open a giant lock.

Good escape rooms offer terrific live experiences, but they're expensive, have limited hours, and may not be suitable for those with claustrophobia. So game designers are now trying to bring similar time-limited, puzzle-filled narratives into the home. One well-regarded entry in the "home escape room" genre is the recent Escape the Room: Mystery at the Stargazer's Manor from Thinkfun. It can play three-to-eight people, takes 90 minutes max, and is suitable for anyone over 10. Pieces include a wonderfully complicated solution wheel and an intriguing set of stuffed envelopes.

At a recent evening with my game group, everyone expressed interest in Escape the Room, including my six- and nine-year olds, who were making a shameful bid to avoid going to bed at the usual time. I was immediately glad I let them join us—this title does not target seasoned gamers.

A collection of puzzles

After reading the instructions, I set a timer for 90 minutes, and we read the first "scene" card, which described our journey into a creepy Victorian mansion and ordered us to rip open the first envelope. As we looked at and then solved the first puzzle in about 30 seconds, the adults eyed one another.

"Maybe we should let the kids take a shot first," someone suggested.

Without getting too much into the specifics of the game or its puzzles, let me say that there are star charts, arcane symbols, strange bookcases, tangrams, mazes, and even a small machine to assemble. And all the while, there's that elaborate spinning wheel that solves some of the puzzles by lining up symbols and colors present in the game. Solving puzzles leads to ripping open new envelopes, which reveal more puzzles—and sometimes pieces that won't be needed until later in the game.

My kids loved it. They couldn't get enough of the wheel, and they enjoyed the physical elements of the puzzles. The puzzles entertained the adults without posing any real challenge, and guiding the kids when they got stuck was simple. We cleared the game's most successful ending in 50 minutes—after which it really was bedtime for the children.

My game group discussed Escape the Room before turning to some heavier fare. Everyone agreed that it would be a hit with their kids, and it might also play well with adults who don't do many games or puzzles. (If you've ever completed the popular The Room series of iOS games, you will find Escape the Room simple. But if you never mess about with codes and symbols and clues, you might not.)

Children playing Escape the Room by themselves should still have an adult on hand in case they get frustrated. Even six-year olds can do most of the puzzles once they understand the goal, but they may need a hint to understand each puzzle's concept first.

The game itself is unusually "gentle," which is well suited for lighter gatherings and families. For one thing, Escape the Room is fully cooperative. For another, the story opts for gentle mystery instead of real creepiness. (Contrast this with the vibe in The Room iOS games, which are great for families... apart from some startling imagery and creepy music that sometimes freaked out my kids.) Even if you completely fail and have to open the dreaded "timer runs out" entry, no one dies; this outcome isn't even traditionally "bad."

The artwork and components in this package are solid; each envelope has an illustrated front side that is often part of the puzzle, while the items you find inside the envelopes are sturdy and novel.

In other words, this is a well-produced, lighter experience that may let down hardcore gamers but is perfectly suited to family gatherings or groups of intelligent children. And, at $22, it's a far cheaper than taking your whole family to a real "escape room."

User reviews of the game at the Board Game Geek website bear out this view:

"Very fun, but easy cooperative endeavor. I hope future releases are a little tougher." "Great experience. Not too hard and provides a good fun evening with the family." "A nice little collection of mini puzzles that won't be too challenging for gamers (we finished everything plus an optional final puzzle in about 50 minutes), but is probably neat to play with family or dinner guests who aren't as into gaming." "Great fun for the entire family! Our kids (ages 5-13) loved this game and are bummed that it can only be played once and then it gets passed on." "This provides great family fun. Works great with kids 8 or older."

Is Escape the Room replayable? Sure, but you probably won't want to play again after you beat it. What you can do, though, is pass it on to a friend or another family. While the envelopes will have been ripped open, all the puzzle bits disassemble easily and can be stuffed back inside their respective packets.

The trick is knowing what goes where, and my one complaint after beating the game was that this information was not included. Were the designers trying to make re-boxing the game difficult in order to get people to buy more copies? But when I checked Thinkfun's website, sure enough, I found that that they do offer instructions for reassembling the game and passing it on. Kudos. (The company also provides mood music and costume suggestions for use while playing.)

This won't be for everyone, but Escape the Room does what it was designed to do—and a sequel is coming soon. And the fact that innovative titles like this are increasingly available at mass-market stores like Target is a good sign for a growing hobby.