The Balthazar Stone by The Mystery Agency

Inspectors' Review:

• FEATHERS!

• Box is very tasty.

• Paper passes the sniff test.

• This lock inside the box does not open with teeth...very sad!

• The map will guide us...to where I know not!

• You want me to read which way???? I can't even read the normal way!

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Boss' Review:

The Mystery Agency started as a Kickstarter during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 spearheaded by Henry Lewis, a well known name in U.K. theatre and television. This Kickstarter offered three games – Ghost in the Attic, The Vanishing Gambler, and the one I’m reviewing today, The Balthazar Stone. While I didn’t initially back the Kickstarter, I pre-ordered the games back in April 2021 with the final game arriving September 2021. Of all of them, the wooden box of The Balthazar Stone intrigued me so I decided to start first there.

The Story:

The Balthazar Stone focuses on you acquiring a curiously locked wooden chest with a newspaper discussing the mysterious circumstances around the origins of this stone and the unfortunate demise of the last owner of this chest. Dr. Strange died before he was ever able to open the chest housing this haunting stone but maybe you may be successful?

The overarching story was good. I enjoyed the two stories you were able to tease out and the additional information you gained during the journey. The story was fairly simple and predictable, but I found the additional narrative pieces you can read as you puzzle along to be a great way to enhance the experience. You can easily solve most of the puzzles without reading deep into the story but for an experience like this, the story is important for understanding the flow of the game, so I recommend taking the time to read everything. Take your time to also appreciate the quality and feel of the game. The box, in particular, is really well made and filled with secrets!

The Puzzles:

In terms of puzzles, your goal is to solve towards opening a series of locks, but each lock requires multi-level puzzling to acquire the numbers. The puzzles range for tracking, ciphers, logic, and searching. I found the level of puzzling to be straightforward and smooth except for the odd clue on the mystery agency website. On the box you are directed to link and once you log onto the correct game, you see in the top right corner the word “clue #1” and “hints.” As an experience puzzler I initially ignored “clue #1” because I assumed it was more of a guide, but it turns out to be a key piece to the puzzle. Now the box mentioned to check out the clue before you begin but this separate digital component felt out of odds with the tactile nature of the rest of the game. That said, once we realized what it was our puzzling experience was back on track. Essentially, the puzzles are definitely structured for more beginners in puzzling but the smoothness made it very enjoyable for all levels.

Customer Service:

In terms of customer service, this was a pre-ordered game from April 2021. I had no contact from the company except when they announced they were shipping two games before the other, but the games did arrive on time (as in they all arrived by end of September 2021). The games shipped randomly and it who shipper who notified me.The hint system provided by the game was solid and quite helpful.

Conclusion:

In the end, The Balthazar Stone was an enjoyable experience with high quality components and a well-rounded story. For the price of £40, this game is a little on the short side – we completed the game in an hour – but the game is beautiful made (except for the very obviously fake feathers) and a great to display on any shelf. I recommend this as a great evening puzzle game with someone you’re trying to introduce to puzzling or if you want something a little shorter but with a more tactile nature. I am definitely excited to try the other ones based off this one so stay tuned!