Escape from the Starline Express (v2)

• Designer: Alessandro Deriu
• Publisher: Professor Puzzle
• Players: 2-8
• Age: 8+
• Time: 90 mins on box (~45 min for 4 adults in our game)
• Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/487KRX1
• Played with review copy provided by publisher (via Asmodee NA)

It’s time to gather your guests for an evening of intrigue with this quick-thinking, quick-solving escape room game!

News of the theft of the world famous Black Widow diamond necklace has reached the public. The only suspects? Members of the notorious “Rag-Tag Crew”, a gang of petty thugs who have taken the step into grand theft. Betty Willson, an ambitious young crime reporter, has unexpectedly become caught in the centre when she finds herself sharing a train carriage with six mysterious passengers, all members of the “Rag-Tag Crew”.

Armed with the task of collecting the evidence needed to put the gang behind bars, it’s a race against time for Betty to make her way through the train carriages. With the gang hot on her heels, will you be able to solve the puzzles and riddles along the way and find out what mysteries await her on this long, lonely stretch of track? All aboard!

Escape from the Starline Express is an escape room game designed for a group of 2–8 people.

As you open the box for Escape from the Starline Express, you’ll find a bunch of sealed envelopes and a typewritten letter.  There is a short bit of rules that mostly tells you to start with the letter, and as you solve the puzzle, you’ll figure out which one of the envelopes to open next.    (Note that this is an updated version from the original which was released around 2018; from reading descriptions of the first edition, it looks like the game has been streamlined a bit and at least two of the puzzles were exchanged).

As a checksum, that next envelope will tell you where you should have come from – so that you are on the right track.  As you’ll soon discover, Escape from the Starline Express is a linear project – your group will only be working on one puzzle at a time.  So, the path through the envelopes is unidirectional, and the game makes sure that you’re always on the right track.

If you get stuck, there is a sheet of hints included in the box – which you have to scratch off in order to reveal the clues.  Additionally, though the game includes the checksum, there is a page of solutions that you can reveal if you really need to check your work.

Escape from the Starline Express is a mass market escape room game, fully contained in a single box.  As the box itself proclaims “A perfect introduction to Escape Room games”!  Given that statement on the box, it should come as no surprise that this is very much on the easy side for the genre.

Most of the puzzles seemed straightforward to me – our group really didn’t need any help at all from the clues.  As the rules tell you what the format is for a correct answer, that also helps you hone in on the right solution – every answer is a three digit code…. We did the game in a group of 4 – two veteran puzzle hunters and two newbies; and the puzzles were all easily solved, even by the newbies.

As with many linear puzzle hunts, I’d be reluctant to push the player count past 3 or 4.  As there is only one puzzle active at a time, everyone is working on the same little piece of paper.  Sure, some of the puzzles had props and other things that needed extra hands – but for the most part, only so many heads can fit around a card or a paper.  If you have too many people, invariably some part of the group is left on the periphery to chat or watch something on their phones because there simply isn’t enough material to go around.

The components are well done – everything is cardboard/paper.  The quality of the puzzles is good, though not overly difficult for us.  Though we didn’t need hints for anything, I’d also say that it was good that all the puzzles seemed well constructed – we didn’t have any questions on what we were supposed to be doing, etc.

Our game took about 45 minutes total, and we enjoyed it.  I think that if the game wants to be an introductory level game for the genre, it succeeds well at that task.  As with most games in the genre, they are really only meant to be played once (as you’ll remember how to solve the puzzles) – but the game can also be packed up and played by a different group.  The only thing which you can’t reset is the scratch-off hint and solution sheet.

Escape from the Starline Express was definitely easy for me, and honestly, I’d not normally look to play this on my own due to the low level of difficulty; but it would be perfect for people starting out or for families with children.  The game is available in mass market stores, so it’s also a great thing to suggest for gift giving opportunities to that audience.  

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Jonathan: A good intro to escape rooms that might be fun for a group if a different person opens and reads each envelope. Some will be solved just by hearing the text and initial puzzle. Others will take a scribe and a bit of chatting. Could be a nice way to spend an hour over the holidays, but ultimately not exceptionally memorable.

Until your next appointment

The Gaming Doctor

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/487KRX1