Ravensburger Escape Puzzle Bundle - The Witch's Kitchen & Vampire's Castle 759-Piece Jigsaw Puzzles for Adults & Kids Ages 12+ | Challenging Escape Room Adventure Game for Family Game Night & Puzzle Enthusiasts

I enjoy challenging puzzles and this was no exception - the fact that the picture on the box is not the same as the finished puzzle. The colouring in the puzzle presented another challenge as it was so easy to place puzzle pieces in the wrong place! However, finding to the answer provided in the very brief storyline proved difficult so we had to resort to getting a hint. Once we had the hint we were able to complete the next step .... and then came up against an other brick wall. Without giving away why (because it will spoil it for you), I can say this is the first escape puzzle I've done where I felt totally let down. Such an anticlimax!When we got to the chair, and the cat was missing ???. It got excited. We didn’t know where she was hiding. There were other things missing. So much fun to put togetherFirst off, I know that Ravensburger is a great puzzle company. The quality of the materials is top notch and the picture is really detailed and imaginative. I was taken in by the idea as I have been playing a lot of mystery-type games during the pandemic (Detective, Chronicles of Crime, Unlock, etc.), and this seemed like a cool concept. Worst case scenario, I would at least enjoy putting a puzzle together. There are some cool tricks to it like the picture not being quite what's on the box and some pieces connectable even though they don't go together, but that added to the challenge and made us think a bit more.Where the shortcomings lie is in the escape element. Once the puzzle is put together, there are some hidden word/number puzzles to solve that lead to the final conclusion. I have done a lot of similar puzzles before, so this was relatively easy for me. The final solution was a bit of a letdown since it didn't quite "fit", but it wasn't a dealbreaker. As I mentioned, the quality is great, but the game did come with a bunch of extra rectangular pieces that are the cut off border of the whole puzzle. It's doesn't ruin the experience, but it feels kind of lazy to leave scraps in the box.I have been intentionally vague in my review to avoid spoilers, and now that I am looking at other reviews I see a lot of people (both positive and negative) haven't been nearly as respectful. My recommendation is this: if you like challenging puzzles, this is a great one. If you also like math and word problems, you'll like this just a bit more on top of that. If you are interested, avoid as much information as you can.The puzzle was fun to put together but the instructions for how to solve it were not clear.So let's start at the beginning with assembly. I usually like to start at the edges and work my way in. With this one, the edge pieces have a lot of very similar coloring and are not uniquely cut, so they all fit together. If you want a frustrating challenge, start with the edges. otherwise just start anywhere. It says in the instructions that the box is slightly different than the final product....MILD SPOILER:: If you're buying this for the cute kitty on the stool, you'll be disappointed::So now to the puzzles, It wasn't too hard to find the 8 puzzled mentioned in the instructions. Two of the puzzles are more or less on the same object, so i was trying to figure out if that counted as 1 puzzle or 2, and if I'd found 7 or 8 of the puzzles.After solving the 8 puzzles I hit a "so-now-what", block. We played around for a bit, then gave up and decided to use the QR code. The QR code only helps you locate and solve the internal puzzles, which we'd already done. So if you're stuck on the 8 puzzles, this is a good start, but nothing there gave us what we needed to move on. Now that I know the answer, watching the video above will help a bit with the "so now what" problem. So feel free to try it without watching the video, then if you're stuck watch the video.Knowing the answer, I liked the part where you solve the mini riddles, but I felt it was a bit of a stretch to get to the final answer. All, and all, it was fun, and we'll probably buy another one of these puzzles.Pros: beautifully illustrated and fun to put the main puzzle together.Cons: blue cardboard dust gets everywhere from the backing.The end escape puzzle is very lackluster (you take off the edge pieces matching the puzzle solutions and assemble a mini puzzle at the end). This was kind of a meh ending to an otherwise good main puzzle. The ending pieces were very generic and the end puzzle wasn't very fun.I just finished the Witch's Kitchen puzzle tonight and I loved it. I spent a few hours a day, for three days, working mostly alone, my husband helped assemble a little bit, and I solved the riddles on my own.It was my first time doing a Ravensburger escape puzzle and I'm looking forward to doing more BUT I also do a lot of escape room games, treasure hunts, and "point and click" adventure video games with hidden objects, riddles and brain teasers. If that's not your thing, then this puzzle probably won't make a lot of sense to you.It's still a lovely jigsaw, even without the "escape" riddle part of it, but it is not quite like other jigsaw puzzles.1) Unlike some jigsaw puzzles, there are no letters or clues on the back, such as "AAAAAA" or "BBBBBB" etc, and it doesn't come with a poster to lay down on the table as a guide.2) The picture on the box is not exactly the same as the picture in the completed puzzle, though it is close enough that I still found it very helpful.3) The edge pieces are cut so they are interchangeable. The internal pieces are not this way, just the edges, so it makes assembling the border a challenge, but not impossible. The puzzle dimensions are on the box, which helps. I put together most of the border, but not all of it, and then started working on the inside for awhile.A lot of people are posting that the solution is incorrect but I didn't have a problem with it. It didn't even occur to me that there was anything wrong until I came here to rate the puzzle and I read the other reviews.I don't want to give answers or spoilers, so I'll just say this: The solution is to IDENTIFY the antidote. If you've done that, nothing else matters.First off, the idea and execution of this puzzle is genius. I didn't know what to expect or how an escape room concept could be built into a jigsaw, but not only does it work, it works really well.I wanted to provide some balance by addressing a lot of the negative comments this puzzle has received which, in my opinion, are unfair and in many cases incorrect. Be warned, many other reviews will contain spoilers, I hope I have kept my comments below vague enough that it is spoiler free.1. 'The solution is wrong' or 'the solution doesn't work' - This seems to be the most common complaint, but I can assure you it absolutely DOES work! We solved the individual puzzles (which matched to the answer book) and then found the final answer exactly as the manufacturer intended. The problem seems to be that most people who have complained about the ending not working have either not understood how to use the final clue OR have found the answer and gone one step further than intended. Once you have the answer, that's enough! And I know this because we tried to solve the puzzle using the final clue in the way other reviewers mentioned, but after a while the penny dropped that the clue leads you to the answer in a different way. If you look really closely at the picture in the answer book you can see the manufacturer never intended the final clue to be used in the way so many are complaining about. So it's not the puzzle that's wrong and the clues do work! I hope that's suitably vague so as not to give anything away.2. 'The puzzle is not the same picture as the box' - The manufacturer perhaps should have mentioned this on the box, it is mentioned in the instructions. But this just makes it part of the escape room experience. The picture on the box is how you enter the kitchen, but you need to find clues so you rummage around move and open things, the cat scarpers in surprise. The picture on the puzzle is then revealing what you have discovered so you can solve the room. The picture is still substantially the same as the box so the box can be used as a guide. Don't buy this puzzle if you just wanted a nice cat picture, remember the purpose of the puzzle3. 'The puzzle is too hard' - This is the first jigsaw puzzle I have done in about 30 years. It took me and my wife around 7 hours over three evenings to complete, and about another 2 hours to solve the riddles. That felt about right and any less time I think I would have been disappointed we completed it too quickly. There is a lot going on and it was challenging but at no point did we grind to a halt. We were able to complete the edges first as usual and then fill in from there. The picture on the box acts as a useful guide, even though some bits have changed it is substantially the same4. 'The puzzle is too dark' - Here I half agree. It is a dark puzzle but that's the atmosphere the picture is trying to represent, and there are lots of light areas too. We did find it a little difficult in the evening because not enough light made the image a bit too dark, but too much light and it would reflect off the surface. Would perhaps be best in natural daylight.We thoroughly enjoyed completing and solving this puzzle and have already ordered the next one.Beautifully designed puzzle with lovely artwork but also with a big twist...a different picture! The image on the front of the box isn't what you get inside, instead there are subtle changes, which makes for an interesting if frustrating puzzle. I would give it 5 stars, but one of the reasons I chose it was for the cat in the foreground, to give to a cat loving relative, only to find that the cat is not in the actual puzzle! The relative enjoyed it but not as much had it been the same as the illustration. She also didn't want to solve the clues afterwards. So be aware that what you buy isn't quite what you get with this puzzle within a puzzle! Clever idea though and still enjoyable to put together.Not familiar with this type of jigsaw in that the picture isn’t exactly what the jigsaw is. There are hidden items that are only in the actual jigsaw, plus it is very dark in colours adding to the difficulty. Wouldn't buy this type of jigsaw again. However the make is good and the pieces are precise which helps as they won’t easily fit into wrong locations.Have bought a present. Looks good.Good idea for anyone who likes puzzles and games. This is two activities in one! Hopefully it'll turn a mundane puzzle into something more interesting.The picture on the box is quite small, so it's quite difficult to see fine details on pieces you're trying to fit.