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On Circus Grounds box art

On Circus Grounds

Game ID: GID0233318
Game Info
Year
2020
Collection
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Description

Nicolaas Meester collapses during his opening speech, before the eyes of the public. The director of Circus Meester, a man of iron principles and many enemies, has been murdered.

Suspects are questioned, evidence is collected. Someone is arrested and the case seems to have ended.

Now, more than 135 years later, you receive a package ...
It contains handwritten documents, thumbed photos, mysterious drawings and weathered objects; Remains of the one hundred and forty year old crime scene.

With these items and documents you have to find out the true murderer of Nicolaas Meester.

In Meester, 1883 players must use their creativity, and powers of deduction to crack codes, solve puzzles, collect objects, and find the truth about the unsolved murdercase.

Description

Nicolaas Meester collapses during his opening speech, before the eyes of the public. The director of Circus Meester, a man of iron principles and many enemies, has been murdered.

Suspects are questioned, evidence is collected. Someone is arrested and the case seems to have ended.

Now, more than 135 years later, you receive a package ...
It contains handwritten documents, thumbed photos, mysterious drawings and weathered objects; Remains of the one hundred and forty year old crime scene.

With these items and documents you have to find out the true murderer of Nicolaas Meester.

In Meester, 1883 players must use their creativity, and powers of deduction to crack codes, solve puzzles, collect objects, and find the truth about the unsolved murdercase.

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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 1
This page: 1
Sentiment: pos 1 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
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Video 94NgQhYMYt8 Brains On Games Game Preview at 0:18 sentiment: positive
video_pk 89213 · mention_pk 292697
Brains On Games - On Circus Grounds video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:18 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Thematic props and strong immersion
  • Open-ended design that lets players approach puzzles from multiple angles
  • Rich narrative potential and detective feel
Cons
  • Single-use nature means replayability is limited
  • Font readability on some old-fashioned props can be challenging
  • May benefit from a second player for shared note-taking
Thematic elements
  • Murder mystery detective work
  • Circus in 1883
  • Open-ended, puzzle-driven investigation with physical props
Comparison games
  • Star Wars: Unlock!
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Code-breaking — Puzzles that involve deciphering encoded information or numeric/text codes
  • Deduction — Solving a murder by analyzing police statements, clues, and cross-referencing information
  • Note-taking and timeline construction — Keeping notes and constructing a timeline to organize clues and events
  • Prop interaction — Direct interaction with physical components (photos, letters, cards) to extract information
  • Word Deciphering — Puzzles that involve deciphering encoded information or numeric/text codes
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's very open-ended
  • the props are awesome
  • it really sucks you into this 1883 circus
  • this is my favorite detective game
  • these are single-use
  • the old-timey fonts were a little hard to read
References (from this video)
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