How We Choose Games

Every comparison on Escape Game Box starts from criteria you can check yourself. This page explains what those criteria are, where our information comes from and what our evidence label means.

The criteria

We compare games on facts that do not depend on taste:

• Player count: the range the publisher states, and the number that players report works best.
• Playing time: per case, per episode or per door for advent calendars.
• Difficulty: as rated by the publisher when it is, and as described in player feedback.
• Age rating: the publisher’s minimum age.
• Replay value: most mystery and escape room games can be solved only once. We say so, and we note when a box can be reset and passed on.
• What comes in the box: case files, cards, physical props, an online component or an app.
• Help when you get stuck: hint cards, an online hint system or a solution envelope.

A ranking also weighs who the game suits. A cold case for a quiet evening for two is not judged against the same expectations as a party kit for twelve guests.

The sources

We use publishers’ product pages and rulebooks, official FAQs and hint pages, product listings, and published player feedback such as BoardGameGeek pages and forum threads. Every figure in our key facts names its source and links to it. When sources disagree, we say so.

What “Researched, not played” means

Each page shows an evidence label. Researched, not played means the page is based on publishers’ information, rulebooks and published player feedback, and that we did not play every game on it. We never write that we tested or played a game when we did not. If we review a game we have actually played in the future, the page will say how we played it.

Prices and availability

We do not show prices or star ratings. Prices change too often to be useful, and the Amazon Associates program does not allow us to display them without its official data feed. We check that each recommended game is available on Amazon.com when we publish or update a page.

Commissions and rankings

We earn a commission on some purchases. A game without an affiliate program can be recommended, and an affiliate game can be left out. The order of a ranking never depends on the commission.

Updates and corrections

The “updated” date on a page changes only when the content really changes: a game discontinued, a new edition, a correction. Report an error at [email protected] and the correction will be dated on the page.