Mystery Case Files: Black Crown Collector's Edition > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

387 of 471 found this review helpful

PATIENT # 11 HOLDS THE KEY TO THE BLACK CROWN

PostedNovember 26, 2019

pennmom36

fromRube Goldberg earned an engineering degree from UC Berkley but quit his job to become a cartoonist one of which won a Pulitzer Prize & the Rueben Award was named after him He wrote a film for the 3 Stooges, was on a stamp and became a sculptor at 80

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Completed Game approximately 5.5 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
29 Main Game Scene Locations +15 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Intermediate

Locked away in a tiny, dark cell of the Manchester Asylum is patient #11. She doesn't know who she is or where she's from. She has spoken, she hasn't responded to any treatment, she has made no progress for years, ...Show more

Completed Game approximately 5.5 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
29 Main Game Scene Locations +15 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Intermediate

Locked away in a tiny, dark cell of the Manchester Asylum is patient #11. She doesn't know who she is or where she's from. She has spoken, she hasn't responded to any treatment, she has made no progress for years, until now. Patient 11 has been obsessively drawing images of the Black Crown all over the walls of her cell while uttering randomly. Patient 11 may be mentally unstable, but she seems to be connected to the Black Crown, the same Mystery Case Files you solved 8 years ago, in Louisiana!

Gadgets/Helpers:
In Chapter 1, you will use a pocket watch that reacts when a new scene is discovered. You must drag the watch around the scene until it turns green, indicating you have discovered the right location. This gadget is only used 5 times and only in the first chapter. Why didn't they use the Mechanical Moth from the last MCF game?

Collectibles & Morphing Objects:
There are 42 Hidden Crabs and 42 Morphing Objects, one of each in every scene, including the CE Bonus Chapter. The Crabs are way too big to miss and the Coral is too brightly-colored to blend into the single color hues of most locations.

Hidden Object Scenes:
There are 17 Hidden Object Scenes +3 in the CE Bonus Chapter. Although there aren't a lot of variances, the scenes were well thought out and located in interesting scenes. They are mostly Listed Item Finds that are multi-layered and pan towards the back with one scene following the next. There are several Interactive List finds, Matching Symbol Finds, Matching Constellation Finds, and Pictured Item Finds as well. There are No Alternate Games Available.

Mini-Games:
There are 42 Mini-Games +6 in the CE Bonus Chapter, including my beloved Super Puzzles which are Rube Goldberg variations of complex door locks that require solving multiple layers of puzzles to open and proceed to the next chapter, and it's what makes MCF games so unique. below are a few of my personal favorite games:

1-All 3 Rube Goldberg puzzles
2-Drag various angled clock hands to point to every hour on a clock.
3-All versions of Untangle the Ropes games.
4-Trace the lines without repeating a direction.

Bonus Chapter (Collector's Edition version only)
Jumping jambalaya, Momma Aimee has discovered that Phineas Crown is one determined pirate. Phineas placed 12 segments of his soul within ordinary items and hidden them in the swamps of Louisiana. I loved this 13th Skull revisit to Absolute Voodoo which is an average-length chapter that takes place over 8 familiar Scene Locations. There are 6 Mini-Games and 3 Hidden Object Scenes and you will pick up the final 8 Hidden Crabs, and 8 Morphing Coral.

Collector's Edition Extras:
8 Wallpapers, 8 Video Movie Cutscenes, 11 Music, Case Files Journal,15 Achievements, 19 Replayable Puzzles, 20 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 42 Collectible Crabs, 42 Morphing Coral, 20 Souvenirs, 5 Chapters (listed as Chapters 0-4) +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-in Strategy Guide.

MYSTERY CASE FILES SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating

1-Huntsville SE only (November 14-2005) 3.6
2-Prime Suspects SE only (April 6-2006) 3.8
3-Ravenhearst SE only (December 15-2006) 3.6
4-Madame Fate SE only (November 7-2007) 4.0
5-Return to Ravenhearst SE only (November 26-2008) 4.2
6-Dire Grove (November 25-2009) 4.7
7-13th Skull (November 25-2010) 4.4
8-Escape From Ravenhearst (November 23-2011) 3.6
9-Shadow Lake (November 20-2012) 2.6
10-Fate's Carnival (November 26-2013) 4.4
11-Dire Grove, Sacred Grove (November 25-2014) 3.6
12-Key to Ravenhearst (October 27-2015) 3.6
13-Ravenhearst Unlocked (November 24-2015) 3.5
14-Broken Hour (November 22-2016) 3.5
15-The Black Veil (March 23-2017) 3.0
16-The Revenant's Hunt (November 21-2017) 3.0
17-Rewind (June 21-2018) 3.4
18-The Countess (November 20-208) 3.1
19-Moths to a Flame (August 22-2019) 3.9
20-Black Crown (November 26-2019) n/a

by: Eipix Games Show less

I recommend this game!

+303points

387of 471voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

178 of 226 found this review helpful

A TERRIFIC GAME THAT REVISITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MYSTERY CASE FILES

PostedNovember 26, 2019

biscuitsmama

fromThis game has restored my desire to look forward to the next MCF game.

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

When I first became a member at BFG eons ago, I always looked forward to Thanksgiving and the release of the annual Mystery Case Files game. Although I found most of the games good, only two are my all-time favorites, and one is related to the story of Phineas Crown – a storyline that is revisited with Mystery Case Files: Black Crown. After playing the beta for Black Crown I knew it was a game ...Show more

When I first became a member at BFG eons ago, I always looked forward to Thanksgiving and the release of the annual Mystery Case Files game. Although I found most of the games good, only two are my all-time favorites, and one is related to the story of Phineas Crown – a storyline that is revisited with Mystery Case Files: Black Crown. After playing the beta for Black Crown I knew it was a game that I would love. Black Crown is the first MCF game that I have looked forward to in the past several years, and this one is well worth the wait. Kudos to the developer who has done a wonderful job with this game because it is everything I hoped it would be.

If there is anything that I dislike about the game it is that in some of the HOS, the items are very tiny and difficult to identify. I have a 34” monitor and I still had difficulty finding some items because they are too small. Most of the HOS were better than the few with minuscule items to find, and those were much more fun to play. One of my favorite HO scenes is early in the game where I had to find matches between the chalk drawings on wall sections with the sketches on paper notes.

One of the best things aside from the storyline are the puzzles in the game. I love some of the Rube Goldberg puzzles that are signature to this series. Black Crown has some of my favorite puzzles and contains one that I haven’t seen in years. It is a puzzle where we much place hands on a pocket watch in order to cover every hour on the watch face. I loved this puzzle the first time I ever encountered it in a game, and it is just as much fun today.

I have not yet completed the game, but I am almost all the way to the Bonus Chapter that I will play a bit later. What I have played of the Black Crown is wonderful and I think it is one of the best MCF games in several years. If future MCF games are of the same caliber as Black Crown I will once again look forward to the tradition of playing an MCF game during the holiday week. Although I love this game, please try the demo to see if you will enjoy it as well. Happy gaming! Show less

I recommend this game!

+130points

178of 226voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

41 of 48 found this review helpful

One of the better MCF games, almost on par with some earlier games

PostedNovember 28, 2019

Arien1

fromArizona

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Family, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Strategy

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files®: Escape from Ravenhearst™ Collector's Edition

(896)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I really enjoyed The Black Crown. One of the better MCF games in a very long time. I almost felt like I was playing one of the earlier games under Big Fish, like Thirteen Skulls or Return to Ravenhearst...almost. Is the game scary? No, but it's a good mystery. Some parts kept me guessing up until almost the end. A few of the puzzles were a bit tedious and I ended up skipping them, but that seems ...Show more

I really enjoyed The Black Crown. One of the better MCF games in a very long time. I almost felt like I was playing one of the earlier games under Big Fish, like Thirteen Skulls or Return to Ravenhearst...almost. Is the game scary? No, but it's a good mystery. Some parts kept me guessing up until almost the end. A few of the puzzles were a bit tedious and I ended up skipping them, but that seems to be the case with a lot of games lately. But for the most part I felt most of the puzzles were a decent challenge without being too difficult. Some were very easy, but I wasn't playing on the hardest difficulty level either.

The voice acting was a bit dodgy at times, like the actors were just reading the scripts and not really emoting, with the exception of the actress who played patient #11. She was excellent and it's a shame we didn't hear more from her throughout the game. I loved the storyline and the music and I thought the graphics were beautiful. All in all, this is a game I will probably play more than once and it definitely makes me want to go back and play previous MCF games, especially Thirteen Skulls.

One thing I don't get is why Eipix changed the Master Detective from female to male. Sometimes I wonder if the current developers actually played the earlier games. Show less

I recommend this game!

+34points

41of 48voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

21 of 23 found this review helpful

Like reading a really great book!

PostedDecember 1, 2019

syndney1099

fromPortland, OR

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I have really enjoyed the MCF series, some more than others. This one was really fun. I was so caught up in the story that time flew by. The hops were really well done. Some nice nuanced twists so even though they weren't junk piles, some items were not easy to find. A nice challenge. The music contributed to atmosphere. The storyline was captivating and I easily suspended my disbelief. The tasks ...Show more

I have really enjoyed the MCF series, some more than others. This one was really fun. I was so caught up in the story that time flew by. The hops were really well done. Some nice nuanced twists so even though they weren't junk piles, some items were not easy to find. A nice challenge. The music contributed to atmosphere. The storyline was captivating and I easily suspended my disbelief. The tasks were realistic and contributed to progess in the game without feeling like, do this , do that without meaning. I like puzzles with multiple layers which was present in this game. The bonus chapter blended nicely so you really get a lot for the price. I will play this one again. Show less

I recommend this game!

+19points

21of 23voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

16 of 18 found this review helpful

This one is great fun.

PostedNovember 30, 2019

wander312

fromSpokane, WA

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Mahjong, Puzzle

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I haven't had this much fun playing a HO game in a while. The game play was challenging, but doable. I loved the hidden objects that had 3 sections of playing before it was done. The graphics were excellent. My only regret when I was done is was that the game wasn't longer. I hope the next MCF is just as good.

I recommend this game!

+14points

16of 18voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

88 of 128 found this review helpful

TIME OF ON YOUR SIDE....OR IS IT?

PostedNovember 26, 2019

ponygirl

fromLone Star State

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Intermediate

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. The puzzles and HOPS were challenging and a little different from the usual fair. Eipix has outdone themselves with this exciting mystery and adventure.

I recommend this game!

+48points

88of 128voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

17 of 21 found this review helpful

Not MCF but a very good game

PostedDecember 14, 2019

auntbets

fromRochester NY

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Word

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

I've given up hoping for a return to the wonderful MCF feel --- but I have to say that this game, for me, was a lot of fun with good challenges. The artwork is terrific, there is a wonderful lack of fairies and other twee characters, and the few characters there are don't delay you with long dialogues or frequent appearances.

I found several of the puzzles challenging and the HO scenes fair. My ...Show more

I've given up hoping for a return to the wonderful MCF feel --- but I have to say that this game, for me, was a lot of fun with good challenges. The artwork is terrific, there is a wonderful lack of fairies and other twee characters, and the few characters there are don't delay you with long dialogues or frequent appearances.

I found several of the puzzles challenging and the HO scenes fair. My one complaint is that the morphing objects were all the same type - easy to find after you realized this.

I would give this series another chance -- not for MCF, but for solid construction and straight-ahead gameplay. Show less

+13points

17of 21voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

18 of 25 found this review helpful

EXCELLENT GAME!

PostedDecember 1, 2019

hopqueen

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

This is such a fun and creative game with an outstanding storyline and great visuals!
I love MCF, and this game is no exception. It's super creative, with unusual HOPs, some of which take place over several stages. There are a ton of locations, and they're all unique and well thought out. The storyline is very enjoyable.
In terms of collectibles, there is a crab and a morph in every scene. Most ...Show more

This is such a fun and creative game with an outstanding storyline and great visuals!
I love MCF, and this game is no exception. It's super creative, with unusual HOPs, some of which take place over several stages. There are a ton of locations, and they're all unique and well thought out. The storyline is very enjoyable.
In terms of collectibles, there is a crab and a morph in every scene. Most of the time they're relatively easy to find, but a couple of them were tough.
All in all this is a particularly good game in the series, and I highly recommend it! Show less

I recommend this game!

+11points

18of 25voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

27 of 41 found this review helpful

Great 13th Skull Follow-Up

PostedNovember 26, 2019

Layanickus

fromCanada

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst

(473)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

A great MCF game and follow-up to 13th skull. The uses for items were excellent, and the visuals and music also seemed like a step up from previous installments. Excited to see what comes next!

I recommend this game!

+13points

27of 41voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

5 / 5

61 of 101 found this review helpful

Best Mystery Case Files Ever!!!

PostedNovember 26, 2019

dorishall16

fromSaint Augustine Fl.

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

This game has it all, fantastic graphics, good story line and a nice mix of hidden objects and puzzles.

I recommend this game!

+21points

61of 101voted this as helpful.

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