Family Games DaVinci's Secret Sacred Myths and Legends Collection

by Family Games

Product Features

• Break the codes which will help recover the secret scroll that is entombed within Davinci's greatest mystery
• Difficulty rating hard to genius
• Box size is 12.25" x 6.5" x 6.5"
• Includes 1 wooden puzzle, 1 secret scroll, instructions
• 1 player challenge, for ages 8 and up

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 4 x 5.5 inches ; 3.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000NY4PJU
• Item model number: 20030
• Manufacturer recommended age: 8 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,263 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #44 in Toys & Games > Puzzles > Brain Teasers > Puzzle Boxes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Sacred Myths and Legends - Aided by sacred scrolls, coded engravings and pictorial fragments of historical, geographical and mystical importance, participants are challenged to adventure through six cryptic wooden puzzles to unlock the secrets that will lead them closer to their final puzzle destination. Secrets of the Pyramid. The first in the series is DaVinci's Secret. Break the codes to uncover the secret scroll entombed deep within DaVinci's greatest mystery and reveal the clues to solving "The Equation", the next puzzle in the challenge. Each puzzle builds upon the next in the series. Collect all six to uncover the greatest mystery of all - "The Secrets of the Pyramid". They are all made of high quality wood. Each is a one player challenge, age 8+. Instructions are in 4 languages.

Product Description

This wooden puzzle is the first in a series of 7, each revealing clues that lead you to solving the next. As you unlock the secrets to each one you'll move closer to finding the "Secrets of the Pyramid," the final puzzle. You'll travel through ancient civilizations with the aid of sacred scrolls, coded engravings, pictorial fragments and modern technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and challenging..., June 9, 2009

By 

D. Holwerda (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Family Games DaVinci's Secret Sacred Myths and Legends Collection (Toy)

This is the first in a series of seven themed puzzles from the "Sacred Myths and Legends" line put out by Family Games, Inc. Each puzzle can be solved alone, but each one also provides clues to the solution of the next puzzle in the series, leading up the seventh puzzle (to be released in late 2009) which incorporates elements from all the previous ones.

This series of puzzles is great for adventure-loving, intellectuals who want to escape into a Robert Langdon/Indiana Jones motif for a while. Each package includes a beautiful, high-quality, wooden puzzle which requires solving to reveal a secret scroll, which will then provide clues to a password which needs to be entered on the companies website to unlock an extra clue for the next puzzle. Each of these clues takes the form of a riddle.

Each puzzle in the series has it's own theme (Da Vinci is one, Atlantis is another, King Arthur, etc.) and the clues all pertain to the theme of the puzzle you are on. The incorporation of the internet slightly removes you from the role-playing element of these puzzles, but once you see how difficult these passwords are to figure out, you will most likely be spending hours on the internet anyway - trying to decipher the clues. The passwords are actually much more difficult than the wooden puzzles (as a general rule) and will sustain you LONG after you have already solved the physical puzzle. However, the difficulty level of these riddles is EXTREME (in most cases), so be prepared to educate yourself thoroughly regarding the mythological or historical theme at hand.

That is not to say that the PUZZLES are easy, however. Most of them require a great deal of effort to finish, even after you know what the solution is supposed to be. And there are no instructions with these puzzles. There is usually one clue per puzzle and it is left up to the player to figure out what needs to be done. As I said, these are definitely aimed at an intellectual audience.

The first puzzle in the set is called Da Vinci's secret and it is great first puzzle for the series. Even after you think you have solved it, there are ways to go back and find even more secrets about it. Da Vinci would be proud. Unfortunately, there isn't much to say about it without giving away it's secrets. Sufficed to say, it is fun. Not the most difficult in the series, but well designed and detailed.

Some of the puzzles in this set will take you less time than others (most can be solved in a day or two, sometimes much less...but some of them took me weeks), but the passwords will keep you going for quite a while, regardless of how fast you solve the puzzle. Another great thing about these puzzles is the fact that they look great on a display shelf ...and house-guests are always intrigued by a good puzzle.

One warning about playing these puzzles - if you search internet forums for help with the passwords, YOU WILL SEE SPOILERS and it could ruin it for you. I would highly recommend avoiding those forums altogether (until you are ready to give up anyway). Otherwise you run the chance of spoiling the mystery for yourself.

Enjoy!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DaVinci's Secret Puzzle, August 16, 2008

By 

R. Greenlee (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

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This review is from: Family Games DaVinci's Secret Sacred Myths and Legends Collection (Toy)

If you're looking for puzzles that have creativity turned up a notch, I'd recommend the Sacred Myths and Legends Series. The puzzles are made with two stages. First, the physical puzzle itself, and second, deciphering the codes and clues that come with it. DaVinci's Secret isn't very hard to open, but still a challenge. Once opened, the secret scroll has very cryptic clues to a password. You can go to the Sacred Myths website for more clues, and when you figure out the clues, you need to type in the password, and you get another clue for the next puzzle, "The Equation". Creative marketing, no doubt, but it's fun to get the intellect exercised for awhile.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great puzzle., January 1, 2010

By 

George Jaros (DeKalb, IL United States) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Family Games DaVinci's Secret Sacred Myths and Legends Collection (Toy)

I found this to be a pretty good puzzle. My wie got it for me for Christmas and was pretty proud of herself because it took me a while to figure out. The last puzzle she got me I had solved in less than five minutes. This one took me quite a bit longer. It's really 3 puzzles in one - two physical puzzles and one riddle, and also part of a series of puzzles that are all related. Once you solve the initial puzzle there is a riddle to solve which will give you a password to find a clue about the next main puzzle in the series. There's also a secondary physical uzzle built into this one that will give you another hint for the second puzzle in the series. Unfortunately I stumbled on the answer for the second physical puzzle while trying to research the riddle, but it's still pretty neat.

If I had to give one downside to the puzzle it would be the clues and hints that are included with the puzzle and available on the website for the collection. Even after solving the puzzle not all the clues made sense. But it was definitely enjoyable and kept me busy on and off for a week (the initial puzzle took me about a half hour to figure out, but nearly 24 hours to actually complete and the riddle took me about a day to solve once I focused on it). I'm definitely looking forward to getting the other puzzles in the series.