Customer Reviews

Sacred Myths and Legends Series Puzzle 4 - The Enigmatic Temple

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This is the fourth 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 fourth puzzle in the set is called "The Enigmatic Temple". It is one of the stranger (though not the most difficult) puzzles in the series. A word of warning when solving this one: The top is supposed to move a little, as are the dowels, but the rest of it should be glued in place. Many times, these puzzles can become "loose" in shipping (usually from heat melting the wood glue). If this happens, you can always fix it by applying a little glue yourself. When it comes to THIS puzzle, however, just remember: you do not have to FORCE any pieces to solve it. The previous puzzle will give you a good clue, but it's very hard to see how it helps (at first). :)

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!

Quite a challanging puzzle, not for folks who need quick gratification. Gift for my math-minded granddaughter, at this writing she still hasn't solved it.

I bought this puzzle for my father based on the reviews of others, and initially believed that being part of a series of puzzles, that this was a legitimate puzzle. Unfortunately seeing the puzzle at my father's and trying to solve it, I quickly saw that it was poorly made. Attempting to move the top section to see if the dowel could be removed to pivot the circular piece in the bottom section, the top part of the puzzle popped off. Looking at the section it was obvious that a small amount of glue was used to attach it.

After days of listening to my father, who was unable to solve the puzzle, I went online to see if there was any help in solving it. There was no solution and this was a hint that it was not solvable. On a follow-up conversation with my father I discovered that he had disassembled the puzzle and he described the puzzle as a fake. The bottom pieces of wood were secured with brads preventing them from being able to move. In the bottom section there is a circular disk that appears to move to release the top section. It is a false piece to give you the impression that it releases one of the other pieces. It does nothing but to disquise the fact that this is a rouse. Do not waste your money or believe that solving this puzzle will help you solve the next. This is the fourth of at least five. Do not waste your money on this scam puzzle unless you don't believe that a sucker is born every day.