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Three Volume Mother of Frankenstein Arrives May 15th from Arcane Wonders

Apr 19, 2023

Following a successful Kickstarter run, the three volume puzzle game Mother of Frankenstein will release next month from Arcane Wonders. Built upon an engrossing narrative, as well as a variety of physical puzzles, the games will tell the story of Mary Shelley and a secret she leaves behind for her only son. Mother of Frankenstein is for one to six players, ages 13+, and each volume should take three to five hours to complete. Volumes one and two carry MSRPs of $39.99 while volume three’s MSRP is $49.99. All three will release on May 15th.

About the games:

Inspired (but not entirely beholden to) the incredible real life of Mary Shelley, Mother of Frankenstein is a 10-15 hour experience for 1-6 players (ages 13 and up).

Mother of Frankenstein challenges you to solve a series of puzzles in order to learn the truth behind Shelley’s infamous monster. While challenging enough for serious puzzlers, it also features a rich, emotional narrative composed by New York Times bestselling YA novelist Tommy Wallach, which will have you and your loved ones feeling all the feelings.

The game is divided up into three acts, each of which contains a trove of documents and puzzles, all of them beautifully crafted and cunningly designed–ostensibly by Mary Shelley herself–in order to reveal a great secret she left to her only surviving child. A bonus edition also includes a full copy of the 1818 edition of Frankenstein with additional puzzles from Emerald Flame creator Rita Orlov (PostCurious).

Volume 1 concerns Mary’s teenage years. We learn about her education by her iconoclastic father and complete three assignments on the subjects she most loved as a student—poetry, music, and astronomy—each of which is presented in the form of a puzzle.

In Volume 2, you’ll follow Mary Godwin, Percy Shelley, and Claire Claremont to a ball at Castle Frankenstein (yes, Castle Frankenstein was a real place). You’ll construct a 500-piece circular puzzle of the castle floorplan in order to work out just what happened that fateful evening. Afterward, you’ll need to solve the puzzles that alchemist Conrad Dippel set for Mary Shelley while educating her in the nascent field of “alvanism”—research that would one day inspire her famous novel.

In Volume 3, you’ll return to Castle Frankenstein, which you’ll build as a fully realized 300-piece 3D puzzle (which sits atop the 2D puzzle floorplan from Volume 2). Then you’ll have to solve a set of fiendish puzzles in order to learn how to construct the elaborate origami roofs for the various castle buildings. Finally, you’ll progress through a series of “advent calendar”–style diary entries while searching out details in the castle, each time placing a new window into the 3D puzzle. By the time you’ve finished, you’ll have finally learned Mary’s terrible secret…and created a beautiful object you just might want to keep on your mantle forever.

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...