‘Twas the month after Christmas and REA was catching up
Location: at home
Date Played: January 11, 2020
Team size: 1-6; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: about $89
REA Reaction
We have a stack of games from The Conundrum Box to play, but one of them stood out to us: the oversized one labeled, “Christmas Seasonal Escape Room.” We cut the box open and found an assortment of tiny, hand-wrapped gifts… and then this thing was bumped to the front of the review queue.
The Christmas Seasonal Escape Room delivered exactly what we wanted out of it: approachable puzzles, oodles of adorableness, and a final output that will thaw even the iciest of hearts.
While we think The Conundrum Box could have introduced more creative puzzles and further integrated the puzzling into the overall experience, the setup was undeniably special.
We aren’t usually people who enjoy small objects that don’t contribute significantly to the puzzling in our tabletop escape games… but the Christmas Seasonal Escape Room proved the exception to the rule.
This box is sold out. The Conundrum Box hasn’t announced plans for next year’s Christmas game, but based on my conversation with them, they will likely iterate on this concept next Christmas. If this sounds like your kind of a good time, keep your eye on their website for this and other seasonal games.
Who is this for?
- The Christmas cheerful
- Puzzle lovers
- People who love physical objects in their tabletop puzzles
- Any experience level
Why play?
- Utterly lovable presentation
- Straightforward, well-constructed puzzling
- What you’re left with at the end
- Holiday cheer
Story
A collection of beautifully wrapped, mysterious Christmas gifts arrived at our door.
Setup
We cracked open the box and removed an assortment of wrapped gifts. Following the instructions we opened up a website that verified solutions and provided hints… and then we were off.
We puzzled through each gift sequentially. Getting started was straightforward.
Gameplay
The Conundrum Box’s Christmas Seasonal Escape Room Box was a standard play-at-home escape game with a lower level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around puzzling and embracing the adorableness of this experience.
Analysis
➕ The Conundrum Box sent us a box full of wrapped gifts!
➕ It was easy to get started. Christmas Seasonal Escape Room Box opened with a straightforward puzzle that taught us how the gameplay worked – how to interact with the gifts and the website interface.
➖ The puzzles were functionally solid, but none of them were memorable. They felt pretty random. Although the props were Christmas-y, the puzzles themselves weren’t particularly thematic.
➖ The inconsistency in solution styles was bizarre. It made the puzzles feel like they didn’t belong to the same game.
➕ The Conundrum Box turned a collection of tchotchkes into a complete experience. This was an effective and meaningful way to make the items into far more than the sum of their parts.
➕ With each puzzle presented as a gift, the gating was especially fun. We could unwrap each new challenge in turn.
➕ The puzzle types were varied. We especially enjoyed the final puzzle, which was implemented such that it pulled all the components of the game together, and facilitated group participation.
➕ We assembled a tiny Christmas tree!
Tips For Players
- Space Requirements: a table
- Required Gear: pencil, paper, and an internet-connected device
- While not necessary, access to a wall outlet is recommended for optimal play conditions
Buy your copy of The Conundrum Box’s Christmas Seasonal Escape Room Box, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: The Conundrum Box provided a sample for review.
