Room Escape Artist

Laser cut conundrum.

At the time of this review, this product was just called “Cluebox.” Now that there is a full line of Cluebox products, iDventure has changed its name to “Schrodinger’s Cat.”

Update August 10, 2024: For more details on this series of games, refer to the recently published iDventure Cluebox Puzzles Overview.

Location:  at home

Date Played: December 2019

Team size: we recommend 1-2

Duration: 45–60 minutes.

Price: €29.99

REA Reaction

Cluebox was a curious and delightful object.

Laser cut out of wood, this resettable puzzle box felt like a happy marriage of mechanical puzzle box design with escape room elements.

It didn’t take either of us too long to solve it, but the process was lovely. There were plenty of great aha moments, and no two challenges felt the same.

If you enjoy tangible puzzling, Cluebox is a stellar product unlike anything else that we’ve encountered.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Tangible, elegant design
• Smart puzzling
• It’s resettable

Story

It was Schrödinger’s Cat puzzle box. That’s it. That’s the story. You wish that you’d thought of it too.

Setup

Cluebox was a hybrid of mechanical puzzle box with escape room.

Typically puzzle boxes don’t provide clue structure. They exist for you to tinker with until you learn their secrets.

Cluebox had a light story behind it and a series of clues engraved into its sides. It didn’t feel like it wanted us to hack at it until it opened; it felt like it wanted us to understand its progression.

Gameplay

iDventure’s Cluebox was an interactive puzzle box with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ The gorgeous box felt great to hold. It was beautifully crafted.

➕ Cluebox consisted of a lot of small moving parts. The mechanics worked well.

➖ There was opportunity to further sand edges and bevel inserts for a smoother experience all around.

➕ Cluebox had elegant onboarding.

➕ The puzzling was varied. Each section required different types of observation and thinking. The puzzles never felt repetitive.

➕ We enjoyed some brilliant aha moments.

➖ One dexterity puzzle proved exceptionally challenging. We spent a lot of time on the process of it, long after the aha.

➕ The story was adorable.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: your hands, lap, or table
• Required Gear: pencil and paper are helpful, but not required

Buy your copy of iDventure’s Cluebox, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Thank you to Brett Kuehner for lending us his Cluebox.