Carnival is a point-and-click adventure game created by Edaqa’s Room.
Format
Style of Play: point-and-click adventure game
Required Equipment: computer with internet connection
Recommended Team Size: 1-4
Play Time: 1 hour (but you have up to 15 days to play)
Price: $12.50 per team
Booking: Upon purchase you gain immediate access to the game in the browser and can play at your leisure.
Description
This is a point-and-click game with synchronous inputs. All players individually navigate through different screens and interact with objects. If one player solves a puzzle, all players are notified, and the puzzle is no longer available to others.
Hivemind Review Scale
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Theresa W’s Reaction
Carnival was a very strong point-and-click collaborative game that had great puzzle flow and cute graphics. All players were able to act independently of one another to adventure while still affecting everyone’s session with synchronous inputs across devices. The gameplay was smooth with no technical difficulties. It’s always great to see when creators take feedback and implement it, as my biggest gripe about Edaqa’s Room’s original game Prototype was improved tenfold in this version. I really wish that the ending wasn’t so anticlimactic, as it just felt like we ended abruptly. Overall, Carnival was a really adorable game with solid puzzles that’s worth playing!
Tammy McLeod’s Reaction
This was a cute little puzzle game that is designed to be fun to play with a team cooperatively over voice chat. The flat price per team is affordable, and the theme and artwork are fun and appealing. The interface is thoughtful, giving appropriate notifications when your teammates obtain new inventory items or solve puzzles. I really enjoyed playing this!
Sarah Mendez’s Reaction
This would be a lovely experience for families. The puzzles are (mostly) approachable and thematic, the graphics are cutesy, and the gameplay offers a satisfying balance of searching and making connections. It reminded me of my early days pointing and clicking, which I’m happy for the youth of today to experience.
That said, for experienced players, the game offers little in the way of novelty. The game derives cohesion from its theme more than its story, and the puzzles sometimes felt haphazard in the connections they required (e.g. Why does this number go with that doodad? Dunno, but it works!) I always love the feeling of figuring things out, but here it often felt more accidental than earned. We also finished the metapuzzle before all the previous puzzles, and while we think we completed those puzzles retroactively, the ending never changed. Maybe we missed something, but it was too ambiguous about when and why to click “finish.”
Overall, I enjoyed playing Carnival, but it may appeal to a limited audience.
Cara Mandel’s Reaction
Carnival is a delightful point-and-click puzzle adventure that is fun for the whole family! The puzzles were moderately challenging and the interface worked very smoothly. We had a great time investigating and looking for patterns, hidden clickable clues, logic puzzles, and more! Of the non-appointment-based point-and-click games I’ve played, this was one of the standouts. Though a couple of the individual puzzles could have used some mildly clearer cluing mechanisms, overall it was a great game with a helpful hint system, if needed. Grab 2-3 puzzle loving friends, hop on a Zoom together, and enjoy!
Disclosure: Edaqa’s Room provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.