Squirrels Gone Wild [Review]

A tail of betrayal.

Squirrels Gone Wild is included in our recommendation guide for Tabletop Escape Games. For more of the best games of this style, check out the recommendation guide.

Location: at home

Date Played: October 1, 2024

Team size: 1-3; we recommend 1-3

Duration: 2-3 hours

Price: back on Kickstarter at $35 or more to receive a copy of the game

REA Reaction

Christine Little and Spencer Beebe’s upcoming tabletop puzzle game is now available to back on Kickstarter until November 11. The title pretty much says it all: Squirrels Gone Wild is packed with whimsy, modern references, and lots of squirrel puns. It also offers a sizable cache of puzzles in a relatively small package.

Throughout roughly two hours of puzzling, we perused the secret scrapbook of Chester’s ex-squirrelfriend in an attempt to crack her codes and track down the nuts she stole from him. If you’re giggling already, this just might be the puzzle game for you.

Due to the slick puzzle design and comprehensive hint system, Squirrels Gone Wild is great for casual players, families, puzzle experts—basically anyone who can handle the maturity level of the previous paragraph.

A book labeled "My Secret Scrapbook" with a skull and crossbones, and a pamphlet labeled "Squirrels Gone Wild."

If you’ve played Spencer’s Golden Lock Winning Lost in the Shuffle, Squirrels Gone Wild has a familiar playfulness and a similarly polished game flow. The puzzles shine from within the DIY aesthetic of Lucy’s scrapbook. With its gameplay inextricably linked to its dramatic tale of rodent romance gone wrong, at times it almost felt like we were paging through a real squirrel’s secret diary…almost.

Overall, it’s a quirky, solidly designed puzzle game with a unique story and point of view. If that sounds appealing, head over to the Kickstarter page and [squirrel pun goes here].

Who is this for?

Story seekers
Puzzle lovers
Rodent aficionados
Any experience level

Why play?

Vibrant, eclectic design
Satisfying puzzles
Juicy squirrel drama

An illustration of a squirrel with a speech bubble saying "My name is Chester and I need your help! My ex squirrelfriend got angry at me and I'm in a serious pickle."

Story

Chester (a squirrel) needed our help: his ex Lucy (also a squirrel) had become enraged and stolen his precious nuts. By investigating Lucy’s secret journal, we attempted to track down Chester’s missing nuts and maybe find out where things went wrong between them.

Setup

Squirrels Gone Wild unfolded through Lucy’s secret scrapbook, a diary of her life after moving to a new village. The colorful pages comprised a series of journal entries and artwork with puzzles embedded throughout.

Each puzzle had progressive hints available in the book, and we could check our answers on the website with a provided link. Some puzzles also required minimal online research.

Completing the book gained us a prize as well as a bonus puzzle (the real prize for so many of us). The only hint system for the bonus puzzle was to contact the creators on social media.

Some papers next to the inside cover of a scrapbook, which reads "This book belongs to Lucy and if you're reading this, and you're not me, you are in for a WORLD OF PAIN!"

Gameplay

Squirrels Gone Wild was a play-at-home puzzle game with a moderate level of difficulty.

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

Analysis

➕ Squirrels Gone Wild playfully juxtaposed the trappings of our modern life with lots of fanciful artwork and wordplay. The whimsy was off the charts, but it worked. This was a fun world to spend a couple of hours in.

➕ The game flow felt great. The puzzles started out deceptively easy, then ramped up to a comfortable cruising altitude. By the finale, with the satisfaction of several aha moments under our belts, it was a smooth landing.

➕/➖ The hint system in the scrapbook was comprehensive and fun to use, with many intermediate steps included so as not to give away the answer too soon. However, the friction of tracking down the creators for hints for the bonus puzzle may discourage some players.

➕ The puzzles and story intertwined seamlessly, keeping us immersed in our investigation. This narrative puzzle design meant we couldn’t help but follow the story during the course of the game. When we had a decision to make at the end, we already knew what we would choose.

❓Squirrels Gone Wild relied on paper materials, with not much besides the scrapbook and its contents to play with. The components will be different (presumably nicer) in the final version, but everything worked well in the prototype edition.

Assorted postcards, including an alien squirrel captioned "Roswell, New Mexico," tandem skydiving squirrels captioned "San Francisco," and a singing squirrel captioned "Grand Squirole Opry"

➕/➖ The visual design was vivid and eclectic. The hodgepodge of art styles felt true to a scrapbook. We were split on whether the DIY vibe added to or detracted from the game.

➕ The addition of a bonus puzzle allowed us to rehash the emotional journey we’d just been on. Rather than feeling tacked on, it added another layer to the experience.

➕ Squirrels Gone Wild is relatively easy to reset for another team with a little care—unless you prefer to squirrel it away on your own puzzle book shelf when you’re done.

Tips For Players

Space Requirements: a small table
Required Gear: pen and paper (or another way to take notes), internet-connected device for (minimal) research and checking answers

Buy your copy of Spencer Beebe and Christine Little’s Squirrels Gone Wild, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Buy Squirrels Gone Wild

Disclosure: Spencer Beebe and Christine Little provided a complimentary game.