Nightmare toys
Location: at home
Date Played: July 14, 2021
Team size: we recommend 1-4
Duration: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Price: about $42 (jigsaw puzzle prices are running high during the pandemic)
REA Reaction
If The Toy Factory Escape Puzzle were given a Dungeons & Dragons alignment, it would be chaotic evil… and I mean that in both its aesthetic design and its execution.
The menacing image on the jigsaw puzzle was strangely refreshing. Jigsaw puzzle images, near as I can tell, are typically made to appeal to children or midwestern women in their 50s… and not a lot in the middle. The Toy Factory looked grimly playful, and it really pulled me into the assembly.
This puzzle also benefited from a much better edge design than the earlier batches of Ravensburger Escape Puzzles. Additionally the lower piece count made this a much lower commitment to assemble. (Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of personal preference.)
This is where my kind words end… because the only thing scarier than the picture were the puzzles contained within. The overwhelming majority of them were a disaster. These were the kinds of puzzles where you look at the hints and wish the designer were in the room so they could personally experience your utter disappointment in their choices.
It’s horrifying to think that this puzzle is being circulated on the shelves of mainstream toy stores. Ravensburger, y’all need a better puzzle designer. Call us. We could recommend literally dozens of people who could help you solve these problems.
Solve this one for the image and ignore the escape part… or experience it as a lesson in bad puzzle design.
Series Overview
This review only covers details specific to this individual Ravensburger Escape Puzzle.
For a detailed explanation of the concept and mechanics, and a general analysis of the entire product line, check out our Ravensburger Escape Puzzle Overview.
Of note, The Toy Factory had only 368 pieces. Most of the previous escape puzzles we’ve reviewed had 759 pieces.
Continue reading “Ravensburger – The Toy Factory Escape Puzzle [Review]”