Big Break Hamburg: The Toy Maker (Hamburg)

A wondrous set

You and your friends love to play games and solve puzzles. You are delighted but also quite intrigued when you receive an exclusive invitation to meet with the owner of a famous toy store.

When you arrive however, you discover that the store seems to be closed and the owner is nowhere to be found. The door suddenly springs open and you step inside. One thing is for sure: this is no ordinary toy store…

Our random weekend in Hamburg was mostly dictated by the fact that our teammates, James and Charlie, were on a cruise and had two nights in the city, so we decided to fly over and greet them, while also lining up the highest rated games in the city.

We managed to play some top quality games at Skurrilum and Hidden in Hamburg and the final remaining game that was high on the list was The Toy Maker (Der Spielzeugmacher in German). This game was one we were definitely looking forward to due to it being award the number 14 slot in the TERPECAs in 2023 – in 2024 it dropped to a still very respectable #31.

We found Hamburg very easy to get around so we managed to walk to all the venues that we visited, and Big Break Hamburg was no different. After a lovely walk to burn off some delicious currywurst, we arrived and found our way up the lift and into the waiting room where we were greeted by one of the members of staff and told to take a seat in the waiting room while they finished getting things ready.

After a little wait, and some time to take in the scenery, our GM appeared. We were sat in the bus stop area of the waiting room and she proceeded to give us the introduction and mission briefing, plus something else. As it turns out, our experience in The Toymaker started before we even entered the workshop…

**It’s worth noting that despite there being a lift to get to the lobby, this game is not the most accessible. The Big Break Hamburg website clearly states “To play the game you must be able to move through a small passage and do a bit of climbing” – and this is certainly true and I couldn’t see a work around for it.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

This room was really rather lovely in terms of design, and it had a feel of being in a lovely old toy shop, or perhaps Santa’s workshop? When we actually entered the room we received a secondary briefing from the toy maker, but this was done in a lovely way that fit the theme perfectly. Once that briefing was over, our time began and it was displayed on the screen.

There was a lot to take in in this game, with toys and props everywhere. Some were part of puzzles, others were just part of the theming, but fortunately it wasn’t too hard to work out what-was-what, and what we could and should be interacting with.

Ambient noises and music were being played at all times which again added to the fun and helped keep the adrenaline high throughout our experience.

Another nice thing about this game was that each space we encountered was very distinct and very different from the previous space. Really the only negative with the set design was that it isn’t fully accessible for teams with limited mobility. It would be nice if they could find a way to tweak it so that everyone could get to enjoy it.

PUZZLES

As I said, this game actually started before we entered the game and the first thing was a nice little warm up for what was to come. The puzzles were varied and all made by using different games and items that felt like they were native to the environment we were in; observation, directions, colours, searching, teamwork, coordination, audio, and perhaps a little logic were the main of the puzzle types.

Generally we found the puzzles to be fair and fun, and enabled us to all be involved but there were the inevitable throttle points where we had to solve things in a certain order, or a puzzle could only be done by a couple of people. But even with nothing to do, there was a lot to look at and simply admire. We managed to create our own puzzle at one point and this massively slowed us down, and possibly felt a bit unfair due to some design choices made for the puzzle – but with a nudge or two we were back on track.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Our host kept us on track in the game when we needed help – and we did at a couple of points. This was also one of those games where at the end you didn’t just ‘finish’ you also got points depending on how you performed in the game. This is probably a nice touch for those who are ultra-competitive.

At all times, from what I can remember, there was a timer on the screen. This screen was also used to display any clues that were needed, and these were accompanied by a noise so we knew to look for them.

ANYTHING ELSE

Does this game deserve to be ranked as number 31 in the world? Personally, I don’t think it does, but it is a solid game and I can see why people love it so much. To be honest, it was nice to play a highly ranked game that wasn’t a horror game for a change!

The Toy Maker has moments that will wow you, moments that may frustrate you, and many many moments that will simply bring you joy. This is a lovely game and Big Break Hamburg have created a game that you just simply don’t want to leave. Oh, and the theatrical ending was a bit of fun too!

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players

Address: Brandstwiete 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany

Website: https://www.bigbreakhamburg.com/