Crafty Maze: Elf Assembly (Play at Home) 

A cracker of a game!

Santa’s elves have run off!  Can you help him assemble them in his workshop so he can finish making presents in time for Christmas Day?

Ok, before we start with this review we should probably deal with the elephant in the room, the price. This game is £50, which sounds quite expensive, but I’ve done some research and actually, I personally think it is really good value. I looked at the Marks and Spencer’s website and they have a box of 8 ‘luxury’ crackers for £20, and for that £20 you get a load of rubbish ‘gifts’ that will likely just be recycled. While for £50 you get 8 crackers and a fun puzzling time (that kept us going for nearly 40 minutes. So read on to see what we thought of it and why we think it is actually decent value.

It was tricky to find a suitable time to play this game as crackers aren’t usually a staple at our dinner table. However, half of Review the Room is American, and Thanksgiving happened to be the second best time to give this game a try. So we invited some friends over, ate LOTS of food, and then sat down by the fire to give Elf Assembly a try.

CONCEPT/EXECUTION

No cracker would be complete without the basics; hat, cheesy jokes, little toy, and something to make it ‘crack’. Elf Assembly had all of those things and puzzles! We were impressed when we opened the box by the quality of the items, and as we progressed through-out the game, that impression didn’t change.

This would be a tricky game to play while actually eating your Christmas dinner, but there’s nothing to stop you pulling the crackers, telling the jokes, and wearing the hats while you eat, then you have the puzzling to look forward to after your meal.

There are eight crackers and each cracker contains items that you’ll need to solve in order to open the padlock on the box. We played this as a team of four which just meant we opened two crackers each. If you were to play in a smaller team it would get a bit repetitive with the puzzles but even if you were to play with eight players everyone would have something to do.

What was lovely about this game was that it was really well thought out. You’ll likely play this with eight people, so not only were there eight crackers, but also eight of all the key things – including the rewards/treats. The finale to the game was lovely and now we have a little Christmas ornament to go on our tree to remember our puzzling fun with friends.

PUZZLES

One thing that was nice about this game was that everything needed was in the box. The only need for the internet was if you were stuck and needed to get a clue. The first puzzle is standard with all crackers (with or without puzzles), and that is working out how to do the strange cross-armed cracker pull with the person next to you (why is that a thing?). With the crackers successfully pulled we could then move on to the actual puzzles.

The puzzles were the typical escape room tropes, involving; decoding, observation and wordplay. One of the puzzles was a little tricky, not so much for how to solve it, but just tricky to actually see/read, but it was doable and we managed to get through it without frustration.

If you’re a seasoned escape room enthusiast then you’re unlikely to be challenged by the puzzles in Elf Assembly. However, if you’re looking for a family friendly game that everyone can take part in, then this is a good choice.

CLUE SYSTEM

As a team of four experienced puzzlers, we didn’t need any clues to get us through Elf Assembly, but in the interest of being thorough, I have since gone back and had a look at the clue system and can confirm that it would definitely be enough to get you through the game.

The clue system is accessed via a link so if you do need assistance then you will need a device capable of accessing the internet.

Once you get into the help section you will find it very neatly laid out with clear sections so you know what bit to look at next, without the risk of spoilers for future puzzles. Most of the puzzles have three or four hints which get increasingly less cryptic as you go through them, and if you still need help they also contain the solution (with an explanation too which is nice).

FINAL THOUGHTS

This feels like an expensive game, but actually it’s decent value considering all it comes with and the entertainment it gives. These crackers would be a great addition to any Christmas table (or Thanksgiving for that matter) and our team of four experienced puzzlers were pleasantly surprised by how fun this game was.

TOOLS REQUIRED

• Internet connection (for hints only)

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players

Time Taken: 39 minutes

Website: https://crafty-maze.uk/

*Disclaimer: we weren’t charged for this experience, but this has not influenced our review