Eleven Puzzles: Unboxing the Mind of a Cryptic Killer (Play at Home)

I forgot to count how many puzzles there were

The detectives need your help!

After receiving a suspicious text message, two former partners are sent to different locations.

On arrival, they find two chests and realize that the Cryptic Killer is on the hunt again!

Knowing they’re in grave danger, they have called on you for your expertise in puzzle solving and code-breaking.

Can you help the detectives escape the clutches of the killer?

Ever since we played the games by Enchambered (Alone Together & Together Apart), we’ve been wanting to find games similar to them, games that rely heavily on communication. Finally one such game has come along – say hello to Eleven Puzzles: Unboxing the Mind of a Cryptic Killer. Before going any further there is one key difference to note, the Enchambered games are really designed for two players only, while Eleven Puzzles have made this game suitable for 2-6 players (working in two teams).

First impressions of this game were very favourable, with slick graphics and a nice interface, we had high hopes that this could be the cooperative game we were looking for. We played as a team of two, with Liz being Team ‘Ally’ and I took Team ‘Old Dog’ – these characters seemed very fitting. You need to have at least one player for each team and before you start you are able to see which players are online and which team they are on.

CONCEPT/EXECUTION

With the cartoony graphics and easy navigation, we really enjoyed this game. There were multiple levels, with clear breaks between each one and the puzzles were laid out in a way that actually gave a decent indication as to what went with what.

It’s hard to think of ways to praise this game enough, it seemed like when the designers sat down to plan it, they thought of all the things that annoyed them, and made sure they didn’t appear in this game. There were puzzles that you could physically interact with and manipulate and, when needed, there was also a drawing tool so you could doodle on the screen while you solved it. These additions really helped make the game that much more enjoyable and easier to play.

If there was one area that let’s this game down, it’s that it isn’t fully accessible. They do state quite clearly on their website that “the game is not suitable for people with colour blindness, deafness or HOH”. Saying that, as this is a team game, you may still be able to play provided one person on your team doesn’t have issues with these things – there are still many puzzles that this doesn’t affect.

This game does have a countdown timer that counts you down from 90minutes but this is purely to add a little bit of pressure and if the timer runs out, you can still keep playing. Don’t get complacent though, Eleven Puzzles find a way to keep that pressure high right up until the very end!

PUZZLES

Unsurprisingly the biggest puzzle in this game is communication. How well you communicate with your team will determine how successful you are. But there is more to this game than just communication; logic, deduction, observation and some other puzzles all make an appearance to keep you on your toes. Saying that, if your communication game is strong then I don’t think enthusiasts will really struggle with this game, but it is still really good fun.

Sometimes subtle, and sometimes very obvious, this game had great signposting to the puzzles. If you got a code you often knew where it went or it just took a little bit of thought to understand. The designers did one thing that makes the game much easier to play, we didn’t pick up on this until right near the end (so I won’t say what it is), but just realising that one thing would have made the communication aspect a little easier.

CLUE SYSTEM

We didn’t need any hints as we found that all the puzzles were clear and made perfect sense, but in the interest of offering a thorough review, we went back and had a look to see what they were like.

If you do need a hint for any puzzle, you will find a lightbulb on the screen clearly labeled with ‘Hints’, if you click on that you are presented with a screen confirming that you really want to see the hint and that ‘you can choose to take as many hints as you wish, the only thing negatively impacted is your pride’. If you don’t care about your pride being damaged then you can ask to see three hints before finally revealing the solution.

This clue system ensures that you only get the hints you need (don’t want to hurt your pride too much), but one way or another you will be able to finish the game.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The more I look back on this game, the more I realise how much I enjoyed it. I don’t know if they’re planning on making another one, but I really hope they do! This game holds its’ own among the communication games by Enchambered (Alone Together & Together Apart), and if you like those, play this!

As an aside, we know the Enchambered games are popular just by looking at our website stats. For those two games alone we have had over 14,000 page views in the past few months! Admittedly most of those are people looking for help (we can help), but it shows how many people are playing them.

TOOLS REQUIRED

• PC/Phone/Tablet
• Note taking tools (optional)

Final Rating:

Team: 2 players

Time Taken: 1hr 10mins

Website: https://elevenpuzzles.com

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