Families or anyone entertaining kids older than 7 or 8.Ultimately, I recommend this as an action-packed candidate for family game night if you’re looking for ways to train up the younger spies…er…puzzlers in your life.

It was an effective learning ground for my kids that demonstrated how making intentional changes could really improve our experience over time. As the missions progressed, my kids were then able to suggest strategies for themselves. With six missions that repeated some structural elements and puzzle patterns, my family had several good debriefs about how to modify our gameplay and communication. What really intrigued me as an adult guide throughout this mayhem was how conducive the game was to post-game reflections on strategy and improvement. Overall, most of the puzzles were approachable and interesting for the target audience, especially with an experienced player to support them along the way. These activities were only marred by tiny print, occasionally indistinguishable colors, and an occasional need for outside knowledge. Even so, each mission included a variety of observation, communication, searching, and physical challenges, giving newer players a nice sampling of puzzle types. This focus on time pressure and action came at the expense of puzzle depth, a presumably calculated balance meant to accommodate the short game clock without frustrating novice players. More than just inspiring several mad dashes through the house under pressure, this design also lent itself well to split-information puzzles, requiring us to refine our communication strategies from mission to mission. Even the game’s simplistic door-hanger locks added a sense of progress and accomplishment to the experience, something that seemed even more profound to younger imaginations. The game established a large footprint to explore within this timeframe by spreading various game elements throughout several rooms. A 15-minute game time for each mission created this expectation upfront, so we had to work efficiently to beat the clock. Rather than attempting to recreate the aesthetic immersion of an escape room, this set of six “missions” achieved a sort of adrenaline immersion that resonated a lot with my kids.

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