A Challenge from the Crafting Genius

Our first Japanese “hall type” game, where the entire experience takes place in a single room with no theming but only puzzle props. All this one had a bunch of wooden boards, strings, a large canvas, and tape, and we had to manipulate them in various ways to “craft” solutions to 12 puzzles in 60 minutes! We didn’t complete it in time because the final puzzle was diabolically insane, but we still really enjoyed the experience because of how clever the puzzles are. We did this with 3 people but the ideal number is 4 due to the nature of some of the puzzles.

A very different type of escape room. Some really great puzzles!

A Challenge from the Crafting Genius was a beautifully crafted, puzzle first experience. There were 12 puzzles to solve, each increasing in difficulty and complexity. Instructions and input are given through an iPad, which was perfectly usable in English. Each puzzle built on itself incrementally, slowly leveling up what you knew to use. Puzzles were presented clearly, and hints were self indicated freely. Each puzzle has us smiling and using all of the provided tools to find creative answers. We used and reused props in creative ways. Don’t go in expecting to win this game with time to spare. Go into this game if you’re a true puzzle nerd, looking for a challenge. An absolute delight to play.

So many of SCRAP's games feature clever, challenging, memorable puzzles, as was also the case in A Challenge from the Crafting Genius. This hall(ish) style game managed to transcend all that and design puzzles as art — an exquisite tribute to creation, creativity, and play. The puzzles are tactile, satisfying, layered, and overall quite approachable. As is typical in this style, things really ramp up in the final sequence... and oh gosh, they are so clever. The final step of this remarkable experience genuinely changed how I see the world. This is a challenging game with just 2 players — there's just a lot to physically do — so best played with 3-4.