I frequently ate at restaurants as a kid and one of the things I most looked forward to was the menu and the puzzles/games listed thereon. Of course, the waiter/waitress only had two crayon colors and my younger brother always had to have the cooler looking of the two…I was often left with some off-putting, unhealthy puke orange color. Mazes were often the star attraction on these kid menus and most were solvable in seconds.
Fast-forward twenty plus years and yes, I saw such a menu still in existence when the waiter mistakenly gave my soon to be nineteen year old son a kid’s menu. I’m surprised really; Vinnie Jr’s Amish looking beard was a dead give-away that he wasn’t a “youngin” anymore but whatever. Enter River Hill Games, developers who are attempting to get a more clever type of maze out there to the masses via Kickstarter. “Adventure Maze” is a series of flipbooks to where the terrain and layout of the maze can change as you fold and flip pages on a whim.
Before we begin it’s worth noting that what I received was possibly a prototype, so everything that you’re about to read and see about below may be subject to change. I’m also required under FTC regulations to disclose that I was paid to cover this game, though any and all opinions/thoughts are my own.
Each flipbook will typically contain the beginning of a story, an inventory page, a rules page, and a lot of maze pages. The reverse side of the mage pages include more parts of the story, as well as more of the maze to traverse. Maze pages can be folded in on themselves by utilizing floor stones. The direction you fold the maze pages will depend on the shape of the floor stones in question. For example, if trying to fold a circle floor stone to coincide with the other on the backside of the page, you’ll fold from the top-right corner. Triangles, on the other hand, task you to begin folding from the right. It’s a good idea to fold all the pages before you begin.
The flipbook that I received was called Parallel Times. Like a typical maze, you’re given a start point and tasked with finding all of the end points. You’ll move through the maze with a non-marking stylus (not included in my prototype), folding pages along the way, until you come across one of these end points. You’ll then peel off the sticker to place into your inventory. Finding all of the end points/stickers is how you complete the book and finish the rest of the story. Different books will contain barriers that must be overcome before being able to move past them, so each book will be a slightly different experience.
My experience with it was a positive one. It honestly took me a little bit to get used to the idea that I could warp the page and alter paths by folding them. Like Marty McFly from “Back To The Future”, I guess I have a real problem thinking fourth dimensionally…well in this case, three. I personally like the idea, as it could appeal to people of all ages. While each book has a different number of solutions and skill level, this is an activity that can potentially be solved in under an hour or two, depending on the complexity of the book in question. Of course, you could take it slow to savor the experience. The Kickstarter pledges seem to average roughly five dollars a book, making it an ideal pickup and go activity for when you’re out and about waiting for someone at say, a bookstore or cafe.
I would love to see some kind of reusable version in the future. At roughly five dollars a pop (the retail price may be different should it hit store shelves) the books are a great value, though once you complete one, you’re done. I don’t play Legacy games because I hate ruining the components of the game. To that end I’d love to see a slightly more expensive, but reusable series of flipbooks in the future so that family members and guests alike have the option of giving it a go should they visit. I mean, you’re already using a stylus rather than a pencil, so perhaps some re-attachable stickers? (Possible future Kickstarter idea, *wink wink, nudge nudge*)
Editor’s Note: I managed to get a couple of more sticks out of them. Per the developer the stickers are “low-tac” and should last dozens of times. My experience may differ from yours.
Speaking of Kickstarter, the campaign was funded within fifteen hours of launch. Pledging five dollars grants you one book of your choice, pledging nine dollars grants you two books of your choice, and so on. There appears to be four different books listed on the official website and the Kickstarter page of varying theme and difficulty: Deep Sea Adventure, Pirate Escape, Parallel Times, and Witches Way. At the time of writing, the Kickstarter project still has about twenty-seven days remaining, meaning if you like what you see here then you’ll have plenty of time to scrounge up five dollars or more to give these amazing flipbooks a try.
Takeaway:
The “Adventure Maze: Flip Books” are a great idea and appropriate for almost any age level. This would serve as a great “coffee-break” activity while you relax or wait for the real world to catch up to you.
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Developer Website: https://www.riverhillgames.com/
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/889621806/adventure-maze-flip-books
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