iDVenture are a German company who came up with the idea of the escape room style puzzle boxes a few years back. Their previous designs include the highly rated Davy Jones Box, Trial of Camelot and Sherlock's Camera, all of which are ingenious and lots of fun to work through.
It was with interest I saw the new direction they decided to go with their latest release Pyramid of the Sun. Stepping back from the formula that they've previously stuck to this one is a fusion of jigsaw and puzzle box and they are calling it a CluePuzzle. Once again they seem to have created something novel and it was with excitement that I finally got the time to try it out.
So at first glance it might seem confusing, is it a jigsaw or a puzzle box. Well the answer is....both. To begin with you're presented with an almost blank pyramid and the first puzzle is to locate the pieces. This took me slightly longer to figure out that it should have as it's not even hidden! They're just contained within the base of the box that you release with a button but Sherlock Holmes here managed to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Pieces found I realised what you have to do, there are four faces to the pyramid and you have a pile of wooden jigsaw pieces that you have to then fit into the faces. iDVenture have gone with an Aztec theme to the designs on each face although I believe with an expansion pack you can actually get a completely different set of puzzles which is a nice idea. The problem though is that all the pieces have roughly the same colour theme, lots of black, red and green.
I found one side was more different than the others so started on that and it took longer than I had expected to complete it. There are probably only 50 pieces or so for each face but it was probably 20 minutes or so to get the first face done. I was a little unsure at the start as to how the puzzle mechanics would work but as you complete the jigsaws it starts to make sense and is really clever in the way the jigsaw guides it. I'd assumed you would be able to shortcut the jigsaws and jump straight to opening the box but that's not really the case (you probably could but it is not as simple as I'd imagined).
So as I worked through the first side and then completed a second things definitely became easier, less pieces left means less to sift through to find the right one! Eventually all four sides were done and it was time to open the box.
On each side there is some kind of mechanics, working out what to do is not really too hard, maybe 5-10 minutes on this max but still they work in a really cool way! Stuff was shooting out, sliding etc. After doing that it's a pretty simple task of opening it up at the top and the box is completed.
Definitely a real change from iDVentures previous boxes and I note a direction they are continuing with on this years new box as well. If you're looking for a problem solving challenge then this box is maybe not for you, look at their older designs but this one would be great for just about anyone to attempt as it's not going to prove too difficult. It also looks fantastic as a display piece, I just can't bring myself to reset it after piecing it all together. Solving it from start to finish probably took around an hour or so, I think if you are used to doing lots of jigsaws it would probably be quicker but still a nice evenings play. If you want to check it out you can find the Pyramid of the Sun puzzle box over here.
