This game from Ludonaute is aptly named, as it's a logic game themed on archaeology, and with a big circular device (the 'Archeoscope') at the heart of the mechanics. The 1-4 players are trying to solve a puzzle, fitting their six polyomino buildings onto their 5 x 5 city square, identifying their locations precisely so that traps on the buildings won't be set off. The puzzle solving is non-interactive but it's a race to see who can reach their conclusion first by using their turn to gain information as efficiently as possible.
Each turn, players will use the Archeoscope to enquire about a certain row or column of the city, finding out information such as whether a certain shape is present or how many empty spaces there are in it. Depending on how valuable the clue is, different amounts of time are spent, such that asking about one of the big tiles costs three units of time, but asking about the number of shapes in the line only costs just one. Players who use less time can ask more questions.
This dynamic, and the way that the row/column in question shifts over time, makes this feel like a game as well as a puzzle. There is strategy to it, beyond the problem-solving of finding the solution. The difficulty can be tailored, according to how many clues are received at the start: giving five clues means the solution can be found very quickly but starting with only three clues means that many questions will have to be asked before the one correct solution can be discerned.
Some gamers will be put off by the mention of the companion app, but don't worry: this is not required at all to play the game, tho' it does save time setting up the initial clues, and it offers unlimited puzzles if the thirty or so supplied are not enough (they really should be enough as most people will not be able to remember a solution they saw 30 puzzles ago).
Designed by Yoann Levet, with art by Pauline Detraz, this is an engaging game that is challenging and satisfying to play. As soon as you start, everyone can be trying to find possible solutions using their pieces, whether it's their turn or not. The only drawback with playing with multiple players is that there are times when you can be left waiting for new information, and if there's a big gap between the first person solving it and the last, there is nothing for players to do once they've finished. Still, for people who like logic and deduction games such as Sudoku and Tiwanaku (Sit Down!) (which uses a not dissimilar wheeled device) and are happy to go far beyond the complexity of Cluedo, this will surely be a big hit. And it's playable too as a solitaire game.
(Review by Matt Young)
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