If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might already be aware that I have been playing some of the Trapped Escape Room Packs. Trapped are escape room games in a box to play in the comfort of your own home. The first game in the series, The Art Heist was a disappointment for us, but the second game, The Bank Job, was brilliant and plenty of fun (and harder). So we decided to carry on and play the third game in the series of six, The Carnival.
For those of you that are not aware of the Trapped escape room packs, Trapped are a series of family-friendly interactive escape room games to play at home which are suitable for 2-6 players aged 8+ and have a playing time of 1-2 hours (all depending on how quickly you can solve the puzzles). There is no board or turn-taking, you just work together, or in teams, to try to solve the clues. It has real codes to crack, puzzles to solve and tests to pass. An escape room in a box.
The Carnival is the third game in the series but also the easiest of the three that we have played. It has a puzzle difficulty rating of easy. In the box is everything you need to turn any room in your house into an Escape Room where players need to work together to solve all the puzzles or race head-to-head with your friends and family to win a job at the mysterious Muggins Carnival.
In the game pack is:
- Instructions
- Clue Reader
- Posters
- Clues
- Props
- Solutions
In Carnival, your lifelong dream is to work among the jaw-dropping performers of Muggins Carnival. But wait! Nothing is what it seems as you race to solve the Ringmaster’s baffling puzzles. Work together as a team or go head-to-head with other players to see who’ll be crowned King or Queen of the carnival.
As with the other games, in the box you will find an instruction sheet which tells a story to set the scene, along with multiple cards and clues to solve, a clue reader for clues as you go along and even little props to really help make you part of the game. You just need to add a pen and paper.
To play, you place the clues and puzzles around the carnival, sorry I mean the room that has become your carnival for the duration of the game. Players then work together in groups or race head-to-head to try and solve the clues and puzzles, not necessarily in any particular order. This works great as if you are struggling you can go off and work on another clue and come back later (this eliminates a lot of frustration, especially in younger less patient players). We played in groups, a child and adult on each team. The clues were so engaging and fun, and the carnival theme was brightly coloured and engrossing, we all had a great time.
If you do get really stuck on any clues and you and your fellow players are really struggling, there are hint reference numbers on the reverse of the clues which allow you to look for individual clues through a cipher. We thought this was a great way of doing it as it is impossible to accidentally see more clues than you wanted to, or even to be tempted to have a sneaky peek!
Overall, The Carnival was a really fun and enjoyable game. It had some great puzzles to solve and whilst easier than The Bank Job was still just as much fun and the kids were able to help solve clues more confidently than the previous games. Whilst this is the third room in the series, if playing with children this would be the one to start with.
As with the previous games, it can be packed away back into its gift bag style packaging and given to someone else to play, so isn’t a throwaway game and extends its life.
The Carnival is an excellent escape room game, where logic and thinking out of the box are put to the test. A fun and entertaining game for family nights or even children’s parties.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £13.99
Available to buy from Amazon here.
Disclosure: I received this item for free for the purposes of writing an honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.
