Tangle Tower

If you like story driven puzzle games, go buy this game. The story has a depth that rewards multiple replays, and the puzzle are numerous and tricky enough that they also hold their charm.

It’s about a murder, but isn’t creepy and is great for the kids. It’s more colorful and funny than anything (unlike our Jenny LeClue experience).

The first time through is riveting. The story is great, there are unexpected twists, and it’s a longer game than you’d initially expect. We played it as a family on weekend mornings, and would spend rest of the week talking about who we thought the murderer might be, and different people’s motivations. My younger daughter has chosen to be Sally for halloween. The characters are great. There’s also a “behind the scenes” section in the game that talks through all the art and game design that they often flip through. They both really like drawing so the details here are really interesting to them. Sometimes they’ll fire it up just to flip through the prototype artwork and notes.

As a story based game, it’s a lot of words. But every conversation has voiceover, so it’s a good experience for younger readers.

My kids are all in on the graphic novel era, and they treat this game similarly. It’s a thing that they can pick up and put down like a book. They love it, and happily, a sequel is enroute: The Mermaids Tongue