Players can work on their own or with friends and family to complete challenges.
Funko Games, the company behind titles like The Goonies: Never Say Die and Disney Kingdomania, recently released Indiana Jones Cryptic, the first game in the company’s new line of “Puzzles and Pathways Adventure” games.
Indiana Jones Cryptic is an escape room-style game for one or more players with a recommended age of 10+. The game features three story-based adventures to complete that are inspired by the Indiana Jones film franchise. For instance, the first adventure, “Covenant of Raiders,” is inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark. Each adventure has an estimated play time of 60-90 minutes.
Indiana Jones’s journal will guide players through each adventure. Each adventure also has an envelope of components that are only used during that story. Adventures have two kinds of challenges to complete: Puzzles and Pathways.
Each puzzle challenge asks players to determine a one or two-word answer using clues provided in the journal and the components that are included with the current adventure. Once players think they’ve determined the correct answer, they can check the “Hint and Answer” section of the journal to see if they’re right. Players can also look up a hint in this section if they’d like more help solving a puzzle before making a guess.
Pathway challenges, meanwhile, represent more action-packed moments in the story, such as encounters with enemies or escaping from danger. Each pathway challenge asks players to draw a path on a clear screen using the included dry-erase markers to guide characters in their current environment. Players will begin by overlaying the clear screen onto the Pathway Card that features the area players need to navigate. This will allow them to properly mark their starting position on the clear screen.
Once the screen is marked, players will move the clear screen away from the Pathway Card and will need to draw a single path based on where they think the obstacles are on the card. That is, they’ll need to reference the Pathway Card and determine how to draw their line with the goal being to create a line that avoids the obstacle(s) once the screen is placed on the answer side of the card.
For instance, one pathway challenge asks players to help Indiana Jones run away from the giant boulder seen in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Pathway Card features holes in the path, so players will need to draw a line on the clear screen with the goal of helping Indy avoid those holes so he safely reaches the exit.
Players can earn coins based on their performance during each puzzle or pathway challenge. It’s also possible for players to not earn any coins. For instance, if players look up the answer to a puzzle challenge, rather than figuring it out on their own, they won’t earn any coins for the challenge.
At the end of each adventure, players will total the coins they earned throughout the story and will receive a ranking based on the total. From there, they can begin the next adventure with a new set of components and challenges to complete, or take a break.
Since Indiana Jones Cryptic is a story-based game, it doesn’t have the same replayability as a traditional tabletop game. That is, the stories and answers won’t change if you decide to play the game a second time. Families should keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to make a purchase.
Indiana Jones Cryptic is now available for $34.99.
Disclosure: SuperParent received Indiana Jones Cryptic for coverage purposes.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
