Marc, the founder of Archimaze Puzzle, is a new puzzle designer who did an amazing job for this first design, with the ambition of becoming part of the world's top designers.
Let me explain more in detail.
Here we are with a big puzzle box containing written riddles and hidden mechanisms. The puzzle itself is very big, way bigger than what I expected. But honestly it would not do justice to a king living in a small castle, right?
In addition to its generous size, this 3D-printed puzzle is very carefully designed and you will notice a lot of effort put into the details. All the aspects of a real castle are there.
As just mentioned, you will have some riddles. They are part of the experience and they are not that easy. I am not very good at riddles, but I am not against them as well especially when they play a role in the whole story like here. Yes, there is a story all along your puzzle journey! You will have to read a little bit (I promise) and from the start to the end, the story will make sense to you.
The story is focused on the game of chess: you're the player in the chess world and you need to reach your goal (I won't tell you what it is!). You don't need to know how to play chess to enjoy the puzzle, and that's the good point with it. Personally I like chess and I know how to play chess. Also, I have never seen a mechanical puzzle based on chess. So I can only have a good first feeling about the puzzle :)
What about the mechanical side?
The Chess Castle is a mechanical puzzle meaning that you will have to use some tools (so yes, it's a SD puzzle as well!) in some creative ways! Trust me, Marc has a devilish mind !! Usually a new designer starts slowly, but here it's not the case. For your greatest pleasure of course :)
No force, gravity or banging are needed, only gentle moves. (By the way, be gentle with any puzzle!)
I loved many moves and their consequences. I don't want to spoil it, but everything is spot on. When these things happen, you will enjoy them without a doubt.
What about the riddles?
They are fully integrated to the puzzling experience. I would say it's 50% riddles and 50% hidden mechanisms. But the riddles help to make progress on the mechanical parts. When I say "riddles", it means here that the chess pieces that you will encounter will speak to you, giving you clues and encrypted messages that will help you move forward during your journey.
You have to analyze their words very carefully. The hidden meanings will be useful too.
You could be tempted to bypass some elements like forcing the cryptex on the top which is taunting you from the beginning. Don't do that! You could be cast into the oblivion in the very depths of the castle dungeon! Plus you will miss some interesting stuff. So I would advise to keep on trying and also to take notes: you will discover a lot of elements and pieces and you may need to track what you've found so far. If you don't do that, you will be forced to do it anyway, so better to start at the beginning of your journey.
Some riddles were a bit too hard for me I must confess. But again, I am not used to that. So maybe it will be easier for you? No need for any specific knowledge by the way.
I would say that the riddles are somewhat around a difficulty of 8 to 9 over 10 and the mechanical aspect around 7 and 8 over 10. But at the end I would give a total difficulty of 8.5/10 I guess.
The price can be considered as high, so now the key question:
Is it worth the price?
Yes, Yes and Yes!
Why? First there are a lot of things to discover, many tools and other interesting stuff. Marc put a lot of effort on the story and the game design, and they make your puzzle journey full of surprises. On the detail and look of the puzzle, nothing is missing, nothing was neglected. Regarding the size: you will have a big beautiful puzzle to display in your puzzle cabinet.
Remember that you pay not only for a finished product but also for the joy and thinking behind it (no, I have not been paid to say that!). And I guess it's the same for all puzzles: there are a lot of hours and nights spent on designing a puzzle and avoiding flows.
If you're into chess, mechanical puzzles, SD puzzles and riddles, no doubt: go for it. If you're a bit less into riddles or chess, honestly, you should give it a try. I am sure you will enjoy it a lot.
It's a limited edition puzzle: 100 puzzles crafted and no one will ever be made again in the future. Marc will move into other puzzle projects. So don't wait too much or you will regret it. Just saying....
The box you will receive containing the puzzle is not super heavy but it's big! Take that into consideration if you need to go to the post office to pick the package up!
How to buy it? Just click on this link!
Credit for the pictures goes for Marc's photographer: Bruno Marsone. He took very professional pictures and mine would not have been that good!
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