Fun Squared Games makes screen-free games and puzzles that both challenge and teach. Prime Suspect and Code Lock are logic puzzle games, and both can be played in small spaces, so they’re great for travel. The game boxes are even small enough that they could be used as stocking stuffers.
Prime Suspect
What’s in the box?
Fun Squared’s Prime Suspect comes in a box slightly larger than a standard playing card box. There are nine suspect tiles. Each suspect tile has a color image of the suspect on the front and a textual description on the back. The description includes the name and the descriptors that are relevant to the puzzles. This makes the game more accessible to people with color blindness or low vision. There are 45 case cards, each of which contains a different logic puzzle. The case cards are slightly larger than standard playing cards. The front of the card, which is designed to look like paper from a legal pad, contains the clues to the solution. The back, which looks like a banker’s envelope, complete with red string tie, has the solution.
How to play Fun Squared’s Prime Suspect
Fun Squared’s Prime Suspect is a solo player logic game. You keep each of the suspect tiles in front of you and pull the case cards one at a time. The goal is to place the suspect tiles in a 3×3 grid, according to the clues on the case card. If you’ve placed the tiles correctly, the perpetrator is the suspect in the center of the grid. There are three difficulty levels, so if you start at one and work your way through the cards by number, you’ll get more and more proficient at solving the case cards.
TOP TIP: If you’re like me and struggle with getting left and right correctly, take your time when building your grid. I’ve had to remake my grid more than once when I couldn’t get through the series of clues correctly because I’d placed a suspect tile on the wrong side.
*****Highly Recommended
Code Lock
What’s in the box?
Fun Squared’s Code Lock (also called Ninecode game) is in a cube(ish) box about twice as big as a Rubik’s cube. There are four sets of nine number tiles (four each of 1 through 9). Each set is a different color, so up to four players can play at once. There are four Ninecode Decks, comprised of 40 small, thin cards, which are attached by a pin that holds them together. Each Ninecode Deck has forty puzzles, which increase in difficulty through four levels of difficulty.
How to play Fun Squared’s Code Lock
As with Fun Squared’s Prime Suspect, you need to create a 3×3 grid. The clues on the cards in the Ninecode Deck are made up of symbols and numbers that tell you where each numbered card should appear in the grid. There are four difficulty levels (A-D) and ten puzzles at each level, so it’s best to start at A1 and work your way through the puzzles by set and number. You’ll understand the clues better as you progress through the Ninecode Deck. Once you think you have solved the puzzle, turn the clue card over and you’ll see the solution. No peeking until you’ve solved it! If you’re competing with other players, make sure you work as fast as you can, because the first one to solve the puzzle correctly and shout “Locked” wins!
TOP TIP: If you’re a solo player, through one set of number tiles and a Ninecode Deck in your bag to play anywhere.
Prime Suspect and Code Lock by Fun Squared are great games for solo players and travelers. Code Lock is also a great game for students to play with friends, building logic skills as they go. Both games are marked for ages 8 and up. If your littles express interest, talk them through what you’re doing while you play. They’re also great games for single parents, who can play quick games during naps and after bedtime. You can make both into travel games by putting the tiles and clue cards/Ninecode Decks in zipper-locked bags in your carry-on. I can’t wait for the extension packs with new puzzles to come out for both games!
TOP TIP: Tray tables have gotten so small that it would help to bring a piece of cardboard to extend the playing surface enough to hold all the tiles.
٭٭٭٭٭Highly recommended
Leave a Reply