Page 46 - spielbox 03/21 - English

For Kids. Inspector
Nose / Find the Code!
Associative Teamwork
By WIELAND HEROLD
Inspector Nose: He “solves every case,“ Reinhard Staupe promises his lit- tle detectives. Layout and design I can-
not quite praise as euphorically as that of Charlie (see page 43), but Staupe once again delivers a neat game, well im- plemented by NSV. The designer
only uses 54 double-sided pic- ture cards, five number cards and eight dice with symbols.
The investigator, said In-
spector Nose, is primarily giving hints and making sure his team is on the right track. The children do not solve a real criminal case, but are only looking for a piece of the puzzle, a clue within a case. For this, the inspector takes five dou- ble-sided picture cards. When choosing, it is important to bear in mind that special categories like food, toys or animals are not repeated too often. He then secretly draws a number, which determines the card the others have to find.
To give hints, the inspector rolls five of the eight symbol dice and places one of them on the hint card with the red
arrow – in the hope that his teammates will understand what motif he is point- ing to. They don‘t have to find it yet, but they have to discard a picture card that they rule out. Like the suspects in De- tective Charlie, this reduces the num- ber of pictures until hopefully only the right card remains. Otherwise the case doesn‘t count as solved, but all correct hints are still taken into account for the final score.
Scoring takes place after five rounds, when the group‘s points hover some- where between “Clueless Snooper” and “Master Detective.”
Just like with his Robots (nominated for “Kinderspiel des Jahres“) in 2020, Staupe has a knack for the perfect children‘s game. Inspector Nose is an extremely successful associative team game that encourages and leads to collective reflection and dis- cussion. With the game comes the conver- sation afterwards, when Nose explains his reasoning. (cs)
Reinhard Staupe: Inspector Nose (NSV), Illustration: Oliver Freuden­ reich; for 2 – 5 children; about 7+ years; duration: about 20 minutes; price: about 12 Euro.
Lock picking
By WIELAND HEROLD
Find the Code!: What could be bet- ter than a game with a real-life trea- sure chest? Haba delivers it, either
on a pirate island or in a fantasy land. And Designer Kai Haferkamp puts 36 rid- dle tasks into each one. Small brainteasers where it pays off to look closely and to follow paths, where distances are im- portant or puzzle pieces must be found. The solution for most riddles can be found on the game board of the
respective world. Everything is aimed at deciphering the lock’s code. On each riddle card there are three tasks leading to a code that opens the small padlock of the treasure chest.
It would be great if parents were to hide small rewards inside, and of course they should also do the lock coding.
Initially, the riddles are easy to solve, and gradually become slightly more chal- lenging. Each result moves the pawn on the game board. The space where it ends up determines the setting for the lock. Only the third one reveals if the shackle can be opened.
The requirements are manageable for children as young as five. Elementary school kids are usually only lured by the atmosphere, as they find the riddles too easy. Nevertheless, this is a perfect idea for children‘s birthday parties. (cs)
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Kai Haferkamp, Antje Gleichmann: Find the Code! Pirateninsel / Fan­ tasieland (Haba), Illustration: Stephanie Böhm; for 1 – 6 children; about 5+ years; duration: about 20 minutes; price: about 17 Euro.
Photos: Becker, Herold /Illustration: Pegasus Spiele