Time to Sail Beyond the Hidden Puzzles of The Crusoe Crew
Explore island adventures full of mysteries and puzzles as 1 of 4 unique sibling characters in The Crusoe Crew.
Long ago, I loved playing The Crusoe Crew every so often to see all of the puzzles and slowly make my way forward in solving some of the more difficult ones… My copy was apparently lost at sea in the crevice of a shelf! I figured it was time for one last hurrah across these adventures, and I was determined to puzzle away like a would-be expert!
Game Overview
Game Name: The Crusoe Crew
Publication Year: 2019
Designer: Shuky
Artist: Gorobeï
Publisher: Van Ryder Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Each sibling has a special ability found throughout their books. The adventures might be the same, yet hidden numbers appear in various places. Puzzles range from simple to rather complex problems, yet the crew must find a way to collect hidden treasure before time runs out!
First Play
April 27, 2019
Complexity
1
Latest Play
December 27, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
8
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
16" x 18"
Low Score
N/A
Character Choices
Although the general adventures are the same, the decision about which sibling to play as makes a huge difference. Each has their own book with hidden numbers!
Special abilities might help provide a unique way to move past an obstacle the others normally wouldn’t spot.
I played as Sarah with her pet, because who doesn’t want to follow the directions of an adorable animal?! Ha ha!
This can be enjoyed as a solo puzzle, yet with the options, playing with the maximum of 4 players seems like it would be the best way to enjoy the full experience.
Hidden… Arrows?
This is a puzzle book all about spotting lots and lots of hidden numbers, many of which are built into the scenes.
In the past, I’ve struggled with figuring out what actually makes up a number and what’s simply part of the artwork!
The introduction provides a quick overview and a rather easy panel, where numbers are conveniently pointed out with obvious arrows. It gets more difficult from here.
Since it’s been years since I last opened up these books, I actually forgot all about this hidden number. Perhaps I missed it in my first play as Sarah… Onward to discover!
Punished for Looking
After finding the hidden number only meant for my character, I was left with an odd initial impression.
First, there was no indication that I had to rush over to speak to my sickly dad. This made it seem like things were very serious, rather than a lighthearted adventure.
It felt odd to basically get yelled at for following a hidden number. Unless I missed something obvious, this felt like I was being taught to stick to the main story and not search.
Although I guess the moral of this story is that there is a house mouse, and the food should be covered. Ha ha!
Puzzles and Numbers
One element I ignored during this play was the timer and limitations on the number of puzzles seen. Since I wanted to bid farewell, I wanted to see as much as I could.
Unless I was completely mistaken and confused, I kept running into issues where I thought I spotted a number… Only to be completely wrong in every sense. Frustrating.
Maybe the treasure chest in this room actually shows a number that makes sense… But I don’t see it!
Still, I moved past these issues and focused on having some fun solving the puzzles I forgot about or missed.
A Most Tricky Situation with Hidden Numbers
I don’t envy the designers of these sorts of adventures! The idea of a hidden number is that it’s hidden, but that might differ from player to player. What I think is obvious might be almost impossible to spot for someone else. Finding that balance in terms of difficulty is a hard situation, particularly when panels are filled with artistic details.
My eyesight is still quite strong, but I’m gravitating towards larger font sizes whenever possible. Maybe I moved out of the target audience long ago! If I’m in the mood for puzzles nowadays, though, I have plenty of quick solo games to choose from. I still think this is a lovely idea with the multiple characters, and hope that there are those who love it!
Session Overview
Play Number: 8
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: Win
Without keeping track of anything specifically, I still had some challenges in puzzling through the solutions! It was nice to reach the end, though. I grew out of these sorts of adventures, but can say that I had a lot of fun over the years. Some of the panels felt like I just saw them, adding a nice sense of nostalgia. My time exploring these islands was most appreciated, and I hope my copy can find a new home and bring some joy to puzzle seekers out there!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
6
Originality
Design & Theme
3
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
3
+ Pros (Positives)
- It can be very neat to discover each character’s special abilities and where these show up in the hidden numbers.
- There is a very charming style to the artwork and general atmosphere of the island adventures.
- A fair number of puzzles are interesting and fun to solve, leading to great moments of triumph here and there.
- Each adventure can be enjoyed on 1 of 2 islands, adding some content and ways to explore beyond the first play.
- For those interested in playing multiple times to improve, there is a scoring system and legacy surprise at the end.
- Play time can be as long or short as desired since there are easy stopping points after solving any of the puzzles.
– Cons (Negatives)
- A lot of the artwork features details and line art that can easily be confused with numbers, leading to frustration.
- Some of the puzzles are extremely difficult and require a very specific set of mental skills to think through.
- There isn’t any variability unless the rules are followed perfectly to only see a portion of content with each play.
- The goal is to solve puzzles and find hidden numbers, which is fine, but the promise of a story is disappointing.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Adventure
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete at least 1 game as Gabby.
Complete at least 1 game as Kik.
Complete at least 1 game as Neta.
Complete at least 1 game as Sarah.
Continue the Conversation
Have you ever played The Crusoe Crew? Is there a character you particularly enjoy, or possibly a specific puzzle? Maybe it’s beyond clear that I’ve moved on from this genre, yet I still like to give a lot of my games a final play before officially parting ways. Despite some issues, I had a wonderful time with my handful of plays over the years. I made it to the end!
I think the worst “penalized for looking” I hit was in an Unlock game set underwater. You normally look at _everything_ because if you don’t, you miss things. We looked – and got docked a couple of minutes. That was one of the worst Unlocks I ever played and it kind of soured you from the start. Worse, it never used that “gotcha” again throughout the rest of the game. We need to get this back to the table w/ my youngest. She’d definitely choose Sarah for the animals. Our initial copy had the bindings start to fall apart, apparently an issue with the early prints. We got a replacement copy but hadn’t tried to play it again.
Sadly, these old eyes can use stronger light and a magnifying glass at times. (as proved in “Mystery” where you _had_ to see a tiny number to continue 🙂 )
Oh, no! That sounds like a very frustrating experience. Especially since these games are typically designed to only be enjoyed a single time, I also love to explore everything possible. Being punished for wanting to see it all doesn’t feel so great.
I’ve got a magnifier I use sometimes, too! Maybe that’s the indicator that hidden number puzzles might be the wrong game choice… Although I still like trying some of the ones out there. You never know what you’ll find! Or if you’ll even find it. Ha ha!