A few weeks ago, I posted a progress update about my mission to drop off puzzle games in random places to spread the joy of puzzles. At that time, a murder mystery game I had left at a mall’s Little Free Library sat for a long time before someone finally grabbed it. I’m coming back today with a fresh update about the exact opposite situation – same mall, similar game, and gone the next day!
I was fortunate enough to pass through the mall the day after dropoff to confirm the rapid disappearance of the game. This time around, the game was a Ravensburger Echoes experience – a quick story-based puzzle game built around reconstructing a narrative from an unsorted pile of audio clips. It’s fun, quick, and one of the easiest puzzle games to set up.
So what happened? Why did the Mile High Murder kit sit for weeks, while the Echoes game lasted < 24 hours?
A few thoughts:
Timing
This time around, I dropped off the game on a week that was spring break. That could mean more foot traffic at the mall, and more eyes to consider the game.
Size
The Ravensburger Echoes game is small – convenient to pick up while passing through the mall on a separate mission. Compare to the murder mystery kit, which isn’t large, but definitely can’t fit in a pocket.
Eye-Catching
The Ravensburger game has an intriguing cover, with a mysterious ring on it, compared to the more boilerplate manilla folder design of the murder mystery kit.
Randomness
We have a sample size of two, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves on drawing too many conclusions!
Regardless of the factors, I’m really excited that someone found, and will hopefully enjoy, the game I left at the mall! I’ll continue putting them at the mall, and I look forward to having more updates on getting some of these fun and unique puzzle games out into the world.
Leave a Reply