Beverley, Jul 2024
Every December there’s an explosion of temporary Christmas games. Some remain open for some months afterwards, and a handful of them are available all year round – including Santa Paws, which naturally we played on a sunny day in July.
I’d describe this room as being relatively simply decorated, but it’s clear it’s a permanent installation put together with care, not something thrown together quickly for Christmas. As with the other rooms at this venue there’s no shortage of padlocks, but used well and in combination with other mechanisms.
The cutesy elf names such as Sugarplum Sparkle shouldn’t mislead you into thinking this is a simple game designed for children – it would be a great room to play as a family, but has enough puzzle content to make it a satisfying game for experienced players too.
I’m something of a grinch when it comes to Christmas games, in that the festive theming in and of itself doesn’t win me over. In this case the game comfortably stands on its own merits as worth playing even so. If you’re picking and choosing which to play at the venue then I would t put it top of the list, given how good the others are, but it’s entirely worth including, whatever the season – Santa Paws is a dog that’s not just for Christmas. 
Disclaimer: We played this game on a complementary basis. This does not influence the review or rating.