Room-in-a-box, Aug 2026
These days it’s extremely rare that I get a chance to play and review a home escape game. So it was beautifully fortuitous that when such a chance actually came up, it was for a game by PostCurious, creators of one of my all-time favourite box games (The Emerald Flame). And I realise I’m late to the party in discovering this, but The Morrison Game Factory is in the same elite tier of exquisitely crafted puzzle experiences.
This is a physical box game, though played with a significant online component. The story is based around a traditional board games publisher, and on opening the box you’ll find a set of components that seem straight from classic board games of the 50s and 60s, complete with faded corners. What you won’t find is anything as clunky as a set of instructions for how to start. One of the delights of this game is that it never breaks character; everything is presented in a way that’s consistent with the story it’s telling, everything is there for a diegetic reason.
At the same time, amongst the miscellany of objects it was quick and natural to find a starting point, and from there to be drawn into the thread of the story. The story is not a token premise for a collection of unrelated puzzles; it’s the backbone of the game, and its heart. Be warned that this does involve a lot of reading, to the point that it might feel like hard work for the reading-averse – although I’d describe the text as a pleasure not a chore. Gradually you work out what’s going on, and why you’re discovering it, in a way that brings characters to life and may make you quite fond of them. The actual puzzles are equally impressive, using the various board game items in ways both interesting and ingenious, with a difficulty curve that ramped up enough to feel challenging without becoming frustrating or requiring hints, through to a satisfying conclusion.
While The Morrisons Game Factory is also from PostCurious, it’s quite different to, say, The Emerald Flame, in style, theme and presentation. What it does have in common with it is the uncompromising quality of design and presentation. I’ve never yet given a home-play game a maximum five star rating, because I’m yet to see one that can compare to the sort of live experience would earn that score; I’ve held off here too, but it’s hard to imagine how a boxed game could rise substantially above the standard that this one achieves. 