Clue Cracker: Fairground Felony

At time of writing Clue Cracker have released four online games: one short free one, one 60 minute game, and two longer 90 minute games, and Fairground Felony is one of the latter. In this one you’re alone in a spooky fairground, pitted against a mysterious enemy who plans to send the fairground’s employees to an unfortunate end unless you can solve his puzzles.

Note that there is a download limit on your purchase that restricts it to two households, meaning your code can only be used to access the game twice – although if you wish to play it with a larger group it may be worth contacting the company to see if something can be arranged.

Gameplay is similar to their free DJ McDee game, which is essentially the same thing scaled down – you have a linear sequence of puzzles to solve, with each screen of clues being stand-alone. The puzzles are mostly provided via static illustrations, but the game also makes extensive use of video to add in narrative and colour. These are entertainingly over the top – the designers have clearly thrown themselves into the task of making the game’s videos with a huge enthusiasm and gusto, though in places I found they occasionally started to grate.

The puzzles are varied and, as you’d expect from Clue Cracker, solidly designed throughout. It’s a fairly simple game format, but they use it to build a decently substantial game, with a challenge level that shouldn’t be off-putting.