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Looking for…anything
2020 was a tough year for gaming, well actually, it was a tough year all round but the hobby really took a hit in many ways. Suddenly not being able to meet with people drove us to activities we could do at home. We who craved social interaction at games sessions found ourselves stuck indoors with other people who weren’t necessarily into sitting around a tabletop game for hours on end. But from the isolation and inane claustrophobia came a number of successes that just happened to come around at the right time. Online board game implantations found their place, seeing Board Game Arena being bought by one of the biggest board game companies in the world and accessible family style games that also packed a punch found their ways into homes across the globe. Well, in comes Micro Macro Crime City.
Looking for…something a little different
Micro Macro landed with a bang. A small box from which you unfurled a huge map, a magnifying glass and a series of case files of crimes that needed solving. For those of us who grew up in the 80s or 90s, there was one series that will be forever ingrained in us, one red and white striped outfit, one man waiting to be found. Wally! Where’s Wally was a phenomenon! Books and Tv shows all based on finding something hidden amongst other things. Simple! Of course it used to drive us mad as we all gathered around the same page desperately trying to find the slippery guy. Well, Micro Macro takes that nostalgia and adds a couple of guns, some blood and a lot of illegal activity. Each box contains a giant black and white, illustrated map of a section of Crime City. You can either lay it out on the table or pin it up on the wall. I am personally a huge fan of the latter. Not only does hunching over a table cause major back pains, there is something much more thematic about it being on the wall. A good old fashioned crime board. You can even use post-it notes or red twine to connect different pieces of evidence if you really want to commit to the theme. I would even throw in a bad coffee and a film noir soundtrack every now and again because that’s just how I roll!
Looking for…clues
You will also get a selection of envelopes, each filled with clues to solve a series of crimes. Once you have chosen one, you reveal one card at a time, each giving a little flavour text and a question for you to try and answer. The beauty of this game is everything is happening all at once. You see the whole timeline! So finding a suspect is one thing but then following them around the city to decipher where they hid the murder weapon is a whole other task. With so much going on, it is a lot harder than you would expect. But the illustration is so fun to explore. So much detail is hidden in this monochromatic madness. Funny little tableaux all over the map. Some relevant to crimes yet to solve and some just there for fun.
Looking for…answers
The biggest question for most people is what’s different about Showdown. The answer is nothing. It is just more of the same. Is that a bad thing? No. But, it would have been great to see them try and push the boundaries on what can be achieved in this format. Maybe incorporating QR codes that could take you elsewhere or having to colour in certain elements of the map to reveal clues. I just feel it’s a bit of a missed trick, having played all four sets. That said, if you like the Micro Macro series and are just craving more material then this is everything you need. And at the price point, it really is a proper BANG for your buck! BLOODY good value. A truly ARRESTING experience… I could go on but instead I’ll let it REST IN PIECE!
