Review: iDventure CluePuzzle | The Wonderbox of Alice

RATING: 5 Keys RESULT: Win REMAINING: 12:30

As it turns out, down the rabbit hole is not the way to Wonderland, but rather a small wooden box that quickly becomes curiouser and curiouser.

Story

In 1923, a mysterious wooden box was discovered in an Oxford antique shop. Inside was a delicate letter, believed to be from Lewis Carroll — “My dear Alice, You have journeyed through Wonderland once before, but now a new adventure awaits. Hidden within this box are secrets only you can unlock. Think carefully, be curious, and let your imagination guide you. Wonderland is closer than you think… Your loving friend, L. C.”

More than just a writer, Carroll was a dedicated inventor fascinated by ciphers and riddles. Some say Alice herself once tried to unlock the secrets of this box. Before the truth could be uncovered, the box vanished — traded between collectors, stored in dusty attics, and forgotten. A century later, it has been rediscovered and is now in your hands. Its secret remains locked. Will you be the one to solve it?

There are few literally classics more recognizable than Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Easily one of the most fantastical stories of all time, Lewis Carroll imagined a world where the boundaries of reason are forever in flux, and every second is a surprise twist. How appropriate, then, for Alice’s timeless story to play out once more in a whole new way.

The Wonderbox of Alice embraces the unrestrained imagination of a trip down the rabbit hole with its creative approach and nods to instantly recognizable characters. The chase for the elusive White Rabbit plays out through each layer, as they’re revealed like the very pages of a storybook. Along the way, other familiar faces like the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts’ army of playing cards add their own uniquely unexpected twists and turns.

Scenic

The quality of the Wonderbox itself is an unexpected delight. With each piece custom cut from durable, thick birch wood, there’s an instant air of elegance to this At Home adventure through the imagination.

The Wonderbox stands 7.5″ tall, with its base being 5.5″ wide and 4.8″ deep. One hundred eighty different wooden puzzle pieces assemble across the Wonderbox’s four layers to offer vibrant, whimsical glances directly into Alice’s world. But navigating through this tabletop Wonderland will be anything but simple, thanks to multiple secret locks, functional switches and all sorts of interactive mechanical components. There’s even a small hidden compartment available to hide a personalized gift for that special someone.

While this all may sound complicated – and it is – perhaps the most unexpected surprise of The Wonderbox of Alice is that everything comes out of its retail packaging fully assembled, and immediately ready to play! Of course, that doesn’t mean getting through its may layers will be an easy task.

Puzzles

The first focus of this peculiar package is to serve as an elaborate mini jigsaw puzzle – well, four of them, in fact. Once assembled upon each slightly slanted upright layer, they come together to reveal different destinations along Alice’s newest journey through her wildest imagination.

Perhaps the most time-consuming segment of this game is simply sorting those one hundred eighty small puzzle pieces into their respective four layers. From there, each jigsaw puzzle is actually surprisingly challenging, thanks to some very weird edge shapes and unexpected overlapping of parts – all befitting this mad storyworld.

Physically movable switches, gears and other tactile interactive parts give the Wonderbox its distinct escape game flavor, making this far more than just a traditional wooden puzzle box. Each step of this adventure creates its own unforeseen delights, pairing different styles of challenges often hidden in plain sight that pack all sorts of surprises into its compact frame.

Overall

The Wonderbox of Alice instantly transports itself into the category of one of the most unexpectedly magical At Home games available today. Upon first glance, it’s rather unassuming – and therein lies its truest splendor. Every step of this eccentric adventure hides secret clues leading to fully functional mechanics that should seem impossible in a small package, or at such a relatively reasonable price point.

While certainly structured as jigsaw puzzle first, escape game challenges second, make no mistake the latter are absolutely present throughout the four layers of the Wonderbox. Accessing them requires completing each jigsaw puzzle to learn their intended usage or proper alignment. There’s no guesswork needed here; The Wonderbox will intuitively guide Alice to her intended destination, be it up, down or in any which direction.

iDventure carefully crafted a product that is fully replayable, and provides detailed reset instructions for each hidden lock and secret switch. The process is extensive though not difficult, and took roughly 35 minutes to reset after this initial playthrough.

Best of all, there are two distinct expansion packs available to even further extend the playability of The Wonderbox of Alice. The different add-ons: Through the Looking Glass and Wonderland each contain their own set of three distinct jigsaw puzzle layers that connect onto the base game allowing Alice’s world to be explored multiple times over, always in fresh new ways!