Welcome to Crime City, a place where, if you look hard enough, you can find almost any type of crime, from bullying a small child for his candy to taking bribes in a alley, passing by a bank robbery. Team up with up to three other players to solve each case and some of the many crimes in MicroMacro: Crime City.
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What does the box contain?
The first thing you'll find in the box (besides the manual) is a huge city map describing Crime City and the cases you'll follow throughout the game. The map is 75cm x 110cm, so to play you'll have need a large flat surface or you can stick the map on a wall if you don't have a large enough table.
To see all the details of this gigantic map, where some characters only measure a few millimeters, you also have a small rectangular plastic magnifying glass, so as not to risk breaking it quickly, but be careful not to lose it! The box comes with a sticker for your magnifying glass which will help you not to lose it.
The box contains 120 cards that detail the steps, questions and answers, divided into 16 different cases to solve, which you can store in 16 small transparent envelopes that perfectly match the size of the cards.
How to play ?
Setting up the game is effortless, thanks to the way it is designed. First, you'll find your MicroMacro magnifying glass and sticker in the box, and the first instruction in the manual is to play around with your sticker and place it on the bottom of the magnifying glass.
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Then take your 120 cards out of their packaging. Don't mix them! Avoid looking at the back of the cards to avoid spoiling the answers and use the icons at the top right to sort your cards into separate clear envelopes. The icons indicate which case the card is part of without revealing too many details and which stage of the investigation the card corresponds to. Keep the cards in order and together in their own envelope to avoid confusion.
You now need to lay out your map so that all participants can see it, either in a well-lit area or somewhere where the lights can be easily turned on so you can see everything. The map details are tiny, so you need to be able to see everything properly.
One player must be chosen as the lead investigator to hold the case cards so that others cannot see the back and the investigation is not spoiled. From there, choose a case and start investigating!
Each case begins with a white card with the name of the case, along with a difficulty rating based on stars out of 5. More complex cases will have a higher star rating. The icon at the top left describes what you can expect to find in this case to help parents decide if they want their children involved in the case, ranging from no depiction of murder, to physical violence or sexuality to explicit. Parents are encouraged to play explicit cases before allowing their children to play.
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Once you start your case, each card contains a task to complete to solve the case. The answer to each task is on the back of the card. When the investigators solve the case, they must find a scene on the map that confirms their solution, and the coordinates on the map must match the pin on the map.
When the group is ready to guess, the lead investigator can turn the task card over to see if they are correct. If so, players hear what is written on the card and move on to the next task. If the answer is incorrect, the lead investigator turns the card over, tells the group that they are wrong, and that they are not allowed to help them now that they know the answer (unless they is completely stuck and needs a hint).
What did we think of MicroMacro: Crime City?
MicroMacro: Crime City is an incredibly entertaining game, with small scenes across the map that don't necessarily relate to the crime cases in the game. Solve crimes and find evidence, find where a killer hid the weapon crime, finding where the killer is hiding or simply who committed the crime is incredibly fun, and finding the scenes on a map that is so cluttered feels like a real feat.
We found it was more fun to play in a group of just two people than more, as too many people chasing the same small stage can cause head-butting, and I mean that literally.
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The only downside to this game is that once you know where to find the scene on the map and have solved the case, there is no option to play the game again, so it's more or less less of a unique experience. Pegasus Spiele attempted to remedy this problem by expanding the board game with two more games, each with their own cards. Still, it would be fantastic to be able to get updated map packs to keep the game entertaining and replayable.
Once we realized that we would only be able to play MicroMacro: Crime City once, we decided that once we finished the game, we would go through each case and start coloring in the corresponding scenes, in fighting our way through the black and white map and giving the huge map a second chance once you've solved the cases.
For more information on MicroMacro: Crime City and to purchase the game, visit solarpop.co.za.
Review
MicroMacro: Crime City
PROS
- It can be played by one person or up to four people.
- Very easy to install
CONS
- Parental support is necessary due to the violent depictions on the card.
- A board game where you only do one thing
- Would benefit from expansion packs