What Are We Playing? [March 2025]

Periodically on this blog we highlight a handful of tabletop and digital games to spread the word about interesting experiences and support other creators. Here's our March edition, which includes a mix of tabletop games and video games.

Box Two by Neil Patrick Harris and Theory 11

Box Two is the highly anticipated follow-up to the delightful Box One, one of the most popular tabletop escape games to date. While Box Two does have a narrative, it’s overall less story-driven than Box One, and the plot wasn't as compelling for us. Where Box Two really shines are its fun reveals and clever game mechanisms, some of which we’d never seen in a tabletop game before. That being said, it was easy to discover things out of order, and figuring out reveals too early was confusing and anti-climactic.

This ties into the biggest problem we had with this game—the flow was a bit disorienting. The game’s chatbot directs the game more than the materials themselves, and we often found ourselves switching between components without context, wishing for more integrated signposts. The chatbot also offers a lot of unsolicited hints, meaning we had fewer actual “puzzling it out” moments than we would’ve liked.

Even with these complaints, we appreciated the inventive multi-use of components, and the production value is a big highlight. So long as you manage your expectations, it’s definitely an enjoyable game worth playing.

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Time: ~2.5 hours

Ghost in the Attic by The Mystery Agency

Ghost in the Attic is the second tabletop escape room we’ve played by The Mystery Agency. Similar to the first one we played (The Man From Sector Six), we were quite impressed by the components themselves—they are very well-made, and the graphics are nicely designed, with a lot of attention to detail. It’s also easy to reset for other players.

It’s worth noting that even though it may seem necessary at first, you don’t need to look up any external resources: everything is either in the box or on the specific websites the game directs you to. Aside from one puzzle which has a few logic leaps in its execution, the puzzles have fun, clean solves. We would’ve appreciated a more granular hint system, but thankfully didn’t need to rely on the hints much anyway.

The haunted board game narrative is unique, and we had a nice aha moment at the story’s resolution. While not all of the components are used in the puzzle solving, some of them are part of the playable board game (probably best suited for kids, but it is the aforementioned haunted board game, however, so play at your own risk!).

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Time: 1.5-2 hours

Pyramid of the Sun by iDventure

Pyramid of the Sun is a delightful evolution on the iDventure Cluebox line that combines jigsaw puzzling with physical mechanisms.

The main puzzling with this box is completing the jigsaws, rather than solving cryptic instructions. Completing each of the four sides of the pyramid results in being able to “click” a mechanism or release something. The sides also layer upon one another, which adds interest and complexity. It's pretty much smooth sailing throughout the whole experience, and I can easily recommend it for newbies, for someone craving a little novelty, or just for general solo play. It doesn't pose much of a challenge, but there are a lot of clever little ideas throughout, and it is easy to reset and regift.

Difficulty: 1/5

Time: ~1.5 hours

Image via Steam

The Sexy Brutale by Tequila Works

The Sexy Brutale is like if you took the time loop mechanic of The Forgotten City, mixed it with the observation mechanics of Unheard: Voices of Crime, then added a bit more whimsy to the theme. Instead of a police investigation or a Roman city that needs saving, players go back in time to save several people from being murdered at a masked ball. While you observe characters in different rooms to figure out how to prevent their murders, you gain more powers, including improved hearing and a magical pocket watch that allows you to rewind time.

At times, I wasn’t sure what to do, but with patience and exploration, I eventually found my way. Still, some quality of life improvements would go a long way in bringing this up a level. Walking speed and animation, as well as legibility for the map design and character design could all be better.

Though the characters could be more fully developed, the story does have a surprising amount of depth to it by the end. And when I unlocked a new ability or new area of the map, it was hard to put the game down!

Difficulty: 2/5

Time: ~7-8 hours

Image via Steam

Balatro by Playstack

Maybe it’s just the hipster in me, but I didn’t want to get into Balatro, especially as someone with no interest in poker. However, as a lover of deck-builders, I needed to at least try this game. As predicted, it is in fact very well-done and extremely addicting. Through the simple mechanics and deviously clever gameplay possibilities, it has definitely earned its accolades.

It’s refreshing to accomplish goals instead of just fighting enemies, and the more you play (and win), the more new cards and powerful synergies you discover, unlocking achievements along the way. It’s painful to lose a run, but when you find cards and strategies that synergize really well, it’s extremely satisfying.

33 hours in, I’ve now unlocked every deck and beat the game with one of the decks on the highest stake (difficulty), and I think at this point it’s safe to say: I love this game. If you also like deck-builders, this is a must-play.

Difficulty: Variable

Time: Unlimited

What have you been playing lately?