If you’ve ever played a Holiday Hijinks game from Grand Gamers Guild, then the Endangered Rescue series will seem familiar. An 18-card escape room game, but these are based on different animal endangered species from around the world. Think of this as a mashup between the Holiday Hijinks games and the Endangered board game (also from Grand Gamers Guild). The first in the series is Galapagos Penguins!
| Endangered Rescue: Galapagos Penguins (2024) | Grand Gamers Guild |
| 1-4 Players | 60-75 Minutes |
| Ages 13+ | BGG Weight – Not Yet Available |
Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. What you see pictured below are the finalized production components. -L
You are the host of an animal TV show, and this week’s episode centers around the Galapagos Penguin. But one day when your production tent has been ransacked, it’s up to you to piece all your information back together to finish the show edits before the broadcast time! Everything is strewn about, and you have to use your knowledge of the Galapagos Penguins to re-construct your work. Can you finish it all before your deadline hits?
Similar to the Holiday Hijinks series, this game will test your deduction and puzzle-solving skills as you work your way though the deck of cards. To setup for the game, open up the app/website, place the deck of cards in front of you, and click “Start” on the app. It will then tell you which cards to draw to begin. As you work your way though the puzzles, you will enter the answers into the app, which will then instruct you on which cards to take next, and so on. If you are able to complete all of the puzzles on all of the cards, you win! I can’t go too much more into the specific gameplay, as to avoid spoilers for the game.
Having played many of the Holiday Hijinks games before, starting Endangered Rescue: Galapagos Penguins felt very familiar. One neat element about this game, though, is that all of the puzzles have to do with Galapagos Penguins. Well duh, right? All of the information presented in the game about the species is factually accurate, so not only are you trying to solve puzzles, you’re using real information to figure everything out. I think that’s pretty cool, because it brings an educational element to the gameplay that you may not find elsewhere. It was fun learning about the Galapagos Penguins through the game instead of just simply having to read a book about them.
The types of puzzles used in this game vary from simple to abstract. No two puzzles are alike, and you have to constantly be thinking outside of the box to figure out how to use the information presented on the cards to solve the puzzle. You can get hints and information from the app as needed, which I appreciate, having once played an ‘escape-room’ type game that gave no answers or hints at all. So I got stuck on a puzzle and then could literally not finish the game. *Facepalm* This game doesn’t do that, so big thumbs up from me. The components are just 18 cards, but they are nice and sturdy to hold in hand. The artwork and text are thematic and clear, and it helps the game feel immersive. For having such few components, the production quality is great.
I’m generally a big fan of puzzles and escape-room-type games. So it should come as no surprise that I liked this game a lot. Unfortunately, since it is an escape-room game, you can only play it once. But I am very much looking forward to the others in this series! I’ll pass this one along to someone else to play, and eagerly await the second Endangered Rescue, whatever animal that may be. If you’re wanting a game that has some educational elements, I would recommend this one. The gameplay is engaging and immersive, and you’ll learn something about the Galapagos Penguin along the way. It’s a cool concept, and it’s been executed well, so check it out!
