As January comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to break out the latest game in the Holiday Hijinks series from Grand Gamers Guild – The Groundhog Gambit! Yes, they are bringing us yet another 18-card escape room game just in time for the not-as-popular holiday, Groundhog’s Day. This one boasts a difficulty level of 3/3, and I couldn’t wait to crack it open and give it a shot!
| The Groundhog Gambit (2022) | Grand Gamers Guild |
| 1-4 players | 60 minutes |
| Ages 13+ | BGG Weight – Not yet available |
Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. It is a finalized production copy, and is what you would get from your FLGS. -L
The Groundhog Gambit is an escape-room style card game for 1-4 players, in which players are attempting to solve puzzles and riddles in order to ‘escape’ the situation. So what’s this situation? In The Groundhog Gambit, you awaken on cold February morning to find yourself trapped in a professor’s manor, filled with riddles and puzzles. It seems the professor has been up to some experiments lately, involving time itself! Somehow, you’ve been caught in a time loop, reliving the same day several times, and you must solve every puzzle in order to break the loop. Can you figure out what’s what and how it all works together? Or are you doomed to stay in this manor for all eternity?!
As this game is based upon puzzles, riddles, and the like, I can’t really go into too much detail, as to not spoil anything about the gameplay. I will say what I can, though! To start, one neat thing about The Groundhog Gambit that is different than the other Holiday Hijinks I have played is that this one can be played in 2 parts, and doesn’t have to be completed in one run. So if you might not have time for the entire game, the app/website will tell you when you have reached the end of Part 1. I think it’s pretty neat that they have included a stopping point, in case you either need a break from the game and its puzzles, or you just don’t have enough time to finish it all in one sitting. When you’re ready, you just come back to the game, and continue from where you left off. The app/website will even keep track of that and will still have the relevant information you need when you come back to finish the game. Of course, you don’t HAVE to stop between the 2 parts – you’re more than welcome to just click Continue and finish it out completely!
Another neat element about The Groundhog Gambit that is different than the other Holiday Hijinks is that the game utilizes a new sort of mechanic that the others haven’t so far. Some cards include interact-able objects. What I mean by that is that they contain objects on them, that can be used in conjunction with the app to interact with objects on other cards. So not only do you have puzzles and riddles to solve, you have to think logically as well about how to use the objects that are presented to you. It definitely elevated the gameplay and made it feel more like a real escape room, as you had to use the objects around you to aid in your puzzle solving. That’s all I’ll say on that!
To touch on components, this is a deck of 18 double-sided cards. They are nice and sturdy, and are easy to manipulate. The artwork is appropriate and thematic, and it fits the artwork of the other Holiday Hijinks games. The app/website does an awesome job of tracking your progress through the game, providing hints when needed, and having a good database of information that might be needed for puzzles in the game. All in all, for a small game, the production quality is pretty great.
I am a sucker for puzzles, riddles, escape rooms, etc. I love putting my brain to the test in ways that I don’t get to every day. The Groundhog Gambit is definitely the hardest of the Holiday Hijinks I have played, but not to an impossible level. Yes, I maybe needed a couple more hints than normal, but the gameplay is logical and solvable – your brain just needs to be completely in the zone! One caveat, I have always played these games solo, so maybe playing with someone else could help me see things from a different perspective on some of the puzzles. Still, this is a great way to spend an evening when you want a brain burner, but aren’t wanting anything too crazy. I love that you don’t have to alter/destroy any of the components, because it means you can pass the Holiday Hijinks games along to be played by someone else. Grand Gamers Guild has hit it out of the park with this newest game in the series, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. If you’re in the market for a ‘heavier’ escape room-style game, definitely check out The Groundhog Gambit. I highly recommend it!
