Crime-solving hidden object game
MicroMacro: Crime City |
| Manufacturers | Hard Boiled Games |
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| Designers | Johannes Sich |
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| Illustrators | Daniel Goll
Tobias Jochinke
Johannes Sich[1] |
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| Publishers | Edition Spielwiese |
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| Publication | 2020; 4 years ago (2020) |
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| Players | 1–4 |
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| Playing time | 15–45 minutes |
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| Age range | 8+ |
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MicroMacro: Crime City is a cooperative[2] tabletop crime-solving hidden object game designed by Johannes Sich and published in 2020 by Edition Spielwiese.[3] The game received positive reviews and won the Spiel des Jahres in 2021. A sequel to the game, MicroMacro: Crime City – Full House was released in August 2021.[4]
Gameplay
The team of players unfolds a poster-sized map about 45 by 30 inches (114 cm × 76 cm) on which is illustrated an urban area depicting characters performing ordinary daily tasks such as eating, working, or attending events.[3] Some are engaged in criminal activities, ranging from petty theft to murder, and it is the goal of the players acting as detectives or private investigators to solve those crimes.[3]
The victim of the crime is depicted, but the crime is not.[3] Each crime is associated with a case that consists of a deck of 5–12 cards with clues, the first of which describes the scene of the crime and victim.[3] Each of the 16 cases have a difficulty rating ranging from one to five stars,[3] and all clues for a case are labeled with a unique icon representing that case.[1] These clues lead to different parts of the map, tracking the victim and potential perpetrator backward and forward in time.[3]
Details such as clothing, decoration, and directionality depicted in the map can be important clues in the game, which may require a "deductive leap" at times.[1]
Sequels
MicroMacro: Crime City has spawned three sequels, each following the same basic format, but with a new city map, and new cases to solve. Each sequel subtitle takes its name from a term in poker.
- MicroMacro: Crime City – Full House was published in August 2021.[4] It included a new 75-by-110-centimetre (30 in × 43 in) map with 16 new cases to solve.[4] The game was described by the publisher as "more complex, sophisticated and, of course, a bit more criminal", but also included icons with each case indicating the appropriateness of the case for younger children.[4]
- MicroMacro: Crime City – All In was published in 2022. Although once again a stand-alone package, several storylines from earlier editions are continued in All In.
- MicroMacro: Crime City – Showdown was published in December 2023.
Reception
MicroMacro: Crime City received positive reviews. Dicebreaker described the game as blending features from puzzle books such as Where's Wally? and mystery-solving board games such as Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.[5] In a review for ICv2, William Niebling commended the box cover art implementing a "sample mini-mystery" as a "brilliant idea" that would enable potential customers in a shop to "experience what the game offers before buying".[3] He also stated that the game would benefit from having included its own tokens for marking sites on the map, for example tiddly-winks, instead of players having to source their own.[3]
The game was also commercially successful, and print runs repeatedly sold out for eight months after its release.[6] From late 2020 to mid-February 2021, shipments of the game were delayed or halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Awards
MicroMacro: Crime City won the 2021 Spiel des Jahres award[2] and the L'As d'Or Jeu de l'Année.[5] It also won the 2020 Light Game of the Year and Innovative Game awards from the board game fansite Board Game Geek.[8]
