Chaos & Confetti

Enigmailed’s Chocolateral is a series of flavored Cornish chocolates that come with unique challenges.  Each flavor of candy bar comes wrapped in packaging that includes a premise and a collection of puzzles to solve.  Players will need to figure out the answers behind the mysteries, though they will have no trouble deducing what to do with the chocolate.

The puzzles are exclusively on the packaging and can be played without using, eating, or even opening the actual chocolate.  The entire play experience for most of the bars can be done with nothing besides the packaging.  However, a few puzzles will need assistance from the internet, and the final answer checker is also online.

There is a progressive hint system on the company’s website, but there are also simple one-tiered clues on the inside flaps of each candy bar.

For this review we played The Peel McCoy, Caramel Caper, Honeycomb Sting, and Sea No Evil. Previous review of Valentine Brawl can be found here.  As a duo, each individual experience took us between 15 to 25 minutes (not including munching time).  

OUR THOUGHTS:

The Puzzles: Solid Brain Teasers

Chocolateral does a good job of letting players know exactly what they must figure out.  The answers they need usually come in some combination of the classic: who, what, when, why, and where?  There are some variations though, and sometimes even a more complex Top Detectives question.

The bars come with 4-5 puzzles, which range in difficulty depending on which experience a player is undertaking.  The puzzles often separate important information by using the different sides (front, bottom, right, etc) of the packaging.  Beyond that separation, the cluing is more minimal and players will have to deduce what needs to be done with the numbers, letters, and symbols they are given.  These often work in a brainteaser type fashion where the puzzles’ complexity are hidden in their simple designs.  The real level of difficulty is determined by how quickly a player’s brain parses the pattern that pulls all the information together.  

Every puzzle will answer one of the main narrative’s questions directly, without interaction with each other.

Chocolateral provides a quick puzzle experience that acts as a nice compliment to the sweet found inside..  

The Narrative: Light Fun

Each Chocolateral game has a paragraph long premise on the front of the bar.  The story usually ties into the flavor of the candy bar in some way.  The text lays out a quick scenario and what answers the players are looking for.  Beyond the starting information and the solutions, there is no further story.  Players will need to fill in any narrative gaps with their imaginations.

This is the kind of game where the quick narrative is just an excuse to pull a few different puzzles together.

Overall Fun: Treat for the Mind and Taste Buds

The Chocolateral puzzles are quick and fun experiences on their own, but they also give a great excuse to eat some chocolate.  We are also happy to report that the chocolate itself is very tasty and that we’ve liked all the flavors we’ve had so far.

THOUGHTS WRAP UP:

Puzzles: Solid Brain Teasers

Narrative: Light Fun

Overall Fun: Treat for the Mind and Taste Buds

Recommended for: 

Gift-giving and those who like quick brain teasers, sweets, and contained puzzles. 

Review – Chocolateral Series by Enigmailed

Website Link – https://enigmailed.com 

Price –  £5.50 (approximately $7.50)

Disclaimer: we purchased the game with our own money, this review is not sponsored. All thoughts are our own.