Die Codeknacker

Players take the roles of detectives racing around the outer track of a puzzle board to catch a fleeing thief. The board interior is a randomized grid of tiles showing icons (diamonds, euros and loot bags, or numbers in an alternate mode). On a normal turn, detectives roll and advance toward the thief; when a magnifying-glass result appears, the thief moves and a card is revealed showing a sequence of five icons. A timed search follows as players scan the grid to find the longest contiguous trail matching that sequence. Scoring awards points for matching runs of three, four or five icons, and each detective advances a number of spaces equal to the sequence they found. Play ends when a detective catches up to or passes the thief.

Players: 2–4 best 4
Playing time: 15 min
Age: 6+
Complexity: 1.4 / 5