Description
spoiler free review by boxesandbooze:
https://www.boxesandbooze.com/boxesandbooze/benno-de-grote-flying-dutchman-ship-puzzle
There once was a pirate ship feared beyond all others, it was called the Flying Dutchman. The Captain and his crew sailed the seven seas on their ship, plundering everyone they encountered. But one day, they went too far… They stole from a mighty Sorcerer who in turn cursed them all. They were doomed to sail the seven seas forever without leaving their ship.
The sorcerer hid a secret map to the cure deep inside the Flying Dutchman, but the captain and his crew were never able to find it. For hundreds of years the Flying Dutchman sailed the seven seas until they found you on a deserted island. They are prepared to help you, but only if you can break their curse.
The Flying Dutchman is a sequential discovery puzzle with multiple compartments and multiple sub puzzles. Although this is a big puzzle with a lot of tricky steps I think it is a level 9 puzzle. Don’t let this fool you! It will take quite some time to solve this puzzle because of the amount of steps. My fastest playtester took almost 5 hours to solve the puzzle while he didn’t get stuck on a specific step.
The ship uses 3D printed parts for the core while the outside of the ship uses Walnut Veneer for the boat hull, Beech veneer for the deck of the ship, Beech rods for the Masts and the bowsprit (the pointy thing at the front of the ship) and Birch wood for some of the structural parts and the keel.
A review written by one of the playtesters:
First of all the ship is an absolutely stunningly detailed showpiece and, forgive the pun, a treasure to behold. But once you start going on this pirate filled adventure there’s no going back. I couldn’t put it down (except for more frustrated breaks than I’m willing to admit), because boy this is one hell of a puzzle. I loved the sequential discovery design and variety in (themed) sub puzzles which kept me entertained and challenged throughout and truly made it feel like my own little treasure seeking adventure.
All in all I think this is Benno’s best puzzle yet and I’m excited to see the new direction he’s taking with his puzzles! Would definitely recommend it to people who love a challenge!
