Andrews McMeel Publishing - "Trapped in a Video Game (The Complete Series)"

Photo above is property of Andrews McMeel Publishing

Company: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Game: Trapped in a Video Game (The Complete Series) by Dustin Brady

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Kids Book 📬

Genre: Video Games, Action Adventure

Date Played: February 18, 2022

Difficulty (based on 1 player): 3/10

Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended Ages 8-12)

Time: Unlimited

Price: $29.64/ The Complete Series (Books 1-5)

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What happens when you find yourself in the middle of a video game? What about an AR game a la Pokemon Go? Or - What happens when your beloved video game characters find that breach in between their and our worlds and come to life?

In the series of five (5) books in TRAPPED in a Video Game, author Dustin Brady recounts, perhaps, the most action-packed period of the lives of 6th Graders Jesse and Eric. Finding themselves in the middle of a whirlwind of video game environments, they realise that being trapped in a beloved video game was going to be the least of their worries.

Video above is the property of Andrews McMeel Publishing

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This brightly coloured box set comes with a set of five chapter books ranging between 150 to 200 pages each, filled with the main story at hand and associated images. Each book also has a number corresponding to its reading order, with each of their covers representing various game formats - 8-bit, action, robots, monsters. In the middle of the books and the box was a little green envelope with a single instruction - To open only after finishing all five books.

Photos above are the property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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Apart from the envelope marked with the instructions to only open after reading, I followed the reading order of the books.

I was actually quite surprised to find that there were no puzzles to participate in with this series. The books came with an envelope that was marked to only be opened after reading all five books - Therefore, the expectation that I was going to be faced with in-book puzzles I could participate in with the characters in the stories.

Regardless, the stories were a fun, fast-paced telling of an immersive experience, topped up with accompanying activities for budding game makers and enthusiasts.

Books 1 and 2 dove into how it would feel to be immersed in common video games we love and know so well - level-based video games and alternate reality (AR) games that have taken the world by storm with examples like Pokemon Go. Using familiar stages like tutorials and only being able to see game components through your phone cameras and turning them on their heads, Brady manages to weave an exciting story with some extras at the end of each book.

Books 3 to 5 focussed more on the lore of the story series - talking about how these incidents of kids being trapped in games came to be, with additional elements of other kinds of gameplay - crafting equipment in games, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). However, my personal favourite was Book 4, where the plans of the big bad started to unravel and the characters took a more emotional turn.

At the end of the day, the kids were still children in reality, relying on their instincts and ingenuity in a familiar-yet-unfamiliar setting to survive. However, it was in Book 4 when they discovered the power behind their decisions, making them as empowered individuals, not kids running away from consequences.

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Given the fast-paced nature of the stories, the storyline and the back-of-the-book activities still worked well together despite the lack of participatory puzzles. The only difference was me finding myself to be observing fictional characters jumping through their obstacles without having a participatory arm in the story, which was a bit of a bummer.

Photos above are the property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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If you have or know a child (or child-at-heart!) who is interested in Escape Rooms, puzzles, or the behind-the-scenes of creating their favourite games, this might be the series for you. It’s an exciting read-along for the family with bonus activities for kids to peer into the world of game-making and programming, and that final envelope that comes with the series? Make sure it’s only opened after you’re done with the series! Recommended for Ages 8-12.

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(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing us with a sample of their game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

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