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A special delivery from The Big Tiny uses a week’s worth of puzzles, tricks and activities to tell the story of witches, wizards and a postman
They’ve done it again. Last summer, production company The Big Tiny brightened up lockdown with the multimedia “adventure box” Charlotte Holmes, which combined puzzles and videos to spin a mystery about a code-cracking evacuee. Now, as children around the UK face further weeks of home-schooling, with bleak weather outside to boot, they have released a follow-up, Balthazar Snapdragon. It’s similarly designed to be played over seven days and weary parents and carers will breathe a sigh of relief when they open the parcel to find a pile of colourful envelopes and packets containing tricks, treasures and myriad activities. Distraction guaranteed!
Charlotte Holmes was a carefully considered creation that revealed a clear empathy with children whose schooling and summer holidays had been disrupted by the pandemic. Balthazar Snapdragon recognises the joy that a simple bit of post can bring during lockdown. It’s the tale of a magical postman, whose patchwork jacket makes him look as if he’s escaped from a Joseph revival. Players must help Balthazar as he delivers letters to the witches and wizards who live in the Valley of Trix, represented by an animated map online.