MindWare Dig It Up! Crack the Crate Escape Game

Name: MindWare Dig It Up! Crack the Crate Escape Game
Brand: MindWare
SKU: B09JB5YWFS
Price: 39.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.2 (43 reviews)

4.243 ratings

60+ minutes
Ages 8+
MindWare

$39.95

Price checked 2026-10-06. The partner store sets the final price and it can change.

Crack the Crate packs an escape-room adventure into a box with crates to open and treasures to dig out. The story asks you to break a curse and save a baby dragon egg before the Darkness finds it. You can solve it alone or as a team.

Includes 3 crates, 1 egg dig and 2 orb digs with 2 digging tools
10 story cards and 9 challenges drive the adventure
Mystery treasures, an amulet, a key and a map help along the way
3 answer cards and a solution book are included
Plan on 60 minutes or more; this is a one-time-use game

How it plays at home

Work through the story cards, tackle each challenge, and use what you uncover to open the next crate. Digging pieces out is part of the fun, and clues are spread across the box so everyone has something to do. If you finish before the Darkness reaches the egg, you win.

It is a great pick for a family afternoon, a classroom party or a friend group that enjoys puzzles together. Because the game is used once, treat it as a special event. Tip: give each player a role, such as reader, digger or note-taker, so the team works smoothly.

What buyers say about MindWare Dig It Up! Crack the Crate Escape Game

Quoted word for word from verified buyers.

★★★★★

Fun and engaging

Enjoyed this it was a blast and very detailed. Took about 45 minutes to get through it all including the soaking time and the digging it up. The puzzle aspect of it was exciting and entertaining

JK, United States on January 4, 2026

★★★★☆

Interesting, but perhaps a bit pricey for what it is

I just did this with my (just) 9 year old son. He has always really liked dig kits and also enjoys looking over my shoulder when I'm playing puzzle/riddle/mystery games on my phone. This is, in essence two things. A dig kit and a puzzle game. Unfortunately, it doesn't excel in either category - at least not anywhere near where a dedicated set for each would be. Let's start with the "dig" part because it is the most objective. The only digging involved is 3 eggs you uncover throughout the game in "locked" crates. One egg has one medium item, the next has 5 small items, and the final larger egg has the "prize" item. All the eggs are meant to soak in water before you try to dig into them. It doesn't say how long, but basically it is how long it takes to solve that crate's puzzle. So it may soak 5 minutes, or 30 (or more if you are clue-challenged!). The first egg split in half pretty quickly and the prize was revealed in just a minute or two. The second egg took about 5 minutes to extract all the items, and the last took a bit longer - likely because it didn't soak up water as much (since it was bigger) and also because the my son got distracted a bit. All in all, the "digging" in this kit was probably a total of 15 minutes of time and not really a meticulous type of dig. So I would say that as a "dig kit" this is a failure, probably only a 2/3 star. The puzzle game is what makes this an interesting set. I play a lot of puzzle mobile games (and PC/console in the past), but I have not really done any of these boardgame box type escape/puzzle rooms before. I have done actual escape rooms, but I don't have a lot to directly compare this to. In short there are 3 crates which need to be opened and 10 clue/story cards that walk you through what you need to solve to open the crates. The puzzle were for the most part incredibly easy for me, I had them solved either instantaneously or it took maybe 1 minute of thinking and then simply following the clue to the answer. There was one that I found a bit nebulous and me and my son talked about it for about 30 minutes (some of that time was me explaining to him why we don't want to cut short our enjoyment by looking at the solution, but we should come back to it later if we can't figure it out now). But, for an 8/9 year old the puzzles were challenging and I don't know how many he would have solved on his own without at least some guidance. He sometimes makes connections in my games before I see them (even though I might not have been looking there yet), so I know he has some critical skills here. Part of the problem is impatience as the kids want to get to the dig part! I think I could have given him a little less guidance and he would have eventually figured them out, but it might have taken several sessions of thinking over the course of days. Really depends on the tolerance/excitement of the kid. We probably spend 2.5 hours total over 2 days working on everything involved. My son enjoyed it and would probably say he would want to do another. I would be happy to do another with him, but hopefully at a good sale price!

BH, United States on December 9, 2023

★★★★★

Excellent activity

Great gift for a 12 year old. Four teens from 12-18 spent about 3 hours solving clues and digging for items. They worked together and really enjoyed it. Was a nice change from the screen time focus. Probably about 2 hours to solve, with the third spent excavating the egg and cleaning the model. They all wished for more missions from this line.

JM, United States on January 15, 2024

★★★★★

Provided a solid hour of challenging fun

My daughter loved this and really enjoyed solving the puzzles. Some were super easy and other a mor challenging, but it kept her engaged all the way through to the end. You don't end up with much after all is said and done, though, so if you are a parent with a kid that has too much lingering stuff this could be a great gift option, like it was for us. If you are going to do an ROI calculation on what you get out of the dig, you will be disappointed :) the value is in the experience.

Amy, United States on January 5, 2022

★★★★★

Such a fun kit to do with kiddos!!!

I don't write reviews often but this kit deserves praise. It's such a fun couple of hours to spend with your kiddos. It's very engaging and makes you think! Worth every penny sent and hoping they make more!

Kelly, United States on February 5, 2024

★★★★★

Excellent party game that's kid friendly

This is a kid-friendly escape room game. We had a blast playing it with 5 kids and 3 adults. Everything was of great quality. Shipping from vendor was great.

Dmarie, United States on January 29, 2024