![]() Both helped me understand the process that goes into putting these sorts of narrative puzzles together and what differentiates good puzzles from bad. Whether it’s the open-world feeling of the Mysterious Package Company’s boxes or the country-hopping clue-laden experiences of Finders Seekers, these boxes demonstrate what you can expect if one of these enigmatic missives arrives at your door.ĭuring my research, I also talked to Mairi Nolan, an escape-room reviewer and designer of narrative mystery experiences, and Dave Neale, the writer of the most recent edition of the tabletop deduction game Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Baker Street Irregulars. Once I had an idea of what sorts of experiences were out there, I ordered and played five options that, based on my research, seemed to exemplify what these boxes offer. ![]() What I found is that the immersive games are broadly divided into two types of experiences: narrative mysteries that focus on deduction and exploration of a fictional environment, and boxes full of puzzles that focus on providing an escape-room-type experience at home. I read player reviews, looked into each company’s website, and dug up YouTube videos of players solving past cases to get an idea of what each service offered. A little while later, a Wirecutter colleague mentioned that she had gotten a case from the Instagram-popular Hunt A Killer service, and due to a mix of professional curiosity and a personal desire to collect things to do if, for example, I was forced to isolate in my apartment for some reason, I began to delve into the cryptic world of puzzles via post.įor this guide, I researched companies that offered similar games, focusing on boxes that include physical props and objects in addition to written clues and stories. The puzzle inside was intriguing, so much so that I spent the next hour-plus trying to decode it and found myself turning it over in the back of my mind for much of the following week-until a new letter arrived with more intriguing breadcrumbs to follow.Īfter I excitedly told my family about the letters in one of our weekly Zoom calls, my mother fessed up to buying me a subscription to Dear Holmes, a mail service that sends mysteries through the mail in a series of weekly letters, revealing a new case bit by bit every month.Īs it turns out, this is just one of the many ways that stories and puzzle-solving experiences are being served through the mail. ![]() The envelope was addressed to me, but inside was a dispatch from John Watson back in 1914 London, describing a peculiar event that he wanted the famed detective’s help with. It was about three months into the pandemic lockdown of 2020 when I got a letter meant for Sherlock Holmes. ![]()
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