Cryptogram Puzzle Post - "The Illustrated Puzzle Story"

Photos property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

Company: Cryptogram Puzzle Post

Game: The Illustrated Puzzle Story

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬

Genre: Witchcraft, Alchemy

Date Played: 1/14/2021

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 8..5/10

Size of Team: Unlimited

Time: Unlimited

Price: £7.50/single issues, £20.00/Season. £70.00/Annual

The following review is based on July, August, September 2018 issues & Autumn 2019 issues.

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As we explore the mysterious world with Anna (a young witch), there were many quests and obstacles along the way. The stories were told with beautifully illustrated artwork accompanied by selected Spotify music lists. The answers will only be revealed by solving a series of puzzle trails...

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Cryptogram Puzzle Post came to us in a small cardboard box. We got a nice mixture of what they currently carry in their store. Our box contained 6 single issues, a beautiful enamel pin, a winter art prize, cool stickers, Golden Risograph print and a lovely personalized puzzle cryptogram greeting card from the creator. The paper quality were all amazing and the artworks all felt like collectibles.

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You have a few purchase options: single issue, seasonal (3 issues) subscription and annual subscription. Since we got one seasonal collection and a few single issues, we played them in chorological order. Each issue can be played on its own and puzzles are independent from each other. We did feel that having some sort of context to the previous story helped us get closer to the characters. The intro at the beginning of each issue did give us a "look" on what had happened previously. It would be interesting to see if this journey could be made into an audio book type of experience as it definitely has that potential. The writer is great at being descriptive and painting "sceneries" in the reader's mind. The artwork definitely helped as well in the storytelling process.

Each issue is packed in an envelope. A meta puzzle (this can be solved only if you decide to order the annual subscription) and hints are written on the inside of the envelope. We had some issues with ones that were darker in color as it was hard to see the words printed on those. There is an intro page that gave us some information on the backstory and the suggested Spotify playlist. You're able to check for hints and solution guide on their website (except for the recent issues, you'll have to email them for some guidance). If you play an entire season, you'll also be able to receive a bonus art prize.

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Each issue has 7 puzzles labeled I-VII. Each roman numeral page will reveal some sort of answer which you can use as clue for the next puzzle. Most of the time, we did feel that there's an increment on the puzzle difficulty level. Some were really obvious and just needed a "search and find" and other stumped us for quite awhile. These puzzles definitely felt more geared towards experienced puzzlers. We did enjoy that there was a different puzzle theme for each issue. We've experienced riddle, maze, ciphers, decoding, visual, paper construction, etc...Some issues did require us having to cut out the puzzles so those ones won't be replayable.

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Since this is a puzzle experience heavily dependent on the narrative, you'll have to enjoy reading. I do feel that they could potentially gather more audience if they added an audio story option for people that are less inclined to read or have bad eye sight for small fonts. I could actually visualize this being made into a TV series someday. Cryptogram Puzzle Post is made for an audience with patience and a passion for art. You'll need to slowly savor all the "flavors" in each episode. If you're still unsure what they are all about, click here to download the first three issues for free.

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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 Cryptogram Puzzle Post 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.

#ESCAPETHEROOMers #AtHomeGames #EscapeRooms #CryptogramPuzzlePost #TheIllustratedPuzzleStory #Artwork #Witchcraft #Alchemy #PuzzlesByMail #Mystery