Photo above is property of The Detective Society
Company: The Detective Society
Game: The Cursed Exhibition - Episode 2-6
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Language: English
Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬
Genre: Detective, Mystery
Date Played: March 14, 2021
Difficulty (based on 2 players): 6/10
Size of Team: 1-4 ppl (Recommended) (Ages 14+)
Time: Unlimited (Roughly takes 90 - 120 Min)
Price: £30 (Individual), £27 (Monthly), £144 (Whole Season)
Video above is property of The Detective Society
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 2
Following "Episode One of Cursed Exhibition", Detective Danielle Higgins is continuing her investigation surrounding an artefact that is leaving behind a trail of bodies. She believes the key is tracking down the residence of the last thief, but it has proven to be a challenging task for the police. Are you up for the task?
Inventory List for Episode 2:Episode pin
QR card with hints and music links
Wallet with staff card, loyalty cards, photo, and receipt
"Begin your investigation" envelope
Two-page resume of suspect
Tram map
Dating website membership letter
Transport company letter
Loyalty card letter
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 3
Higgins is continuing her investigation surrounding the missing artifact and while our last investigation proved fruitful, she has reached a dead end. She has come across a strange website, but is unable to figure out its strange lock. She is asking for your assistance in pouring over the new evidence left behind to see if maybe it holds the key. Care to continue down the rabbit hole?
Inventory List for Episode 3:Episode pin
QR card with hints and music links
"Begin your investigation" envelope
Introduction note from Detective Higgins
Envelope with letters and photos from Scarlet Star Line
Envelope from University of Greater Wellington containing a letter, dig-site information, dig-site protocols, a photo, and a news article
Envelope containing graveyard map, an iron ring, family history, and note from character
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 4
Detective Higgins has been forced to take a less than lawful approach as this case turns out to be more far reaching than anticipated. She needs to find a hidden location that may contain the key to everything that has been happening. She’s tasked you with investigating the one clue she has to go on while she acts as the ground team. It’s time to start sleuthing!
Inventory List for Episode 4:Episode pin
QR card with hints and music links
"Begin your investigation" envelope
Introduction note from Detective Higgins
Coroner's report
Strange journal
Car park map
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 5
Higgins has gotten closer to the end goal but complications are making this situation tricky. With her hands tied to the ground, she needs you to investigate more about the location to see if you can uncover its secrets! Let’s get cracking!
Inventory List for Episode 5:Episode pin
QR card with hints and music links
"Begin your investigation" envelope
Introduction note from Detective Higgins
Membership card
Location fragment page
Electric bill
Eight key slips
Four photos
Three map slips
Map key
Large map
Security manual
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 - EPISODE 6
The end is in sight! Detective Higgins has found the pieces she needs to stop this and knows what she must do. On the ground, the local police need her help with some peculiar cases that may be connected to her task. The hope is these cases will unlock the final location hidden within the city. Help her solve these cases and put an end to these tragedies once and for all!
Inventory List for Episode 6:Episode pin
QR card with hints and music links
"Begin your investigation" envelope
Introduction note from Detective Higgins
Suspect list
City map
Four case files containing photos, incident reports, and evidence found at the crime scenes of all locations.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞
Episode 2 to 6 came in a same size cardboard envelope. Each envelope contains a starter envelope that is labelled, "Begin Your Investigation Here," which introduces the chapter and provides a code to access the hint site. In addition, you will find a letter from Detective Higgins which will follow up your investigation from the previous chapter and give you the task for the chapter. There will also be an email included to contact once you have solved the case.
All the episodes will include a variety of documents, case files, articles, pamphlets, maps, wallets, and more that will aid your investigation. You also will receive a unique pin for each chapter which I enjoyed trying to find where the image on the pins connected in the plot.
🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈
The game play across the series follows the same structure. Detective Higgins will give you an initial task to start the chapter. These tasks involve combing through the files to track down people, locations, and pathways. This may involve examining websites, sending emails, or messaging people using online platforms, emails, SMS/Whatsapp.
Once you have uncovered a name or a location, you will send an email or message to the character asking the question (usually it is Detective Higgins but, on occasion you may be working with someone else). If the answer is correct you will receive a response quickly letting you know the next steps.
I really enjoyed the exploration this series provided across the adventure. As you come across websites and clues you can also find little easter eggs from previous games and humorous messages. This is the kind of game that rewards you for taking your time reading and examining everything you come across, both with catching these fun teasers and also changing certain outcomes in the game.
🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂
This was my first full season of The Detective Society and I found the puzzling lighter but the engagement and collaborative puzzling opportunities made this an extremely enjoyable experience. This is definitely the kind of puzzling you want to do with friends and with the chapter break up, it's easy to divide up play times into smaller portions.
The style of puzzling itself requires you to track patterns and follow leads. I found the balance between physical components and the online components to be really well done. It was a smooth experience to examine the websites and then comb through the piles of documents to see what could aid in my movement forward. There was one puzzle in particular that my group loved in chapter four as it followed through with some excellent tracking that was hands-on and allowed multiple people to work on it together to build engagement and teamwork.
There is a bit of outside research required for a couple puzzles, but it was easy to see where that was needed and even easier to find the answers. I recommend using a proper computer for these games as you will be opening multiple tabs and most emails you receive from characters will lead to hyperlinks. I also recommend having a printer handy for chapter six or access to a good photo editing software as it will make the experience easier.
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
Finishing the "The Cursed Exhibition" has made me eager to get my hands on another season. The story building kept us on our toes while the puzzles kept us focused and determined to see this through. My favourite episode was episode four of the season, not just for its team building puzzling, but also for providing a fun twist I wasn't expecting. I think The Detective Society has perfected those little touches that, throughout an experience, can really make an experience because of the consideration and details that it provides. I recommend this series for groups looking to pour over work together and hunt for answers across websites. Take your time with this series and you will truly enjoy it!
If you are interested in trying out their other seasons, see our review of season one and season two.
Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game:
(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 The Detective Society 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.
Comments