WEEK 44 - Five (5) Puzzle Experiences I’d Recommend

Week 44 and we’re within our first week of Nanowrimo - If you’re participating, I hope you’re all getting your words in. If you’re not, how’re you doing? It seems like just a few days back when I decided to start on this Newsletter journey to write more and slowly, the pieces are starting to come together. So thank you all for your support and coming with me on this.

Speaking about the pieces coming together, I believe some of you would have seen on my Instagram and previous issues that my enthusiasm for puzzles, puzzles in stories, puzzles in TTRPGs, and escape rooms has rekindled. Therefore, as we get into one of the most puzzling months of the year, here are five (5) puzzle experiences I’d recommend:

Hincks Thinks Secret Puzzle Archive! & Escape the Mailbox

Hincks Thinks is by duo-run Blue Fish Games. 

Escape the Mailbox is by Access Escape, London. 

Both series are free with newsletter subscription, and both series are a fun addition to your inbox, especially for the puzzler in you.

Based on their signature products, The Curious Elevator of Mr Hincks and The Hincks Gazette, Blue Fish Games also release weekly “secret” puzzles via their newsletter - mostly self-contained and a challenge to puzzle enthusiasts out there. Top tip here - It’ll help if you’re huge on wordplay and pop culture as well. First names on their Hall of Fame get a chance to appear in their games! You can check them out here. 

Escape Room / Puzzle Review site EscapetheRoomers recommended Access Escape London’s “Escape the Mailbox” series through a list of digital and mail-order games during Puzzletember. I tried one and I was hooked. While Escape the Mailbox’s games are mostly confined to a series of answering emails, Access Escape’s core mission is to provide puzzles with increased accessibility - whether it’s with issues with sound or visual impairment. Check them out here!

Mail-Order Escape Rooms

These definitely rose in popularity during the pandemic, with some groups even starting to produce “subscription” model escape rooms during! After my first encounter - a digital escape room by the Society of Curiosities, I’ve been looking for any excuse to continue or start with a physical mail-order escape room. And thanks to #Puzzletember, I now have a menu of creators to choose from - Curious Correspondence, Blue Fish Games, Armchair Escapist, Extraordinary Investigations, and Post Curious, just to name a few. 

At this point, I’m waiting for my first shipment from Scarlet Envelope - an all-female puzzle-making team from Canada =) - and my boxset of Season One of Curious Correspondence’s games. 

What are your favourite or most challenging aspects when you enter an Escape Room or go through a series of puzzles?

Escape by Anthony BL Smith

If anyone really wants a challenge and learn some of the sneakiest ways to create puzzles, I will recommend Anthony BL Smith’s “Escape” series. Start from the first part, and see if you can really make it out at the end of Part “Three”. Or is it three? Perhaps you might just want to find out here. 

Amazing Chambers

In an environment where a majority of Escape Rooms tend to be horror-centric, it’s quite refreshing to see other Escape Rooms that delve into mystical lore, heritage, and cultural history in Singapore. While I have not gone to Amazing Chambers, I’m already intrigued by their various themes and stories - the Crown of Sang Nila Utama, Princess Radin Mas, even the history of the Sister Islands. 

Looking forward to my first adventure there! 

Anything Curious Chimeras Puts Out

Because I’m biased.

Chimera Alanna is a puzzle-maker who loves her stories and locks. Chimera Shao is a game master who will transport you to another world, one way or another. Be it an Alternate-Reality Game (ARG) inspired experience, specialised RPG to build your team, or an insightful dive into the local heritage and histories, you can count on the Curious Chimeras to deliver. 

And for any other recommendations and news, do check out more comprehensive Escape Room and puzzle sites - like EscapetheRoomers! 

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And that’s it from me! See you all next week!

Want to try out a free puzzle that can let you win the full set of Unstable Foundations and Unstable Directions stories so far? Why not try this puzzle out?