The Great Tea Robbery - Tangible Narrative - Amoy

I've been feeling slightly better recently, more grounded, so I took a chance and opened up The Great Tea Robbery by Tangible Narrative, and I couldn't be happier that I did. The first half hour at least was spent not solving a single puzzle, but pouring over the exquisite materials and ephemera with which the puzzle is crafted. 

Presented in a traveling writing desk, for which I already have post-puzzle plans, the mystery presents you with several teas, charming little jars in which to store them, and a 'kai wan' or traditional tea set with lid, saucer, and bowl, all marked with what you come almost immediately to find are one of the core elements of the story - four mythical beings associated with cardinal directions and other variations to allow for their use as the structure behind the puzzles. The quality and craftmanship was truly impressive - there's nothing here that says 'use me and toss me' - it's all 'this will be a lovely addition to your tea obsession post-puzzle.' 

The puzzles themselves are interesting, spread across two notebooks and a charming (I'm overusing that word but it really really is) bamboo-wrapped file of ephemera. The only thing I would note is that I would have called the second notebook A and the first notebook B, just based on the order you should read to understand, but honestly, they can be read either way. The two notebooks are: A) The notebooks of one Robert Fortune, a mid-1800s botanist who actually existed (though obviously this tale is fictitious), written during his journeys in China. B) Notebook is written by Wilson, an early 1900s adventurer, scholar, something as he retraces Fortune's notebooks and realizes there is, in fact, a puzzle inside. 

Not wanting to rush, I satisfied myself with the first puzzle only today. It is set in Robert Fortune's first stop, Amoy. There, he has tea with a high official, who explains the differences in Chinese and English approaches to tea nomenclature. Where English focus on the color of the leaves to be steeped, the Chinese focus on the color of the tea itself - what may be labeled in London as a 'black' tea would actually be a 'red' tea in Chinese nomenclature (assuming all of this was pre-rooibos). 

What was most charming about the Amoy puzzle was that it actually included the tea to brew to go along with the puzzle! In order to solve the puzzle you need to identify which of two teas presented was the correct one, brew it, and use that information to go back to the four mythical beasts. I suppose you probably had enough information from the narrative to pick the right one without the final brew, but really, why would you do that? The tea is as described, lovely and refreshing, and the perfect companion to a morning of puzzles. 

Having solved the tea puzzle, you then solve a second puzzle, which will determine the order of the second volume of puzzles - The Great Tea Robbery is arranged in 4 volumes in a way they describe better than I can. Suffice it to say you identify the relevant tile from a bag of tiles that I erroneously assumed originally to be mahjong (there are go pieces for later, though), and use the number of the relevant tile to deduce the order in which the city (which you get from identifying the direction) will be in in volume two.

A third notebook contains the walkthrough for each puzzle - read only as a last resort. I was curious after I'd solved the puzzles, and read the 'hints'. Rather than a boring 'The answer is X' approach, the information is presented as a narrative - read only as far as you need to knock the idea loose. It's really quite charming. 5 stars, and I'm glad I'm already on the list to back the next Tangible Narrative adventure. 

PostCurious - Ministry of Lost Things - Case 1: Lint Condition

 It’s been a while since I’ve had the brain power and concentration to be able to puzzle, but I have a nice quiet Christmas today, and a backlog of puzzle presents that I’ve purchased for myself this year, and possibly from before. I’ve got my tea, my cinnamon rolls, and starting with PostCurious’ Ministry of Lost Things, Case 1: Lint Condition, which bills itself as buying for 2-3 hours. I can already tell you it takes longer than that when there’s a cat happily sat upon your notebook and puzzle pieces, demanding more Christmas treats before she allows you access again to your puzzle. 

The box opens with a note, explaining the world  you have found yourself in - gneesters rehoming lost and forgotten objects to the elusiverse, and sometimes mistakenly taking important items. You’re told to log into a website, then open the first ‘transmission’. I was a bit annoyed that there was an online component - I wanted a decidedly analog holiday - but the use really does just seem to be for submitting answers and checking them. 

The Detective Society - The Cursed Exhibition - Envelope 6

It’s the final night of my friend’s visit, and the final chapter of our escapade into the Cursed Exhibition. We are ready to save the world, destroy the artefact, and become world-famous Cult-Enders. We dig in to both delicious dinner and the final envelope.

Envelope 6 contains the standard ‘start here’ envelope; a letter from the detective; another police letter with known suspects; a partial map of Istanbul (not Constantinople); four case files from the Turkish police. 

We are told we must track down four keys, possibly by solving four murders, though the Cult may already have the keys. The Turkish police have identified a list of possible suspects, as well as provided us the case files. We need to determine:

• Which of the suspects is the murderer?
• Where is location of the hidden shrine? 

After perusing some online resources, we start with the case files: 

• Case file 9G4T, which provides us a photo, an incident report, a hair follicle, and an overdue library report. The police file contains an audio clip, suggesting that there is more to the library than meets the eye, also that the Librarian expected someone to come after him. Looking at the hair, based on the available information, it would appear to be medium to light brown hair, eliminating several suspects, at least for this murder. The photo is of an Arabic character, T. Looking at the library letter, we find some overdue books, and a link to another website. First, there are a series of suggestions in the returned books, but not clear what to do with them at the moment. 
• Case Number: 4M8R. Something was stolen from a bank vault, with another photo and voice note. The photo is an Arabic M. There was a note left on the deceased’s desk and basic info regarding the deceased. The note suggests there are six characters, an underscore, then five characters. ******_*****. This time, on the audio file, my eagle-eared detective pal picks up that it’s morse code - Daughter. Her daughter’s name is not provided, but she was born in Izmir. We try accessing her staff website, but don’t have enough information. 
• Case Number: 1A8Y - a death in an antiques shop. The police report provides information on the scene, including a shoe print, a voice note, and the Arabic G or ‘, depending on if a dot was intended, as well as a list of antiquities and a receipt, which would allow us to backwards math a missing item - a tankard. There is also an audio file, which hints at additional clues beyond the key. We then contact the police regarding the tankard, which sends us to a spinning wheel, to a clock, to a camera, which gives us a clue for later: The third oldest key cannot be turned immediately before. We also get the shoe size - 25 cm - which rules it down to someone wearing an EU 40/UK6.5/US7 - we are down to 3 suspects (maybe 4 if I did the hair math wrong). 
• Case 3F3T: A dead ornithologist with a rifled study. This time we have fingerprints, another audio file, pages from the ornithologist’s book, and another photo - this time of the Arabic S. The bloody handprint on the knife suggests left handed, which narrows it down to two suspects. We need to go back to the other files, probably the bank one, to figure out the eye color, which would allow us to finalize the choice. The audio message suggests that the phrase portion of this case is hidden in the life’s work. I do appreciate that the ornithologist’s name is ‘birb’. If we overlay the bookmark on the book’s shaded areas, we get the following phrase: The purple key must not be turned.

Realizing what we may have missed on the first couple, we go back. 

• Case Number: 4M8R. So far we know was stolen from a bank vault, leaving an Arabic M.The note suggests there are six characters, an underscore, then five characters. ******_*****. Daughter was the morse message. Her daughter’s name is not provided, but she was born in Izmir. What we missed the first time was that we were supposed to email Fatma, get her OOO, and her daughter’s name. With that, we have Name_Izmir, which gets us in! Using the timing of the heist, we determine the suspect has blue eyes, giving us ONE suspect remaining! We also get When the blue has already been turned, or when the red has not been turned. Now we feel this case has given us what it can.  
• Case file 9G4T gave us T, light brown hair, but no passphrase, but we know there are things in the returned books which have funny names. We missed that on the back of the letter, there was a note with a call number - a book written in 2008, starting with O, on the subject of genealogy, names, and insignia. There is a book titled Or after the Youngest or the Oldest, which should round out our clues. 

We still don’t know WHERE the keys are. Google tells us that the main point in Istanbul that uses those Arabic letters is the Grand Bazaar. We email the detective the location and wait for a response. NOPE. We get a hint, and take a look at the locations the murders occurred - they’re clustered. With a bit of a nudge we find the letters on the streets, circling one of the locations on the maps. We send the location to the detective, and are correct! She finds the hidden entrance, and uses the murderer’s name to get past the guard. We get to listen in on her trip to the shrine, where she is confronted by the security guard from the cult’s HQ in London. We then have to help her hide, and take out the guards looking for her without being caught. The sound effects are amusing. 

We then have a 20 minute STRESSFUL window to solve multiple logic puzzles. I don’t work well under pressure. Thankfully, we solve them, she destroys the artefact, and the world is saved from the ravages of the Cult of Shakir. Well done! We get a series of conclusion emails and video, and kittens! 

Beyond a few glitches, we had a great time doing the entire series. I would have preferred less reliance on the web, as that can be hard when you have multiple people trying to enjoy simultaneously, but really great job overall. This copy of The Cursed Exhibition is going to my friend’s house for her wider family to play, but I highly recommend heading over to The Detective Society and picking up your copy today :) 

Morrison Game Factory

 My copy of PostCurious' new puzzle tale, The Morrison Game Factory, just arrived, and I'm super excited. I haven't even gotten it home yet and I've already started to dig into it. 

It's a bright and cheerful teal box and even before opening it I noticed there was an interesting pattern on the cover. The dice and little rocket tokens translate into a short, slightly worrying sentence:

... . .-.. .--.  -- . HELP ME

An opening letter, sent 'One Adventurer to Another,' tells us that someone found this box, pristine, on the conveyor belt of an abandoned game factory. It directs us to a folder titled 3428, which turns out to be the maintenance record of the machines at the Morrison Game Company, now defunct. The log lays out the story of a machine, 3428, that apparently achieves sentience. The singularity is now. Except that the maintenance guy, TY, didn't take kindly to the machine's new behavior, and kept resetting it, despite the damage to the 'machine learning process.' Jerk. 

The Detective Society - The Cursed Exhibition - Envelope 5

After last night’s stunning cliffhanger, we wrap up a day of touristing with another exciting chapter of… The Cursed Exhibition! Having napped, enjoyed an appropriate beverage, and ensured that our feline friends are cheerfully engaged with the envelope packaging, we dig in.

This envelope has a lot of components floating free. We have the standard square envelope and clue card; four photos; a letter from the police; a membership card to the Cult; a location fragment; an electric bill for “Ms. Cult”; a number of potential key ends; and an unmarked manilla envelope. 

The envelope contains a package, smuggled out of her cell. We get a letter from the detective, as well as a map, a security manual, and some colored overlays that may be related to the cell. She tells us she has a contact in the next cell over who will help her if she helps him figure out the correct key. The photos are of messages scrawled on furniture and walls in her cell. One of them suggests that we should look at triangles not circles, others suggest we should read all phrases backwards, so circles not triangles. There are both triangles and circles under the letters of a third message. A fourth questions the ability of the security chief to actually investigate potential members and says he doesn’t read weird letters or numbers. We also get the security manual for the cult. They include references to Indiana Jones and Home Alone - top notch security indeed. 

First, though, we need to sort out the key situation. We contact her ‘live’ via a ‘secure police channel’. We realize that the keys are tied to the electricity usages of the various rooms. We identify which room is their holding cell, and find the key that has the same electrical use pattern tied to its tines. Her neighbor is free! Using mirrors, we see that she’s in room 19 or 16. This is trickier, for while we can discard the key that got her neighbor out, the same pattern doesn’t seem to work for her own cell. 

When we look at hints, we realize we started in the wrong place. We were supposed to hack the computer using the ID card first. But we don’t have a pin yet. The portal requests a name and pin. We have the name, but the pin? Presumably on the walls. After a bit of poking, we get a message “Read Every Fifth Word” then apply it to another message, getting our hint to the pin. Once in, there is a helpful ‘cell finder’. Each cell has a map of the lock pins for the key. So much easier than our approach, which may not have actually been an intentional solve… With that in mind, we set her free, but she won’t leave without the blasted artefact. 

We assume that they would have moved the artefact from room 7, where it was last time, and there is no energy spike in that particular room at any time over the last few days. Still, we check with the detective. Then we read through some amusing chat groups, allowing us to rule out several of the electrical spikes. We learn that you are never more than 10 feet away from a spider, which is why I keep cats to protect me. We also find another location fragment, for use later. Based on the conversations, we know that it’s in the NW quadrant, and only one of those rooms had a power spike. We tell her to go there. We work her through the maze, having her drop into an unguarded room. Woot! 

There is, however, a keypad in our way. Thankfully she has a UV light with her to see the prints on the keys :) Which spell the name of the cult. Of course. We guide her to the room, and with the help of some mirrors (how does she block three lasers with two hands?) gets access to the artefact. Which of course triggers the security to move the booby traps, for a different way back. We begin. 

Once we get her out, with the artefact no less, she realizes we must destroy it (IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!). To destroy it, she needs another key, which we must piece together from various squiggles - coast lines and borders - and identify the key’s location. This is where having a geographer friend comes in VERY handy. Also, tracing paper. We identify the country and send a message off to the detective. And wait… And wait… There seems to be a glitch, and I did find the other artefact email in my spam. My friend’s account works, and we get a voice note from the detective, telling us we were correct, and that’s she’s on her way to get the final bits of the keys and artefact to end a centuries-long cycle of violence! 

VICTORY!

The Detective Society - The Cursed Exhibition - Envelope 4

 Following a longer than anticipated Envelope 3, we dive right into Envelope 4, following a message from the Detective that she was going to infiltrate the Children of Shakir Cult in London. Within envelope 4, we have: The beginning envelope; a note from the detective; a coroner’s report for one Kay Hiddleston; a book with the same emblem as the cult, labeled KH; a car park map; an as yet unknown map. 

The detective looped in her boss, and the local police don’t have the resources. The Detective is going to infiltrate the cult. She will pose as Kay Hiddleston, tragically killed in an accident a few days ago. We must provide the detective information regarding the regalia - what K would have worn to the conclave - and text it to her immediately. 

Based on the notebook, Kay is a level one member, which indicates she would wear:

• A pointy hat without band or star
• Grey cloak (at the dry cleaners)
• Red tunic

 Hopefully we don’t get the police officer killed… She is able to pick up the regalia from the dry cleaners with our help. We then have to help her find the entrance to the meeting space. She thinks the entrance might be in one of the car parks, but it’s not clear how we were supposed to get to the correct one. We guess based on where Eddie used to work - two of his former employers are here, as is his coffee shop. We are then supposed to help her find the place. We are STUMPED - UNTIL! My puzzling companion realizes the roundabouts in the parking lot map line up with the emblem on the back of the notebook, which highlights a specific square or parking space. There is a car in that space and we have a picture of the interior. This is where the odd numbering of the pages come in - they are the directions to moving the stick shift. That opens a secret passage to the Cult’s hideout. We direct the Detective around the hideout, making the appropriate greetings to other cultists on the way, based on the notebook. Also, the creators of this puzzle are apparently Warhammer nerds. Having made our way through conversations, and confirming the Cult has the artefact, we are faced with a new challenge: turning on the fuses.

This requires turning the fuses on based on a north-south alignment. Thankfully there are clues scattered throughout the conversation, allowing us to sort the order pretty easily. Less easy is getting the info to the detective, who doesn’t like my capitalization in texts. Old pre-AI tech, but still fun. Having turned the power back on, we try again to talk to some of the other members to try to find the secret room where the artefact is hidden. The first office we try does give us more clues as to the location - people really need better passwords. Then we need to look at some paintings, when I learn that the picture of Napoleon on a Horse is “Napoleon Crossing the Alps”. We eventually find the door to the secret room holding the artefact. However, we need a code. We email another account, and are linked to a website. The first passcode is provided in the notebook. The others potentially rely on a voice message broken up. Once we get those in order, we are presented with a combo lock. We listen carefully and identify the combination through a series of clicks. 

The final audio clip discusses the methods of the Children of Shakir ‘protecting’ the artefact by killing people. A game of ‘cat and mouse’ for hundreds of years. Apparently the artefact is back in their care, and they have plans to hold the police officer until they can move her to Manchester for an untimely demise. The artefact will be reunited with the ‘four keys’ for an ‘eternal legacy’. What could possibly go wrong? For now, we have successfully completed Envelope 4, despite my cats’ best efforts. Sleep 

The Detective Society - The Cursed Exhibition - Envelope 3

We begin night three without many leads as to what happened to the Artefact, and what has led to the death of the Archivist, the Curator, and now Eddie Moore. All we know, is that there is an unknown person in a trench-coat lurking about in the eaves. We begin! 

Tonight’s envelope has the standard start here square, a letter from the detective, a kraft paper envelope addressed to Mr. Eddie Moore, an envelope from the University of Greater Wellington, and a manila envelope labeled ‘Do Not Bend’. 

The starter asks for Mr. Moore’s motivation, to explain, eventually, the motive for his own untimely demise. Apparently the envelopes are from Eddie’s apartment, and the police have already cracked his laptop, and we are advised to contact her at our earliest convenience. No files from the computer, only a website link we think Eddie was trying to access. We are cautioned to ensure we have all the info before attempting the website ourselves. Its homepage is a very secret order vibe emblem with interconnected shapes and odd letters. 

We begin with the kraft envelope, addressed to Eddie at the museum. It is from one Scarlet Rob, who asks we WhatsApp her when we have our next clue. We need find the luggage label number of a trunk belonging to Birdie Shepperton, who died before docking in NY. She may have been an antiquities thief. We’re given two photos with numbers and a website. The website contains photos of a list of thefts from the time around Birdie’s travel from England to the U.S. We suspect, given her name, that at least four of the unknown perpetrator thefts can be attributed to her, as symbols of birds were left nearby. In order to identify her trunk number, we must figure out where she departed the UK. THANKFULLY my partner likes maps ;) We identify that some trunks stay on board, others are on and off at each stop. Based on what we were able to identify, her last theft was Oxford, and our options are (in order) Newcastle, Southampton, Liverpool, and Belfast before the crossing to New York. Based on distance, the closest port to her last theft was Southampton, at 65 miles from Oxford. That means that her trunk loaded at Southampton and stayed for the others. The only trunk that does that is 7927. That the ship left in May confirms why none of the thefts on the last page have her ‘signature’ - they were after her boarding the ship. 

A quick text of the luggage number to Scarlet confirms our investigation. She then sends us a list of unclaimed luggage, Birdie being dead at the point and unable to claim it - we need to identify the correct trunk using the ‘Unclaimed Luggage Rules’ on one of the images. But first, DINNER!