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► SECTION I • QUICK GLANCE ◄
◣ GAME FACTS
🎮 Game: The Missed Flight
💪 Difficulty: Recommended For Ages 13 & Up
⏲️ Time: 45-60 Minutes
🧑 Capacity: N/A
🏢 Company: Puzzle Post
🏘️ Location: Based in United Kingdom
◣ FORMAT SPECS
🕹️ Format: By-Mail Puzzle Game
✂️ Tools: Scissors
💻 Platform: Web Browser, Mobile Phone
📰 Media Used: Various Media From Post (Mail), Text, Images
◣ "TL;DR!" SNIPPETS
📝 "Compose a secret message... Puzzle Post uploads the said message onto their online vault... then pack up some intriguing puzzles and pop 'em into the actual post (aka mail)... Recipient solves them puzzles upon arrival to uncover the message!"
📝 "Each puzzle details a glimpse into poor Lucy's original itinerary before things went south... All 7 challenges felt organic, all thanks to Lucy's story as a plausible backdrop..."
📝 "Puzzle formats vary, though of more or less standard contents... Though not groundbreaking, all is well executed and genuinely enjoyable throughout."
📝 "[I] nonchalantly dumped out the entire contents from the package, and out came materials that blurred the line of fantasy and reality... Production value is insane!"
📝 "Puzzle Post's true joy derives from the ability to personalize a hidden message... to express your affection in a fun, unusual fashion..."
💪 "Is it Hard?" (Team of 1) Nah, this is 100% beginners friendly. Perhaps a 2-3/10.
🔢 "How Many?" Great for 1 to 2 players, and aim to not use any hints. You got this!
🤷♂️ "For Who?" A great option for anyone who wants to puzzle-encode a message.
• • • • •
...OOOH. ME LIKEY.
REVOLUTIONIZING GREETINGS FOR HOLIDAY & GIFTING SEASONS...
THIS JOINS "RECOMMENDED" RANK!
► SECTION II • IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS ◄
◣ THE PREMISE
Lucy Kingston has been on a conference tour of Europe but after speaking some uncomfortable truths to a journalist, she’s found herself caught up in a story of lies and corruption. She’s in way over her head... She was supposed to deliver your message but has had to cut her trip short and go into hiding. She’s stashed the message in our vault and managed to put 7 puzzles together from her trip.
• • • • •
◣ THE REVIEW
You think you can read your message just by opening the mail? Think again!
CUTE PREMISE WITH A SUBPLOT
Remember sending your friends encoded messages (like secret super spies) in grade school? Puzzle Post takes it to the next level--with 3 simple steps:
1) Compose a secret message. (Could be a happy birthday, or could be a secret love confession. Texts, images, and videos all accepted.) 2) Puzzle Post uploads the said message onto their online vault (aka server), then pack up some intriguing puzzles and pop 'em into the actual post (aka mail). 3) Recipient solves them puzzles upon arrival to uncover the message!
This service alone is already awesome, but the makers made it downright tantalizing: The puzzles won't be just puzzles for puzzles' sake. They are fully incorporated in a mini thriller mystery, one starring (fictitious) personal messenger Lucy Kingston in "The Missed Flight".
Lucy was supposed to deliver your news in person after her conference tour, but had to, as the title suggests, abandon her flight and go into hiding! Ack! That's bad news for her career, maybe her survival, but more importantly, YOUR top priority letter! Better start piecing together her clues to recover your lost information (and possibly also Lucy's whereabouts).
The Missed Flight | Credits: Puzzle Post
PUZZLES FOR EVERYONE!
There is a total of 7 puzzles one has to conquer before granted access to the secret message vault, all of which requires a numerical solution ranging in between 1 to 100. One can obtain the final pass code by stringing together all 7 acquired solutions in the correct order.
Each puzzle details a glimpse into poor Lucy's original itinerary before things went south: Girl's performed a keynote speech, got her multiple coffee fixes, mingled with them hotties at the bar, and even took care of some dirty laundry. All 7 challenges felt organic, all thanks to Lucy's story as a plausible backdrop, rendering your experience even more realistic.
Puzzle formats vary, though of more or less standard contents I've seen before. A couple of easy warm ups like classic ciphers and mazes, mixed in with more complex problems that require astute observation and perhaps even a bit of paper crafting. Though not groundbreaking, all is well executed and genuinely enjoyable throughout.
Upon beating "The Missed Flight" in roughly 25 minutes, my initial reaction was, "Oh, that wasn't hard at all." In fact, I managed to finish swiftly with but one very minor nudge.
Moments later, I realized, the target demographics for Puzzle Post isn't exactly just hardcore puzzlers like me, but everyone. After all, heartfelt messages by post/mail is for everyone. In that sense, to ensure everybody in the general audience has a fair shot of succeeding and therefore a great time, the difficulty setting felt... fair. It's still easy, but fair.
The Missed Flight | Credits: Puzzle Post
YES... THAT IS A REAL NAPKIN
Perhaps the most shocking moment was when I nonchalantly dumped out the entire contents from the package, and out came materials that blurred the line of fantasy and reality. And if you know my track record, I am a big sucker for psuedo-reality immersion.
What I mean is, logically, I know Lucy does not exist. However, the goods that she supposedly sent me--menu card, beverage coaster, conference flyer, everything--they look every bit as real as they come in actual real life! Production value is insane! Had they printed out the newspaper article on actual newspaper stock, this would've been an A+ perfect score.
But who am I to complain when every package comes with a complimentary napkin tissue for easy clean up? Puzzle gamers, (or just I,) tend to snack and play concurrently to refuel our brains of much needed brainteasers-solving energy. Extra points for a thoughtful gesture!
Hmmm. Oh... wait. Aw, crap.
AN OLD CONCEPT REFRESHED
Such a simple yet brilliant concept... In fact, this is a concept isn't completely new.
Have you ever received a gift card (or cash) in a maze gift box, (or even just a straight-up cryptex,) the kind that you gotta work hard for your sweet rewards?
Well, Puzzle Post is similar, in that you still have to work out your noggin to get to your end point. But Puzzle Post is also better. You don't just play one game, but 7 mini games for success. It makes communications all the more interesting, trumping a boring, ordinary greetings card by a long, long shot. Move over, Hallmark.
Perhaps this is why these 7 puzzles tend not to be too difficult, as alluded. Puzzle Post's true joy derives from the ability to personalize a hidden message for dear grandma, to express your affection in a fun, unusual fashion, and NOT to give her a rage induced aneurysm due to frustrating mental acrobatics. (Unless you hate your granny? In which case, you're terrible.)
The Missed Flight | Credits: Puzzle Post
◣ FINAL THOUGHTS
I love solving puzzles. I love gifts. And I love getting mail as long as they are not mortgage or utility bills. Puzzle Post combines all 3 and left me more than impressed.
As a reviewer, after completing the entire game, I unlocked a warm and lovely greetings from creators Bobbie and Will; though I can only imagine, how wonderful it would be had it been a enthusiastic congratulations from my own family and/or friends.
It was at that exact moment, with that exact sentiment, that I know what I will be sending out for the upcoming holidays! Thanks in advance, Puzzle Post!
• • • • •
◣ PARTING TIPS
★ Don't fixate on a free drink reward for too long--even if it's free--it is just your starting guide.
★ If something's important, they'll tell you it more than once... or maybe even 3 times!
★ Don't be shy. If you someone gives you their number at a bar, or wherever, use it.
Signing off,
ESCAPE MATTSTER
Instagram @EscapeMattster ▪ Facebook.com/EscapeMattster
Full disclosure: complimentary game access was generously provided for review or testing purposes. All media are sourced from and credited to rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended. In certain cases, media materials are made available under fair use doctrine of copyright law. PPFlight.