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Post by cricket on Mar 17, 2019 15:31:04 GMT -5
I just completed Post Mortem with a mixed age group last night and we’d all like to do another experience that is a problem solving/mystery solving type of activity. One of our group members is a younger teen, but very bright, so we need something that isn’t too childish, but also isn’t wildly inappropriate for a younger person.
Does anyone have any suggestions? We were leaning toward Tempis Fugit or Hunt for the Forgotten Tomb. I am seeing some reviews for the former that indicate that there isn’t a lot of activity or problem solving in the former, though.
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Post by thegenii on Mar 17, 2019 19:29:29 GMT -5
There is little puzzling in the majority of MPC Experiences. Even those experiences which have puzzling aspects like "John Augur," I am under the perhaps mistaken impression that they are not necessary to the enjoyment of the experience. "Hunt for the Forgotten Tomb" has some decoding as well.
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Post by cricket on Mar 17, 2019 19:45:35 GMT -5
What we’re trying to avoid is just getting a book to read with some artifacts. Post Mortem had a book, but it was used as a way to solve the murders. You’d choose which person you wanted to interview or place to investigate and then turn to the appropriate page, which might give you access to additional evidence or clues. At the end, there were questions to answer and a solution.
So, would you say any of the other experiences are anything like that? The other experiences are a lot more expensive, so I don’t want to put out $200 for something that isn’t what we want.
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Post by wortelboer on Mar 17, 2019 20:26:12 GMT -5
How about Dispatch’s Breakout. On the Run? It’s not done by MPC. And it is a subscription that runs over the course of six or seven months. But it comes with a really neat story some fun puzzles and codes to break and some interesting little items.
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Post by cricket on Mar 17, 2019 20:46:22 GMT -5
How about Dispatch’s Breakout. On the Run? It’s not done by MPC. And it is a subscription that runs over the course of six or seven months. But it comes with a really neat story some fun puzzles and codes to break and some interesting little items. This looks interesting, thanks. If you’ve done those before, do you have any estimate of how long these mysteries take to complete? I see both a series length (which appears to be number of mailings) and an option to get the whole package at once, but not the time/mailing on average. dispatch.breakoutgames.com/#what-is-dispatch
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Post by wortelboer on Mar 17, 2019 20:48:27 GMT -5
How about Dispatch’s Breakout. On the Run? It’s not done by MPC. And it is a subscription that runs over the course of six or seven months. But it comes with a really neat story some fun puzzles and codes to break and some interesting little items. This looks interesting, thanks. If you’ve done those before, do you have any estimate of how long these mysteries take to complete? I see both a series length (which appears to be number of mailings) and an option to get the whole package at once, but not the time/mailing on average. dispatch.breakoutgames.com/#what-is-dispatchI actually did it. I would say the boxes average a couple hours each to complete
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Post by cricket on Mar 17, 2019 21:01:51 GMT -5
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Post by chrisu on Mar 17, 2019 23:23:43 GMT -5
I'd actually recommend this: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/223321/detective-modern-crime-board-gameA very good boardgame where you have to investigate different cases, almost like a modern police officer. Even has a database(sort of) where you can check finger prints and DNA samples. Or go old school and try boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2511/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-thames-murderThis game has already been compared to Post Mortem several times. There even is a Lovecraftian setting, but I can't recall the name. Or maybe this: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/146508/time-storiesA bit pricier, as the base game only has a single case. These concentrate more on the story telling aspects. Think of an adventure without a DM. Some of the cases are very Lovecraftian. The gist is the players are time travelers and only have a fixed amount of time to right some past wrongs. So you have to replay the cases several times to get through. That's also the biggest point against the game. Once you played through a case the replayability Isn't that high. I played most of Time Stories and Sherlock. Detective is resting on the shelf right next to me, had no time to tackle this yet. So feel free to ask any questions.
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Post by cricket on Mar 18, 2019 13:28:33 GMT -5
I also emailed this question to the MPC concierge and s/he got back to me to suggest that the Lost Treasure of John Auger would be a similar story themed mystery to solve with a solution at the end.
Have any of you done that one? Thoughts? I’d be inclined to order now and save up the mailings to do in one sitting with my group unless that is inadvisable.
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Post by dmikester on Mar 18, 2019 14:59:18 GMT -5
There is nothing in the MPC's catalog that's close to Post Mortem; it's truly a departure for them in style, puzzle design, and tone. John Augur, while a great product, doesn't really compare. There is indeed a puzzle that runs through the whole thing, and there is a solution at the end of sorts, but like most of their core Experiences, it's designed so that people who don't do the puzzle don't miss out on any content; in other words, if you solve the puzzle, you're not going to get something different content-wise than if you don't solve the puzzle. The puzzle is also MUCH harder than Post Mortem's general difficulty level; while likely solvable in a mixed group if at least one person is a seasoned puzzle solver, if people aren't experienced with codes and really thinking out of the box, it's likely going to be frustrating. For me, while I was a huge fan of Curios and Conundrums, I've never been a big fan of the puzzles in their core Experiences, as I find them almost always superfluous and pretty much never having a satisfying payoff. John Augur is one of the better ones, but again, because they need to design the Experiences to cater to everyone, the puzzles are never essential. Probably the best puzzle in their core Experiences, and one of the few that actually added content to the Experience you couldn't have gotten anywhere else in the Experience, is the one in Rise of the Cult, but that Experience is very adult and the puzzle is super complicated. Filigree in Shadow is also mature and scary, but it has a decoding puzzle in it that adds a lot of content. Weeping Book is similar to Filigree in tone, but with a simpler puzzle that also adds content. I think the suggestions above are pretty good. Honestly, Consulting Detective is probably the best of the bunch and what Post Mortem directly copies is based on, but the others are solid. I've had great fun with Consulting Detective with different groups of friends. I haven't had the chance to try some of Chrisu's suggestions, namely Detective and Time Stories, but they're good options. Dispatch's first season, On The Run, was great, but the quality dropped enormously after that. I've been subscribing to Sleuth Kings for a long time, and it's both family friendly and has some very cool and interactive puzzles in it: sleuthkings.com/
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Post by phraca on Mar 18, 2019 15:08:06 GMT -5
Other things mentioned on this forum you might like: Dispatch by Breakout The Librarans Almanaq The Conjurers Almanaq The Enigma Emporium The Maze of Games Curios and Conundrums Vol 1-3 (although you wil need the help of this community to solve now) Journal 29 book or its sequel The Cryptex Puzzle hunt (free online) Your local monthly Puzzled Pint (in person, if there is one near you, or do the puzzles after the fact)
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Post by cricket on Mar 18, 2019 15:09:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the detailed reply, dmikester. The group I’m working with is my regular escape room crew and most of us are Mensa members, so fairly competent puzzlers, but we do want something similar to Post Mortem. Harder isn’t an issue, but a total departure may be.
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Post by dmikester on Mar 18, 2019 16:00:04 GMT -5
Ah cool, ok. Yeah then I probably wouldn't recommend any of the MPC Experiences if a total departure is an issue, especially given their cost. I think Consulting Detective would be the best option, followed possibly by Detective (again, haven't played it, but it has a cool mechanic with the online database). One thing to note is that compared to Post Mortem, games like Consulting Detective and Detective are going to be much better values; you can get Consulting Detective for less than $40 on Amazon and it has ten cases compared to Post Mortem's one.
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Post by cricket on Mar 18, 2019 16:38:15 GMT -5
Ah cool, ok. Yeah then I probably wouldn't recommend any of the MPC Experiences if a total departure is an issue, especially given their cost. I think Consulting Detective would be the best option, followed possibly by Detective (again, haven't played it, but it has a cool mechanic with the online database). One thing to note is that compared to Post Mortem, games like Consulting Detective and Detective are going to be much better values; you can get Consulting Detective for less than $40 on Amazon and it has ten cases compared to Post Mortem's one. Yeah, I think I’m deciding between Dispatch On the Run (just getting the whole box set, which is $125 and I’ve found a $20 off coupon) and Consulting Detective.
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Post by Adler on Mar 20, 2019 16:36:20 GMT -5
I'd actually recommend this: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/223321/detective-modern-crime-board-gameA very good boardgame where you have to investigate different cases, almost like a modern police officer. Even has a database(sort of) where you can check finger prints and DNA samples. Or go old school and try boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2511/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-thames-murderThis game has already been compared to Post Mortem several times. There even is a Lovecraftian setting, but I can't recall the name. Or maybe this: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/146508/time-storiesA bit pricier, as the base game only has a single case. These concentrate more on the story telling aspects. Think of an adventure without a DM. Some of the cases are very Lovecraftian. The gist is the players are time travelers and only have a fixed amount of time to right some past wrongs. So you have to replay the cases several times to get through. That's also the biggest point against the game. Once you played through a case the replayability Isn't that high. I played most of Time Stories and Sherlock. Detective is resting on the shelf right next to me, had no time to tackle this yet. So feel free to ask any questions. I've played two out of those three, Sherlock and Detective. I can't recommend them enough, especially at the price point (yeah, economies of scale). Detective has plans for additional 'chapters' or releases or whatever you'd like to call them, with some big puzzle names -- including Selinker -- lined up for future releases based on their 'game system.' It's a lot of bang for the buck, the puzzle/story value is excellent.
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