Review: A Strange Compass & An American Traitor's Code | Society Of Curiosities

A Strange Compass, An American Traitor's Code

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Society Of Curiosities (Based In The United States)

◣ GAME'S SPECS

🕹️ Stay At Home Games » On Hand Items Required » Puzzle Mail Subscription Service

💪 No difficulty specified, but aimed for ages 12 and up.

⏲️ 10-20 minutes for each bonus mailing, as suggested by company.

🔢 1-4 players, as suggested by company.

💬 Hints available via hints page. Hints go from vague to very specific as revealed in stepwise fashion.

📝 Game requires mail contents, internet, a mobile phone, or more. Check for details.

🛒 If you PURCHASE GAME due to this blog, please give EscapeMattster.com a shout out! ;)

◣ MATTSTER'S TAKE

💪 Difficulty: For Mattster's team of 1, 2/10 for "Compass", and 5/10 for "Traitor". The latter was surprisingly baffling.

🔢 Ideal Team Size: 1 or 2. These are short and sweet "coffee break" games, therefore, small contents for small group.

🤷‍♂️ Best Fit For: Only quarterly or annual subscribers get these bonuses. So subscribe to enjoy!

🍵 Boils Down To: Little bonuses, sent from the creators to their customers with love. Quality quarterly episodes take much time to research, to design, and to finally manufacture. These will keep your brains busy in the mean time.

🙂 Overall Rating: Decent! These retain the flavor of the main chapters faithfully, but in tiny hors d'oeuvre servings.

◣ PREMISE

⤻ "A Strange Compass": There has been an interesting twist in the plot of Captain Madok. We have sent you a package with resources and artifacts. When you have received the package, you are ready to start your mission.

⤻ "An American Traitor's Code": We are sending you a skill-building postcard to keep your thoughts swift while we complete preparations for your next mission.

◣ ANALYSIS

The Society Will Be With You... ALWAYS!

Three months is a long time for best buddies--great puzzles and puzzle fanatics, of course!--to be separated, and the intellectuals at the "Society of Curiosities" know your pain. Aldora and Pippa miss you, too! So quarterly and yearly subscribers will receive little extra care packages every month to be reminded that their bodies, minds, and souls belong to none other than THE SOCIETY!!!

I kid, I kid. But we're a bit addicted to a good puzzle high, though, aren't we? Anyhow, here's a "Compass" and a postcard to curb your withdrawal.

Bonus #1: "A Strange Compass"

Captain Madok's treasure might've been found, but the fate of his one true love still remains a mystery. Players get to be a little more personal with the historical pirate figure by prying into his private love life, oooooh! But first, a cipher stands in the way! After a simple decoding that should take no more than 10 minutes to solve, bonus quest #1 turns into a game of logic that brings closure to the Madok saga. At least for now anyway.

Reality-augmenting websites make a great return in this mini bonus episode, and this time, they're in the form of a blog article. (Shoutout to my fellow bloggers everywhere!) Once again, great care has been taken to ensure these fictional webpages disguise themselves comfortably in our version of "real life", but who's to say what's real anymore after playing Society of Curiosities?

Whereas most websites I've encountered during Madok's treasure hunt were "just for funsies", this time I actually learned quite a handful about an ornate head-worn accessory adorned by everybody who's anybody in the court of social royalty. Not if, but when I need to be absolutely fabulous, my cap AND my ball (yes, singular) are both ready.

A Strange Compass & An American Traitor's Code | Credits: Society Of Curiosities

Bonus #2: "An American Traitor's Code"

Bonus #2 confused me a bit as there's seemingly a puzzle at hand, but somehow, both the first clue and the final solution yielded more or less the exact same contents...? Did I somehow finish where I started? It was then I realized the true intent of this mailing wasn't to find a solution, but to learn and practice a skill. A not-so-subtle but still fun and clever way of introducing book ciphers, this, I suspect, will come into play in the next quarterly investigation.

Production-wise, this photograph-sized post card is printed on glossy cardboard paper, with great quality to the touch. However, if you would allow me to nitpick for just a brief second, I think the authenticity of this post card would skyrocket to perfection had the writing side been matte, which is more apt for writing. Add a central division line to allow a "mail to" address field on the right, or maybe even a "'put stamp here" box on the top right... Now THAT'S as real as it gets!

Final Thoughts

Much like the epilogue and the prologue of a great novel, these two bonus mailings are the Society's sneaky way of saying both "goodbye" and "why, 'ello there again!" in between full fledged episodes (for quarterly plan or higher subscribers). You don't want your adventure to end? They extend it just a tad longer with bonus #1. But when it's time to move on, they are already preparing you for the next upcoming quest with bonus #2, without ever explicitly telling ya... though the brightest of you must've had a hunch, too?

Imagine that, tricking you into pre-studying for your next fantastic quiz! And you absolutely can't wait to see what's next to arrive in your mailbox! In a library study somewhere, with an Aldora Palmist in one hand, and a John Hick literature in the other, Grandmaster Pennywig must be smiling smugly at her growing army of Society minio... I mean, researchers.

◣ TIPS

★ Grandmaster Pennywig and I both bid our readers farewell with a consistent signature. Great minds sign off alike!

Signing off,

ESCAPE MATTSTER

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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. SOCBonus1.