If any other youtubers stumble on this video and you have a channel where you review Deadbolt Mystery Society games regularly, feel free to post a link to your channel. Sometimes CZcams blocks comments with links so if it won't post just email me (coopfortwo@gmail.com). -jesse
I've only watched 3 of these, and didn't see the cabin or the body farm. What I appreciate about these games is that the narrative is good and the puzzles are done so well. A lot of these style of games have puzzles and ciphers as a kind of detatched afterthought. Here in deadbolt, the puzzles fit well into the story in a natural way, that's really good.
I’m a long-time subscriber to the Deadbolt Mystery Society and The Cabin and The Body Farm are two of my all-time favorites. Some boxes’ themes have appealed to me more than others, but I can’t think of a single one I haven’t enjoyed. Your suggestion to buy boxes when they go on sale is a great way for people to find out if they enjoy this type of puzzle box but there is an advantage now to being a subscriber. Last fall Deadbolt Mystery Society began providing subscribers with bonus “micro mysteries”. Subscribers receive an additional card with their monthly shipment and scan the QR code after they have finished the box to access additional documents, puzzles, and story. The micro mysteries are basically a continuation of that month’s box and they are as well-written and enjoyable as the main box. Yes, it costs a bit more to subscribe but you also get more and I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth every month.
Just now saw an update from Deadbolt Mystery Society saying that the Temple of X box currently being shipped to subscribers is the last box that will include a micro mystery. It was fun while it lasted! They have other activities planned for subscribers only and I plan to continue my subscription anyway.
Hi Elaine. Very good points! I should be more careful about giving advice on what something is "worth" monetarily -- that's a decision each of us has to make independently and we all have different things that we care about. I can certainly see a group that loves the experience of getting a surprise new box in the mail every month and being willing to pay for that experience and not having to hunt down random sales constantly.
Love Deadbolt Mystery Society and I feel your review is spot on! Had to stop my subscription last year because I had so many of the boxes to catch up on. My two favorites so far have been Blackout and Conspiracy. I'd definitely recommend those if you are looking for a good mix of puzzle difficulty and plot twisting storylines.
Thanks, Joseph! I was very pleasantly surprised by the Deadbolt games.. Did not expect them to be so well done. I feel like the authors here are close to my wavelength of what I want in a narrative puzzle experience, and understand how to calibrate the different components. Whereas the Hunt-a-killer games I have regularly had the experience of getting annoyed that the game was making me too far too much busy work to decrypt something. -jesse
I love the Deadbolt Mystery boxes. I have also had an entire series of Hunt a killer. I do not value props. They are not useful, they aren't things I want to keep. It's just clutter. Don't spend money on those items in my opinion. I really care about the puzzles. My absolute favorite has been Conspiracy. Very fun puzzles. [Hunt a killer felt like A LOT of story telling.]
Yeah whenever I see the fancy props in a normal game like this I just think to myself that I wish they saved the money and spent it on other things. The only exceptions are occasionally when a company is making some super deluxe box I can appreciate spending money to make a document look more real/aged/etc.
I loved your playthrough of the game! I went to search for an ebay version of this box since it isnt in the single box category of the website. But I typed in the name only, and found a book of a similar plot and identical name. Do you think Deadbolt Mystery Society takes reference or inspiration from horror or mystery novels to produce their monthly boxes? Was wondering your thoughts on that. Still, amazing playthrough. Loved your thought process, even though I have yet to finish it since I've ordered a box of my own!
With all the games they've made they definitely borrow inspiration wherever they can find it -- movies, books, etc. Thank you for the nice words. They have official sales frequently where you can pick up a few different boxes for $15 each -- there are a few on sale now on their website, you might check into those. My general advice for these is pick them up when they are under $20.
Hmmm...Dark and Stormy Night was one of our favorites. Never tried the others, but I guess we have to now if D&S turned out to be the BOTTOM of this bunch! Our favorite so far was The Watcher, where the puzzles just gave you clues, and you had to construct a timeline and then use actual deduction to eliminate suspects. My big complaint about the series is I wish the boxes would give you a heads up if you can expect serial killer content, with some of the stuff can get really over the top grisly sometimes. Personally I can handle it, but if you're playing with a family or kids it's awkward if it suddenly breaks out a murder basement with severed body parts stitched together or the killer's journal describing how he gets aroused from watching the life leave the victim's eyes. I'm sure there's an audience for that, but I'd just like a warning so we know to avoid those if we're playing with people who aren't into it. Am I the only one who can't stand Hunt A Killer? They rely entirely on production values but their mysteries and writing are awful. Frequently we can guess the killer within 5 minutes of opening a box (even the big 6 parters!). I think it only ever got popular because they were one of the very first mystery subscription services (and have since gotten picked up by Target). They got even worse over time though by moving more and more of the mystery to online. The WHOLE POINT was all the high quality physical evidence in each box, but in a lot of their most recent boxes the physical stuff hardly comes into play at all. The actual mystery is going to be solved by the one person staring at a laptop screen going over the website link. They might as well make it entirely digital and save everyone a ton of money.
I wouldn't say I can't stand them but I have the same negative feeling about them in general, that they seem to be more focused on useless props, and more inclined to give you busy work. Though we did enjoy Blair Witch season 1.
Some of their small one-box games (sold in Target) can be okay. We gave up on their 6 box series, $180 each over the course of 6 months, after 2 huge duds in a row. Class of '98, we correctly guessed the killer within 5 minutes of opening the first box! $180! One of the boxes was "eliminate a suspect", and the very first piece of evidence you get within one minute of opening the box is video of a suspect at a far away public place at the time of murder. Thanks for playing, see you in another month? Mallory Rock we stopped playing after the 2nd box. 100% of the clues and work were all online. I don't think the physical props ever came into play at all. What do you recommend for pure deduction mystery games? We don't care for Consulting Detective. The Cold Case Files series has been fairly decent.
If any other youtubers stumble on this video and you have a channel where you review Deadbolt Mystery Society games regularly, feel free to post a link to your channel. Sometimes CZcams blocks comments with links so if it won't post just email me (coopfortwo@gmail.com). -jesse
I've only watched 3 of these, and didn't see the cabin or the body farm. What I appreciate about these games is that the narrative is good and the puzzles are done so well. A lot of these style of games have puzzles and ciphers as a kind of detatched afterthought. Here in deadbolt, the puzzles fit well into the story in a natural way, that's really good.
I’m a long-time subscriber to the Deadbolt Mystery Society and The Cabin and The Body Farm are two of my all-time favorites. Some boxes’ themes have appealed to me more than others, but I can’t think of a single one I haven’t enjoyed.
Your suggestion to buy boxes when they go on sale is a great way for people to find out if they enjoy this type of puzzle box but there is an advantage now to being a subscriber. Last fall Deadbolt Mystery Society began providing subscribers with bonus “micro mysteries”. Subscribers receive an additional card with their monthly shipment and scan the QR code after they have finished the box to access additional documents, puzzles, and story. The micro mysteries are basically a continuation of that month’s box and they are as well-written and enjoyable as the main box. Yes, it costs a bit more to subscribe but you also get more and I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth every month.
Just now saw an update from Deadbolt Mystery Society saying that the Temple of X box currently being shipped to subscribers is the last box that will include a micro mystery. It was fun while it lasted! They have other activities planned for subscribers only and I plan to continue my subscription anyway.
Hi Elaine. Very good points! I should be more careful about giving advice on what something is "worth" monetarily -- that's a decision each of us has to make independently and we all have different things that we care about. I can certainly see a group that loves the experience of getting a surprise new box in the mail every month and being willing to pay for that experience and not having to hunt down random sales constantly.
Love Deadbolt Mystery Society and I feel your review is spot on! Had to stop my subscription last year because I had so many of the boxes to catch up on. My two favorites so far have been Blackout and Conspiracy. I'd definitely recommend those if you are looking for a good mix of puzzle difficulty and plot twisting storylines.
Thanks, Joseph! I was very pleasantly surprised by the Deadbolt games.. Did not expect them to be so well done. I feel like the authors here are close to my wavelength of what I want in a narrative puzzle experience, and understand how to calibrate the different components. Whereas the Hunt-a-killer games I have regularly had the experience of getting annoyed that the game was making me too far too much busy work to decrypt something. -jesse
I love the Deadbolt Mystery boxes. I have also had an entire series of Hunt a killer. I do not value props. They are not useful, they aren't things I want to keep. It's just clutter. Don't spend money on those items in my opinion. I really care about the puzzles. My absolute favorite has been Conspiracy. Very fun puzzles. [Hunt a killer felt like A LOT of story telling.]
Yeah whenever I see the fancy props in a normal game like this I just think to myself that I wish they saved the money and spent it on other things. The only exceptions are occasionally when a company is making some super deluxe box I can appreciate spending money to make a document look more real/aged/etc.
Thanks for the great overview of Deadbolt!
You are very welcome! -jesse
I loved your playthrough of the game! I went to search for an ebay version of this box since it isnt in the single box category of the website. But I typed in the name only, and found a book of a similar plot and identical name. Do you think Deadbolt Mystery Society takes reference or inspiration from horror or mystery novels to produce their monthly boxes? Was wondering your thoughts on that. Still, amazing playthrough. Loved your thought process, even though I have yet to finish it since I've ordered a box of my own!
With all the games they've made they definitely borrow inspiration wherever they can find it -- movies, books, etc. Thank you for the nice words. They have official sales frequently where you can pick up a few different boxes for $15 each -- there are a few on sale now on their website, you might check into those. My general advice for these is pick them up when they are under $20.
Hmmm...Dark and Stormy Night was one of our favorites. Never tried the others, but I guess we have to now if D&S turned out to be the BOTTOM of this bunch! Our favorite so far was The Watcher, where the puzzles just gave you clues, and you had to construct a timeline and then use actual deduction to eliminate suspects.
My big complaint about the series is I wish the boxes would give you a heads up if you can expect serial killer content, with some of the stuff can get really over the top grisly sometimes. Personally I can handle it, but if you're playing with a family or kids it's awkward if it suddenly breaks out a murder basement with severed body parts stitched together or the killer's journal describing how he gets aroused from watching the life leave the victim's eyes. I'm sure there's an audience for that, but I'd just like a warning so we know to avoid those if we're playing with people who aren't into it.
Am I the only one who can't stand Hunt A Killer? They rely entirely on production values but their mysteries and writing are awful. Frequently we can guess the killer within 5 minutes of opening a box (even the big 6 parters!). I think it only ever got popular because they were one of the very first mystery subscription services (and have since gotten picked up by Target). They got even worse over time though by moving more and more of the mystery to online. The WHOLE POINT was all the high quality physical evidence in each box, but in a lot of their most recent boxes the physical stuff hardly comes into play at all. The actual mystery is going to be solved by the one person staring at a laptop screen going over the website link. They might as well make it entirely digital and save everyone a ton of money.
I wouldn't say I can't stand them but I have the same negative feeling about them in general, that they seem to be more focused on useless props, and more inclined to give you busy work. Though we did enjoy Blair Witch season 1.
Some of their small one-box games (sold in Target) can be okay.
We gave up on their 6 box series, $180 each over the course of 6 months, after 2 huge duds in a row. Class of '98, we correctly guessed the killer within 5 minutes of opening the first box! $180! One of the boxes was "eliminate a suspect", and the very first piece of evidence you get within one minute of opening the box is video of a suspect at a far away public place at the time of murder. Thanks for playing, see you in another month?
Mallory Rock we stopped playing after the 2nd box. 100% of the clues and work were all online. I don't think the physical props ever came into play at all.
What do you recommend for pure deduction mystery games? We don't care for Consulting Detective. The Cold Case Files series has been fairly decent.
How many players can play?
Everyone just works together, there are no turns or rules based on the number of people involved. But ideally i think these games are best at 1-3.