Dispatch: I, Spy series by Breakout Games
Price: $24.99
Website Description of Box: “Imagine a new kind of escape, one you can experience in the comfort of your own home – introducing Dispatch by Breakout. It’s a step apart from everyday entertainment—better than a book, more engaging than television—think of it as an immersive mystery where you wear the detective hat.
The story begins with the first delivery, or dispatch, if you will. In it, you’ll find physical clues that lead you to the web and back to the real world to unravel a mysterious crime. Grab a friend, the whole family and your thinking cap, and get ready to put your heads together for one mindbending ride as additional details are revealed with every package.”
Shipping: Free
Ships to: U.S.
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Reminder – this box MAY contain spoilers!
Want to read or catch up on our previous reviews for this series? Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are posted on our blog!
This month brings us to the country of Russia!
My initial thoughts when opening this box was that there were a lot of “prop” (for lack of a better term) clues, so I was pretty excited to dive into this chapter. I love inspecting the clues and trying to piece together how I am going to use each item.
As you can see from the list above, there’s a fair amount of clues to help solve this month’s box, which I really love. I also love when clues from previous month’s boxes start to sink in and I have those random “aha!” moments.
The first clue I picked out of the box was my passport sticker. I wanted to make sure I put this in my passport for safe keeping and of course to add to the growing collection.
The decoder and magnify glass were the next items I picked up. I was excited these were in the box because I knew that meant there was the potential for hidden clues to be everywhere! I find those kinds of things really fun.
I also received this card in the box with some lovely flowers on it. I kind of have a feeling that the decoder is going to come in handy already. Do you see what I see?
Here’s a close up what I can see when I used my handy decoder.
After reading the entire message, I quickly figured out that I’m in danger and need to find someone named Dimitri. I was also told me to make sure I visit the places mentioned inside the note card.
On the inside part of the note contained this message:
Looks like we will be traveling to some great places!
Next, I picked up a postcard that was in the box. There’s a small note saying that “look closely at the names”. It took me a minute because I kept staring at that side of the postcard that contained the note. “What names?” I thought over and over again. But, after flipping the card over again, I realized they meant the name on the boats! I used my magnifying glass to get a better look.
Notice how there are also colored flags on the boats? Looks like we’re going to need our decoding book to help us figure this one out!
Looks like there are two messages to keep in mind. I really hope the third boat doesn’t have a message on it. Maybe my eyes are just honestly horrible but, no matter what angle I used the magnifying glass on, I could not read it! I did keep a note of the flag color though, and what the message might mean.
The article below that the box included mentions that Hazim has been murdered. Ugh.
I surveyed this next item below very closely for a clue that might pertain to a something that requires a light (note from the second picture). The only thing I really noticed from it was a website. Did it mean I would need a flashlight perhaps? I decided to look at the website before trying to use a flashlight on the picture. Maybe that would give me more clues.
Here’s what the website looked like:
It showed us the same picture above but, it was interactive, allowing me to take a closer look at it. I looked over it for awhile, feeling kind of bummed I didn’t really find anything on it. When I clicked out of the interactive picture, I got a warning!
Oops…that can’t be good! When I hit escape, another item popped up with a note.
Yikes, have I been caught? Again, this can’t be good! When I clicked Next, I was then brought to another screen (pictured below). Unfortunately, I haven’t figured this 4-Digit Code out, so I’ll have to keep investigating.
I really had no idea what I was supposed to do with this card. I know it’s some kind of clue to crack but, I couldn’t figure out which code I needed to use. I’ll come back to this in a bit.
Next thing I noticed in the box was this note pad. If you look carefully at the message, there are a few uppercase letters. Looks like we must look over the rainbow to uncover the message. Also, take note of the lipstick kiss on it. Is this a woman’s notebook?
I really had no idea at first what to do with this. I knew it had to have been some kind of clue but, what? As I flipped through my code book, I instantly had a DUH moment when I saw over the Baconian Cipher, what was below in italics.
This coding method was pretty challenging for me to be honest. Once I realized that every letter must be a certain amount of letters, then I was off and running! I got a message that I knew would help me in the future.
Originally I thought these pictures might be helpful together but, I’m not sure if they need to be used together or not. As you can see, there’s another upper and lower case code to be cracked!
Looks like I should have done this code prior to some of the others. It was a warning. No worries, I’ll keep on moving on!
Alright, let’s get back to the card mentioned above I couldn’t figure out.
Finally after a little help from the Facebook Group…it clicked. I would need to go back and use an item from Box 2. Read the message again carefully, and I think you will know which item I ended up using.
Once I figured out the website above, I was off and running again!
This is what the website looked like once I got to it. It’s in a chat form, and it looks like I’m speaking to Dimitri. There are several questions he’ll want you to answer. Some are a little tough, you’ll have to refer back to your previous boxes, as well as think “outside” the box, and use other methods of research. Also, as mentioned above, I used the Facebook group to chat and get a hint. There’s also a slack group that is immensely helpful! And of course, you can always message Bailey’s Detective Group if needed.
Once I got all the questions answered, this box popped up. (Yes I took the passphrase out, I couldn’t make it that easy for you could I?) The picture below, I also didn’t want to spoil it too much but, I had to use my code book once again for this one.
Now that I have the 4 digit code solved, it’s time to go to the Hermitage webpage that ended up being a warning and test it out. Did I solve it correctly?
Yeah! It looks like I did! I survived Russia.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I really loved this month’s box, and while I felt pretty challenged on some of the items, I didn’t feel overly challenged and didn’t become too frustrated, which is right where I want to be at. If I felt like each month’s puzzles were too difficult, I might easily lose some interest in this game series but, Dispatch has mastered the perfect amount of fun with the puzzles and clues that are needed to be solved. I look forward to each month, and writing up each review has been really fun for me to share with you all! I hope you are enjoying this series just as much as I am. Stay tuned for Box 4 coming next month.
Want to try Dispatch: I, Spy?
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