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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Want to read or catch up on our previous reviews for this series? Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 & Chapter 4 are posted on our blog!
As a quick reminder, this post may contain spoilers.
How is it possibly the last box already? Seems like just yesterday I began this interactive series! It’s been a ton of fun so far and Chapter 5 continued to bring the entertainment!
This final box was a little bit different from the other boxes. Normally, the clues are right there when you open the box. This month, the clues were all wrapped up in a black envelope.
As you can see from the instructions on the envelope – I was instructed to go to a website and to NOT open the contents of the box until I figured out the 4 digit code. While it normally is a little tempting to take a quick peek at everything, I held strong and did exactly what I was told. I didn’t want to spoil any fun!
Once I went to the website, it immediately pulled up some different pages with puzzles. Before moving on to the next one, I had to solve each of them individually Here’s some examples of the puzzles I had to solve:
As stated above, I could not move forward with the game until I solved each puzzle. They were all different ones, and I had to think back to previous boxes on how to solve them. I had to rely on the Dispatch Facebook a few times when I got stuck but, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I remembered some of the previous hints from other boxes. I normally need my memory prompted, so that was really nice!
Once all the puzzles have been solved, I was then able to unlock the vault and successfully escape the lair. However, I was given one last final clue, which is used to figure out the 4-digit code on the black envelope. I won’t spoil that for anyone but, when you see it, you will know what to do.
This is where I became a little nervous. Did I have the right 4 digit code? Even double checking my work, I still felt a little apprehensive but, it was time to move on! I opened the black envelope and had more clues to go off of.
The first thing I noticed was this note card:
Upon opening it up, it looks like it’s a note from The Raven with a poem by Robert Frost.
We also received this map below of Hlewlai City.
On the back of the map was this note…
Now, to figure out what the clue means, inside the box was this compass. If you look at the key above, you know that 1 inch = 1 mile. So if everything is within 2 miles, it must be…:)
I took the compass and drew a nice circle, or at least the best I could. Can you tell it’s been a minute since I’ve used one?
I got a sense that all of those named places within the 2-mile radius would come in handy very soon.
The next clue I pulled out of the envelope was this receipt from Great Panda restaurant. My first thought was to try to call the number listed.
It was a disconnected number, so I knew that wasn’t what I needed to do with it. I did notice the Daily Chinse Proverb at the bottom. Surely this will be a clue for later. It has to be since I wasn’t sure what to make of it just then.
This next item appears to be a receipt from FirstSun National Bank. I recognize that design in the background!
I immediately took out my red decoder from Chapter 3‘s box, and began to look at what the hidden blue writing meant.
The clue helped me realize I needed to dig further into some of the other clues I had already set aside. After going back and relooking at them closely, I realized there were several hidden items I had missed! I’m glad I did that rather than moving on.
Next up, I was given a card from a casino, along with a business card.
As you can see, there’s a website I need to visit. Hopefully, I get to use my 4 digit code (I was becoming antsy on being able to use it as you can tell!)…and fingers crossed it’s correct!
A couple of other clues the box contained was this newspaper article, as well as what appears to be an employee badge ID.
After heading to the casino website, it was finally time to see if I was correct and I had the secret 4 digit code.
I entered the code I had from the beginning and…success! I had the correct numbers. Phew!
After I entered this code, it looked like a normal casino webpage. It was quickly intercepted by this new message though.
I’m beginning to see a pattern now with the wolf. After clicking next, it then prompted me to sign in with my employee access information. Remember, you can get all this information from the badge ID clue.
After this, the next part was rather interesting. It was too hard to capture but, if you stared at these 4 different screens, different images randomly popped up. I had to choose the correct one before I could move on to my final mission. Defusing the bomb! Remember to pay attention to the theme.
Now when it came to diffusing the bomb, it did take me (unfortunately) a couple of tries but, once I really thought about the Chinese Proverb, it made sense and I was able to successfully defuse the bomb! One hint I will give you is that on one of the items, there are 2 numbers you will need for another 4 digit code. At first, I was only working with one but, then after getting a quick clue from the Facebook Dispatch Group, I was off and running. I tried hard not to have to rely on others to solve the puzzles but, sometimes you just need a little hint.
I watched the final video, and felt extremely accomplished! I had solved all 5 Chapters of the series! Time to celebrate.
Overall Thoughts
My overall impressions of this box and the series were that it’s incredibly entertaining and interactive. Each box contained, in my opinion, the perfect amount of puzzles and clues. I think some of the boxes were easier in a sense but, it quickly leveled itself out because I did get stuck a few times in the series and I had to come back to things. I also like how each box had ties to each other and felt cohesive to the whole game. Going back and rereading clues or being able to recall clues when working on the next box was also really cool and made the game feel “real” in a sense. This particular box was a huge hit for me because I liked that I knew exactly which puzzle to work on first and I knew I could not move on until I knew the answer. I worked on this series alone but, I do wonder what it would be like to solve this with someone else or work on it together as a group. It would definitely be interesting to hear everyone’s first perspectives when looking at the clues.
I highly recommend this box if you’re looking for something interactive, enjoy a challenge or are looking something outside the box to do with your free time. Whether you play this alone, or with a group, each month brings its own challenge but, a fun one! Dispatch also offers several other series. We reviewed the On the Run series as well.
Want to try Dispatch: I, Spy?
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