Dispatch is a monthly "subscription-based mystery" from Breakout Games that "tests your detective skills each month with a new delivery of clues."
This is a review of the second series called Marlow's Game: The Cat's Eye:
An eccentric tech giant by the name of Jacob Marlow has recently gone into reclusion. Now he has made a startling announcement to give away part of his wealth to the lucky treasure hunter who can find it. With a fortune in jewels to be won, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by playing along.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Dispatch: On The Run by Breakout Games
The Subscription Box: Dispatch
The Cost: $24.99 a month + free shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $10 off your first box!
CODE: dispatchsignup10
The Products: Physical clues to help solve a mystery.
Ships to: USA
Dispatch Marlow's Game: The Cat's Eye by Breakout Games #1 Review
Dispatch has the best shipping boxes, and the first installment of this new mystery is no different. The back of the box gives an overview of the latest mystery and includes a full lifetime warranty:
With the aid of physical clues and details embodied online, you'll follow each thread to deduce what is fact, what is fiction – and finally the truth – in this new experience from the creators of Breakout escape rooms.
The What's Inside list is helpful to ensure you have all the correct items. I've never had any issue with missing items, but as the mystery goes on, this list is helpful for storing all the evidence in the right boxes.
The mystery opens with a letter from Jacob Marlow himself and gives more details about the mystery:
Your quest is for a treasure of incalculable worth. Somewhere on this earth I have hidden a box of gemstones of not insignificant value. However, they pale in comparison to the real prize within this box, namely, the famous Cat's Eyes Emeralds. I purchased these emeralds from their last owner for ten million dollars, a paltry sum when you consider that the emeralds are actually priceless. Indeed, he seemed unusually eager to get rid of them.
The information in the letter is helpful – but with Dispatch, nothing is ever quite what it seems. There are secrets hidden within the letter itself!
This warning note tells us that we'll need to 'find three keys if you ever hope to open the treasure chest at the end of the game'. The words 'marlows' and 'game' are underlined. Visiting marlowsgame.com will bring you to a site with one question:
In addition to all of the physical clues, websites play a big part in Dispatch mysteries. If you've paid careful attention to the evidence, you'll know the answer to this question.
You reveal more pages as you answer the questions. This particular question wasn't hard, but it can be a challenge to find the right answer to all of them. (Hint: you may need to unscramble letters!)
These two newspaper clippings give some more detail about Jacob Marlow. His cat, Sir Sebastian, is prominently featured on his Instagram account.
I don't want to give away too many clues, but this code guide was indeed helpful. And notice the interesting cat-shaped stamp – what could that mean?
Here are the stamps in different colors, along with corresponding letters.
Next up is this beautiful image of an Egyptian cat, printed on a heavy textured paper. Note the hieroglyphics along the bottom!
This card has some information about reading hieroglyphics, along with a guide on the back.
Next up is a little fill-in-the-blank quiz. This is another type of puzzle that's often featured in Dispatch games. A little googling can help with the answers, which are helpful for answering the questions on the website.
Verdict: It was fun to start a new mystery, and this one looks very promising. Who doesn't love cats? The theme is great, and I like that this is a completely different type of puzzle from the murder mystery in the first series. The team at Dispatch are creative in keeping the subscription fresh as time goes on.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? This is the first box in the Marlow's Game series. Although everyone receives a new box each month, subscribers will receive different boxes depending on where they are in the story.
Coupon - Use code dispatchsignup10 to save $10 off your first box!
Value Breakdown: The box took me a couple of hours to (mostly) solve, and then I checked their Facebook group to see all the clues that I'd missed. If you add up the cost of all the boxes in this series, it comes to $174.93 for seven months. If you have some spare cash and love a good mystery, I do think this subscription is worth the money.
Check out all of our Dispatch reviews and the Geek + Nerd Subscription Box Directory for more mystery and crime-themed boxes!
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What do you think of the first installment of Marlow's Game: The Cat's Eye?
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