The Curious Correspondence Club: Chapter I: The Custodian’s Keys

By | October 6, 2020

by The Curious Correspondence Club (website)

£17.00

📫subscription game
60-90 mins
Welcome to the M.B. Franklin Museum of Natural History, a place of knowledge, learning, and curiosity.
When a serendipitous discovery grants you an audience with the Museum’s Custodian, a peculiar occurence launches the hunt for a secret hidden within this storied institution.
Will you be able to unlock the secrets?
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Overall rating

Rated between 3 and 4.5 out of 5

based on ratings from 6 users
combined with 5 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

lareve expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 26 Sep 2021 Team size: 3 Time taken: 1:28
Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
very difficult

I found this very difficult. Due to its diffculty I did not find it to be fun. Perhaps the next chapters will be a little bit easier. I 

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 2 and 2 out of 5
PuzzleParrot expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5

A lot of puzzles packed into a compact papercraft presentation.  Unfortunately, the extraction method of the penultimate codes is open to interpretation, and it is possible to have the right answers but extract the wrong codes without knowing you have the wrong codes, leaving you stuck on the final puzzle.  Could have used a bit more playtesting on the extraction, or at least clearer confirmation whether you have extracted rightly or wrongly.

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Anonymous rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5

It was extraordinarily detailed. Perfectly challenging: I played it alone and it took quite a while. The puzzles were satisfying and it was surprising thrilling for a bunch of pieces of paper. 

Reviews by escape room review sites

I can’t put my finger on it but this game felt like it was flawed in some way. Perhaps the puzzles weren’t for us, but the system with the keys didn’t seem to work as intended and the puzzles left us feeling frustrated and definitely not wanting more.

Our first Chapter from The Curious Correspondence Club came in an intricately designed envelope. As we "unlocked" the flaps, our adventure began. The story was printed right on the back of the envelope. It seemed like we've just walked into the M.B. Franklin Museum of Natural History. Inside, we had a peculiar meeting with the custodian (or so we thought...). There's definitely more to this place than meets the eye... 

When I first opened the envelope, I immediately laid out the various props, delighted and amazed by the inventiveness and quality of each piece of paper that has been expertly engineered and transformed into items you encounter in the M. B. Franklin Museum. 

Top marks for beauty and originality!

The Custodian’s Keys serves as an excellent introduction to the Curious Correspondence Club universe. It’s got a wonderful visual aesthetic, fun puzzle mechanics and smooth, satisfying game flow. I feel like I’m now a part of that world, and am definitely hooked into playing the next chapter.

If you’re on the fence about getting a subscription, getting this as a single chapter is a good way to see if you gel with the game. More experienced players might not be challenged all that much, but it’s a lot of fun to play.

I’d recommend this game for fans of Post-A-Puzzle and Puzzle Post UK that want a richer narrative experience and a greater sense of grandeur.

If you’re looking for a fantastic, monthly puzzle-solving experience and like the novelty of getting international mail (assuming you don’t live in Canada), this would be a great game for you.

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