Author Archives: dwiseman57

  1. The Cursed Exhibition: Whole Season Bundle available now! Only 50 available…

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    Did you miss out on purchasing the “Whole Season” of The Cursed Exhibition in our last Kickstarter?

    Well we have some good news! Due to a slight overproduction, we have 50 copies of the whole season available to pre-order, in our current print run!

    So, if you are waiting to buy all six episodes in one package, now is your chance. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!

    Click here to claim your package

    We also have some changes to our shipping which we will be announcing formally soon, including a big cut in the cost. These changes are partially live on our site already,

    This means that if you do decide you’d like to bag one of the available pre-orders for The Cursed Exhibition and you are not based in the UK, shipping will now be much less!

    We hope you enjoy the games. The last few episodes are coming along nicely, it’s going to be a whirlwind of an adventure!

    Stay safe Detectives

    P.S If you are sorted for The Cursed Exhibition, why not check out our fourth adventure, funding now on Kickstarter! Trouble in Folklore Falls: A Play-At-Home Puzzle Game

  2. Press Release: The Professor’s Missing Potion Launched

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    The following is a press release, available for reposting on your blog/news/media, with or without alterations or editing. For a bespoke comment, interview or media files, please contact us at [email protected].

    Immersive puzzle game-maker, The Detective Society has launched a new print-and-play family game called The Professor’s Missing Potion.

    This is the company’s first foray into the print-and-play medium, providing families with something easily accessible for those rainy days at home, without the need to wait for a physical package to arrive by post.

    The game follows Professor Errol as he tries to recover his missing potion. Much like other Detective Society games, players will have to talk to Errol via WhatsApp or SMS texts, explore tons of specially-made websites, watch the cast bumbling about in funny videos and listen to carefully scripted audio clips.

    This is the first game by the company that is specifically targeting a younger audience, making it perfect for junior Detectives with adult supervision.

    The game is available now for £9.99 from the Detective Society’s website.

  3. See you at Essen!

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    In less than 1 week we’ll be heading off in a van filled with games, to Essen (Germany) for Spiel 21 – Europe’s largest games expo! Woo!

    The Detective Society stand will be ready to greet both experienced members of the society and those who are yet to solve their first case. Come and say hi! We’ve got a fun, 15 minute demo game for you to play plus a prize-draw for visitors to enter.

    Top Secret Announcements

    And the most exciting news of all? We’ll be announcing no less than TWO top-secret projects for you to get your teeth in to. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for news!

    Update 9th Oct 21: The first announcement is that we just launched a new game! Check it out… The Professor’s Missing Potion

    Order Games for Collection

    We’re delighted to offer our games for FREE COLLECTION, for those of you who are going to be at the show. Save on those pesky shipping fees!

    You can buy your games for collection via the special Essen shop on our website: https://shop.thedetectivesociety.com/collections/essen-spiel-2021-shop

    DEADLINE FOR FREE COLLECTION AT ESSEN: Midnight on Sunday 10th October

    Essen Spiel 2021 runs from 14th – 17th October 2021 and you can find The Detective Society’s stand at Hall 2, A114

  4. What Happened at UK Games Expo 2021?

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    Fuelled with pizza and diet cola, our team headed to the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre this weekend, to demonstrate The Detective Society to hordes of fun-loving board game fans.

    From left to right: Tristan, Dan and Joe from the Detective Society Team

    It was the first time we publicly exhibited our games, as the pandemic put a stop to any similar events over the last year. It was such a joy to meet our detectives in person, as well as recruit many new ones to the society.

    The UK Games Expo is a fantastic annual event – the largest of its type in the UK – specifically for board games, tabletop games, RPG’s and similar products. I have been many years before as an attendee, but this was our first trip as an exhibitor.

    Exclusively for the expo, we created a 15 minute demo game for players to try. Of course, we couldn’t give a grand, dramatic story in that time limit, but we were able to give a flavour of the puzzle solving, logic, and the feeling of using real tools and evidence that a true detective would have access to. It was so nice for us to see people playing our games in person, something which we’re not used to, being predominantly an online company.

    Potential new detectives enjoying our exclusive demo game

    Away from The Detective Society and our games, we managed to squeeze some play time in for other games. I bought a copy of “Caverna”; a fantastic Euro-game where you have to manage a band of Dwarven warriors, collecting resources, building your settlement and going on expeditions. We played a couple of games, after the hard-work of managing our stall was completed.

    Tristan, our Head of Narrative, said “It was nice to meet several of our customers who had played all of our games since the beginning, and find out the bits they enjoy most.”

    Joe, Head of Game Design, said “Yes, it was really rewarding and we’ll definitely be returning next year.”

    If you haven’t been before, I’d highly recommend a trip.

    Written by Dan Wiseman
    Co-Founder, The Detective Society

  5. A Fun Trip To Marvo Mysteries Escape Room Bournemouth

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    I recently had the joy of playing the first escape room at Marvo Mysteries Bournemouth. We loved it! Read on to find out why. (Don’t worry, no spoilers!)

    My partner and I went on a super sunny Saturday afternoon. Marvo is based on the ground floor of a high-street retail unit. The shop front showcases a wide array of mysterious artefacts to wet your appetite for the coming adventure.

    And it didn’t take long for adventure to begin! To find the actual entrance to the escape room, we needed to follow the instructions received by email which led us down a hidden path to the back of the building.

    The entrance was well dressed; looking like a futuristic loading bay. Very exciting. I’m a big fan of rooms that put a real effort into creating immersion throughout the experience, even as you arrive. Just like visiting a good theme park, the theming is just as important to me as the ‘ride’. Good job Marvo!

    An industrial entrance way to the Marvo Mysteries Escape-room in Bournemouth

    We was greeted by the co-owner Lizzy who gave us an introduction inside the fantastically themed waiting room/gift shop. The whole place was a nerds dream: with artefacts from films such as Harry Potter and The Lord Of Rings lining the walls in glass cabinets. It was like a museum of nerdiness – all before we’d even started the escape game!

    Moving on to our actual adventure, I won’t give away too much about what happens inside the room. But what I will say is this:

    Firstly, there is a great use of technology in the game. Careful thought had clearly been given to ensure items moved, lit up or activated at the right times, when we pressed buttons or pulled levers. It was a joy to see the physical effects of our puzzle solving.

    Secondly, the story; whilst a bit difficult to follow at times, had plenty of twists and turns. It added great drama – and without spoiling anything, the ending is a real rollercoaster. We left the adventure feeling exhilarated; analysing everything we did and trying to work out how it all connected together.

    The production quality throughout was fantastic. The room was excellently themed, very immersive and authentic. We really felt like we was inside the world that Marvo had created, trying to solve the mystery.

    In summary, if you have the good fortune to be based in South England, or visit any time soon, I can’t recommend Marvo Mysteries enough. Well worth a visit!

    Dan posing for the camera with his partner, in the Marvo Mysteries Escape-room Bournemouth

    Written by Dan Wiseman
    Co-Founder, The Detective Society

  6. The Detective Society on Bush’s Board Game Thing Podcast, plus a chance to win!

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    Image of Andy Bush with the words Andy Bush's Board Game Thing
    Image copyright Andy Bush / Zatu Games

    We were delighted to be featured on the Bush’s Board Game Thing podcast.

    Headed up by Andy Bush, DJ on Absolute Radio, the Board Game Thing Podcast is great fun, and we’re regular listeners here at Detective Society HQ.

    The podcast is unique in that the three friends – Andy, Elouise and Brian – focus as much on the discussions that happen whilst playing board games, as the games themselves!

    How did they get on playing episode one of The Disappearance of Claire Makova?

    It started so optimistically, with Elouise channelling Columbo as her spirit detective, Andy choosing Lovejoy and Brian picking Wallander!

    After solving a few puzzles, the group began to struggle with some of the more logic-based challenges…

    “We’re clearly too thick to be able to do this properly”, jokes Andy. In the end, Andy described their attempt as a spectacular failure. LOL. Oh dear!

    Can you do any better? Can you get further than the Board Game Thing gang? The Disappearance of Claire Makova, alongside our other two adventures, is available for purchase now. You could also win a copy of the game by following the instructions at the end of the podcast! Check it out.

  7. “Mock The Week” Comedian Glenn Moore plays The Disappearance of Claire Makova

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    We were super excited to see Glenn Moore play The Disappearance of Claire Makova – Episode One on Twitch last week.

    Comedian-Glenn-Moore-Playing-The-Detective-Society

    Glenn is a comedian based in London, UK. You may have seen his hijinks on BBC’s House of Games or Mock The Week, as well as his many annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows, the last of which – Glenn Glenn Glenn, How Do You Like It, How Do You Like It – was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award.

    It looked like everyone had fun, and some new Detectives joined the society too! In case you are not familiar with our games, The Disappearance of Claire Makova is all about the daughter of a high-profile diplomat. Something has happened and she’s in trouble. She needs your help to uncover the truth and save her!

    It was funny to see Glenn do so well with the puzzles. You can see the moments when things just “clicked” for him! And with the help of the Twitch chat they did it a lot faster than we’d have thought!

    You can watch the video here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/968724066

    What did you think of Glenn’s playthrough? Can you do better?

    If you’d like to recommend a streamer who might like to play The Detective Society games, send us an email to [email protected]. We also have a press/media pack available for download upon request.