WBG Score: 7.5/10
Player Count: 1-8
You’ll like this if you like: Escape room experiences at home.
Published by: Puzzle Post
This is a SPOILER FREE free review copy. See our review policy here - Game available to buy from 4th April - pre order from 26th March 2025.
Puzzle Post makes all sorts of things: Christmas crackers, small box family games, dinner games, and also these one-shot escape room style puzzle games. They all come in an A4 size envelope, so they are cheap, quick, and simple to post, and you can play them in around an hour. Nothing is destroyed or ruined, so they can be passed on to friends if you wish. They vary in all sorts of themes and stories. Here, we have one set at a music festival. Rumours abound that one band is playing a secret set, and you need to find out where and when. A story I am very much akin to after exploring the hidden corners of Glastonbury. I remember finding the Rabbit Hole the first time and being VERY excited. This game gives me those vibes. So, if you are a fan of music festivals and puzzle games, well, strap in! Interestingly, the game comes with two of each "thing" which makes sharing the job of solving this game so much more enjoyable in a group. What a good idea! So, lets get this to the table and see how it plays.
How To Set Up The Secret Set
Take the envelope and open it up. Read the story and short instructions on the back. Take everything out of the envelope. You will need a phone, or something with access to the internet, and a pen and paper if you want to make notes, although this is not essential - but helpful! There are nine puzzles in total, all of which create a passcode. When you have this passcode, enter it into the vault (online site you will get a link for during the game) to complete the game. If you get stuck, don't worry, you can get clues along the way.
Take out all the components from inside; there are two of everything except the opening letter. Split them up and divide them among your group. Then have one person read the opening letter. You are now ready to play! Good luck!
How To Play The Secret Set
The opening letter will explain how to get started. Then each clue will take you through a series of the nine challenges that each give you a two digit number. At the end, you will have an 18 digit passcode. Enter this to see if you are correct. That's pretty much all I can say without spoilers. Although, the key, with all this stuff of course, is to work out which order to do this all in, and where to start!
Is It Fun? The Secret Set Escape Room Review
This is a nice, simple escape room game that you can play with your friends in under an hour. The theme is quite interesting. You are using various paperwork, tickets, set lists, line-ups, etc... from a music festival to try and identify the code that will unlock the location of the secret set.
The payoff, of course, is that location is revealed, and then some AI posh guy gets to go have some fun thanks to my hard work! Which felt a little anticlimactic. I prefer my endings to these things to be more satisfying. Who did it? Why did they do it? How did they do it? That sort of thing. And this is none of that. It is more a series of unrelated puzzles, the standard fare, that all give you a random two-digit code. That adds up to an eighteen-digit code that gives you a map location, and that's sort of it.
I enjoyed the process of the puzzles though. They were challenging but achievable. And the clues that help you along are perfect. Enough to give you a nudge, but not too much so that you feel you did not get there on your own. Each puzzle felt very different, and some were quite unique and original. There was one in particular that I had never encountered this style before that really stood out. It was a lot of fun to do as a group.
To summarise - The journey was good. The destination, just a little disappointing. Maybe that is on me, though. I was expecting something to happen at the end with one final clue, or access to something as some kind of payoff. And you do get a little message and closure. It just did not feel like a reward for me and my efforts in the game. But perhaps I should have managed my expectations a little better. Hence me mentioning it here.
However, these envelope-style escape room puzzle games are perfectly priced at under £20. They are simple and easy to take with you to friends - and work great in a group with the doubling up on each of the materials, so multiple people can study them at the same time. I love that. And the puzzles themselves are great fun. A nice mix of online and physical puzzle solving, with some nice tech add-ons, and a smooth and seamless process. Nothing felt off. The websites all worked perfectly, and the clues were spot on.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys these sorts of games. It doesn't have the highest production values compared to some of the other similar style games on the market, but for the price, I would say it is excellent. I enjoyed the theme; it has got me ready for festival season! I am excited to try the other games in this range.
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