The Encipher Strikes Back.
Location: at home
Date Played: March 20, 2018
Team size: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯; we recommend 2-4
Duration: as long as it takes to solve the puzzles
Price: $24.99 per month for a monthly subscription
REA Reaction
On The Run Box 5 suffered from its position in the middle of the series. The puzzles drew on ciphers from the previous box more often than they offered new challenges. It also didn’t provide anything new in terms of story. This box was a lull in the middle.
Who is this for?
- Story seekers
- Armchair detectives
- Players who have completed the previous On The Run boxes
Why play?
- You can play at home
- Because you’re already invested in the story
- To get to the Box 6
Story
On The Run Box 5 took us to Tanzania on our quest to save our BFF from a tangled conspiracy. This chapter marked a shift in the narrative as the number of new questions slowed and we started to uncover answers.
Setup
On The Run Box 5 included an assortment of paper articles and documents, and as well as the website-based content that we’d come to expect from the Dispatch series. In keeping with the format, this box’s main event was a Mancala puzzle complete with a bag of glass beads.
Gameplay
Dispatch by Breakout’s On the Run Box 5 felt like Groundhog Day as we looped through an assortment of common ciphers as well as a greatest hits list of the ciphers from Box 4.
This was a grueling middle chapter if I’ve ever seen one.
Analysis
– The cipher that had overstayed its welcome in the previous box returned with vengeance. Revisiting it did not reignite dormant affinity.
– The cipher that had suffered from an ambiguity problem in the previous box also returned with 4x the content. What had started as a great, if slightly fuzzy, concept turned into a grind in the purest sense of the word.
+/- The Mancala puzzle was an awesome concept and a fun prop. The puzzle itself needed a stronger clue structure.
+ The concluding sequence of interactions and content was strong and a saving grace for this box.
Tips for Playing
- Items from the previous boxes were required for solving On the Run, Box 5.
- If you get stuck playing Dispatch, try the following resources:
- Email Bailey Detectives for help (help@baileydetectives.com)
- Sign into the Dispatch Slack
- Visit the Breakout Dispatch’s Members Facebook Group
Subscribe to Dispatch by Breakout’s On the Run, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Full disclosure: Dispatch by Breakout provided a complementary subscription.
(If you purchase via our link, you will help support Room Escape Artist as we will receive a very small percentage of the sale.)
