Mar 2, 2021

Enigmida: Escape the Plagues is launched! 🐸 🚀

By Matthew Stein • Issue #7 • View online

Escape the Plagues is officially available for order! We’ve updated our website, escapetheplagues.com, with loads of information about the game and pretty pictures–check it out!

Now is also the time when I’d love your help with getting the word out. Our team has spent the past 3 months creating Escape the Plagues, and I couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out.

If you know anyone–friends, family, communities–who might be interested in a thought-provoking and puzzle-filled experience, you can share the following blurb with them:

Escape the Plagues is a social justice Passover puzzle game. This family-friendly exploration of our modern plagues sparks conversation about how we can truly escape and what it means to be free. For more info, visit escapetheplagues.com.

Thank you for your support and assistance!

Escape the Plagues: Meet the Designers!

Creating Escape the Plagues was a massive project, requiring months of research, planning, design, writing, playtesting, and iteration, and it most certainly was not a solo endeavor. I (Matthew) collaborated with my sister, Lisa, and an illustrator, Adrian, and I want to introduce you to them now!

Lisa Stein (she/her) is a vocalist, cellist, and community builder who studies music and religion at Wesleyan University. Nourishing the seeds of musical communities, Lisa gives solo concerts, leads religious services, and facilitates nigun circles for communities around the world.

Adrian D. (he/him) is a digital visual artist from Guatemala. He works as a college professor, teaching digital art to upcoming artists. He loves exploring different mediums of art such as music and writing, and he has a special place in his heart for print media projects.

And in case you don’t know me yet…

Matthew Stein (he/him) is a puzzle designer, klezmer fiddler, printmaker, and software engineer. In addition to designing puzzle hunts and ARGs as Enigmida, he’s also an avid puzzle solver: his team won the 2021 MIT Mystery Hunt, he’s played over 200 escape rooms, and he’s a Hivemind reviewer for Room Escape Artist.

A Puzzly Parachute

This week in puzzle news: The Perseverance rover landed on Mars, and there’s a secret message hidden in its parachute. See if you can decode it, and maybe buy a snazzy new dress if you really like the design.

www.nytimes.com • Share

Puzzle of the Week

The bolded words in the following sentence, in no particular order, all fit into a particular category. Find another word that follows the pattern, and submit your answer here.

“While visiting Prague’s Old City, I read a Braille version of one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, and I heard a loud thud as a piece of gneiss rock hit the ground.”

Hint: The pattern/category relates to the subject of this email.

Solution to last issue’s puzzle:

Sbyybj n pbagvahbhf cngu guebhtu gur nycunorg, pbaarpgvat N gb O gb P naq fb ba. Rnpu yvar frtzrag pebffrf rknpgyl bar bgure yrggre, naq gurfr yrggref va beqre sbez gur nafjre: VZCNFGN FLAQEBZR. (in ROT13)

Congrats to everyone who submitted a correct answer: Will, Patrick Geer, Wassamatta_U, Yossi Fendel, Sean McBride, Scott Weiss, Andrew E, Lorie Hauff, Michelle M, Mike W, Michael Plunkett, Liz Plunkett, Merrilee W, Mark W, Kevin S, and Summer H.

Cryptically yours,

Matthew

P.S. The 3 winners of the February newsletter puzzle contest have been chosen and contacted. More on that soon…

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By Matthew Stein

I'm an Oakland, CA-based puzzle and alternate reality game designer. I create experiences that guide participants to connect through play and to find wonder in the mundane.

In this newsletter, I share behind-the-scenes content, puzzle design thoughts, project updates, and other miscellaneous whimsy I think puzzle lovers will enjoy.

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