Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
I don’t know what they put in the water at PostCurious, but it’s working. Rita Orlov and her cohort have made a name for themselves over the last few years by publishing a remarkable series of escape rooms, including 2022’s startling The Light in the Mist and this year’s masterful The Morrison Game Factory. In a market dominated by the long-past-their-prime Exit games and the under-appreciated Unlock series, PostCurious distinguishes itself by offering games that push the boundaries of escape room narrative. These are games that stick with you not only as a series of clever and satisfying puzzles, but as stories.
The scope of PostCurious’s narrative ambitions is generally matched by the scale of their games. The Light in the Mist takes 4-5 hours. The Emerald Flame hit around 7-8. I haven’t cracked open my copy of Threads of Fate yet, but the box promises 10+ hours of work. Those are not rookie numbers. The idea of sitting down—over a series of sessions, mind—for that much puzzle can be overwhelming.
It is with that in mind that PostCurious has started Ministry of Lost Things, a series of more modest offerings. Designed with a less-seasoned audience in mind, Case 1: Lint Condition takes about two hours when all is said and done, spread out over five chapters, and contains puzzles that are, on the whole, less demanding. The story, too, is more immediately charming. While Light in the Mist explores traumas and The Emerald Flame deals in vagaries of the occult, Ministry of Lost Things is about a lost toy.
I’d say more than that, but I can’t. As is always the case with PostCurious, the details of the story form the foundation of the puzzles in such a way that to discuss one is to reveal the other. What I can tell you is that the puzzles are characteristically excellent. One in particular, a tetronimo puzzle, unfolds itself in such a clever way that I chortled with delight.
That’s not to say the puzzles are facile. Hardly. They’re just as clever and particular as always. Spend a few minutes submerged in this world and you can feel your brain hum. The humming may occasionally be out of tune; I was stuck on the second puzzle for far longer than I’m prepared to admit.
Ministry of Lost Things: Case 1 – Lint Condition continues PostCurious’s hit streak. The world created by designers Rita Orlov, Mark Larson, and Chelsea Stark is immediately inviting, and I can’t wait for more cases. If you don’t have much experience with escape room games, Ministry of Lost Things is a good place to start. Unlike more involved designs, you’re never torn between multiple puzzles. You may not know what A and B add up to, but you know they’re what you’re meant to add. For those who are well-versed in escape rooms, there’s still a good deal to enjoy. Craft is craft, you know, no matter how modest the intentions.
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