NOTE: Sleuth Kings allows people to purchase previous cases, and while I’ll try to remain as spoiler-free as possible in this review, going into some detail is unavoidable. READ THE BELOW TEXT AT YOUR OWN RISK IF YOU PLAN ON PURCHASING THIS SPECIFIC CASE IN THE FUTURE!
FOR THOSE NEW TO SLEUTH KINGS: Sleuth Kings is a subscription mystery package. You receive a package in the mail that contains a case file with all sorts of clues and documents. One of these documents directs you to a website, where you’ll send Sullivan a message to get things started. Within a minute or two you’ll get an email detailing the case, giving you your objective(s), and instructions on how emailing with Sullivan works. From there, you’ll read the documents and work the clues in order, although clues and documents often refer to one another as you go along. If you get stuck, you can also go to a special website (also provided in a document) or email Sullivan to get a hint about a clue. If this isn’t enough, you can get the “full” hint, which essentially gives you exactly what information you need from it.
Ever since I became a huge fan of the original NES, I’ve been a huge fan of Japanese culture. So when I opened up Sleuth Kings Case 018: The Stolen Scroll, I was super hyped to dive into a case based entirely around a trip to Japan, a martial arts dojo, and the titular stolen scroll. Heck, when I opened it up a fortune cookie and a rolled up scroll fell out! This case tasked us with helping Sullivan clear Travis’s good name. Travis is a dojo instructor who has been accused of stealing a scroll… in Japan. Solving a case that happened on the other side of the world is certainly a daunting task, especially when every bit of evidence points to Travis.
The clues in this case are all perfectly thematic: there’s an ad for a dance club, a brochure about the Dragon Dojo Japan trip, a poster with the eight people who went to Japan that doubles as a list of potential suspects, a Futoshiki puzzle, a partial scroll that was placed in Travis’s locker to help ensure he took the fall for the crime, and even a fortune cookie! But perhaps the biggest surprise was the inclusion of a Japanese Language Basics sheet.
After reading the backstory, the first task was to figure out Dragon Dojo’s security code so Sullivan could get in and retrieve the second half of the scroll that was found in Travis’s locker. This required using the Japanese Language Basics sheet to translate a note left in the corner of the sign-in sheet, and at first, I laughed at how worthless solving it was. It seemed like we’d already gathered the information we spent all the time translating and weren’t any closer to solving the second clue – a brochure with columns of letters on nearly every page. But then the solution smacked me in the face, and it was brilliant.
By the end of the case, it was almost hilarious how much work went into solving the clues, and I was blown away by how well the clues interacted with one another. A visual representation of the interactions this time around would look a lot like headphone cords shoved in my pocket all day (in the best way). This case seemed particularly heavy on translation clues, both linguistic and visual, and I learned that I really liked Futoshiki puzzles. They’re similar to Sudoku puzzles – this 4×4 puzzle used the numbers 1-4, and each number could only appear once on each line and column – except they also include greater than/less than signs.
After Case 017 (The Cupid Killer) put two lives in danger – one who was kidnapped! – it was really refreshing working a case that didn’t have high stakes. Travis had been with Dragon Dojo for 20 years, and he considered the people there to be his family, so having his name cleared meant a lot to him, sure. But no one would die if the case went unsolved, and the world didn’t hang in the balance.
Finally, the little trinket included with the package as a reward for solving the case is my favorite item from Sleuth Kings so far. I won’t spoil what it is, but not only is it fitting for the case and for the dojo’s trip to Japan, it’s also super awesome! It and the closing letter were a perfect conclusion to a very well-formed puzzle, and it’s a terrific mystery for anyone who enjoys Japanese culture.
Oh, and one last little humorous factoid: my gal and I were curious if there were any additional clues on the dance club ad, so we worked to translate the text on it. Most of it was ordinary: it spoke of dancing and alcohol, but we couldn’t quite translate one part. What we got, as a result, was the word “Criko”. When I googled it, the top result was from Urban Dictionary telling me it was Puerto Rican slang for Crystal Meth!!!! I’m sure this wasn’t intended, especially since we couldn’t figure out one of the Japanese symbols, but it was funny!
You can get a free postcard sample case from Sullivan here, and if you’re interested in subscribing you can do so directly from the Sleuth King’s website. You can even get $5 off with code REALOTAKU (this is NOT a referral code or link; Real Otaku Gamer received no money for this review and cannot receive any kind of compensation from Sleuth Kings no matter how many people sign up, what links are clicked, or what code is used on their website).
A review package was provided for this review.
