Journal 29

Journal 29 #1

by Dimitris Chassapakis

Journal 29: Interactive Book Game

Journal 29 is a unique book game where you can solve riddles and puzzles and submit your answers online to get the keys and move forward.
To solve the riddles, you need to think out of the box.

You can write, draw, search, fold pages, combine different methods and try to get those riddles right.
Journal 29 is a 148 pages book providing over 63 riddles you can solve.

The Story:

A top secret excavation did not bring any result for 28 weeks.
It was on the 29th week that something unexpected happened.
The team disappeared and the only thing that was left behind was their Journal.
You must solve the riddles in order to solve the mystery.

How to Play:

Journal 29 is a book game of riddles and puzzles.

To play, you will need:
A copy of Journal 29
A pencil
An internet connected device ( preferably a smartphone)

Every two pages of Journal 29 have two elements:
The riddle page and the key page.

Step1
You solve the riddle on the riddle page.
Step2
Visit the URL from the key page
(you can type the URL on your browser
or scan the unique QR code available on the page).
Step3
Submit the answer of the riddle.
Answer correctly, and get a key that is usually a word or a number.
Step4
Write down the key.
These keys are needed for solving the next riddles.

To solve the riddles you will need to think out of the box.
Write, draw, search, tear paper, fold pages, combine and more.
You don't need any special app to play the game.
Just a browser will do
(preferably on your smartphone).

Genres: Puzzles, Mystery, Nonfiction, Games, Unfinished, Book Club, Journal

148 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[Chris Shorter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging, interactive puzzle book that is billed as an 'escape room in a book', Journal 29 will challenge your mind and bend your brain until it's sore. There are 63 puzzles in the book, and none of them are solved in the same manner. Puzzles range from logical deduction to intuitive leaps and lateral thinking. I am hesitant to elaborate, as I don't want to spoil anything for those wanting to delve its depths on their own, but prepare to be challenged.

I only really have two criticisms of Journal 29 which bear noting. The first is that it's designed by a European puzzle-master, so some of the intuitive jumps you are supposed to make are based on European assumptions. Unfortunately, this can be none-too-obvious for us Yanks, making challenges harder to solve. Thankfully, the hint forums on journal29.com are good at mentioning these assumptions without giving the puzzles away.

The second criticism is the narrative, or, rather, lack-thereof. With the opening exposition and use of dedicated web pages to provide solution keys, I was expecting more story elements to come up during play. I understand why the narrative isn't in the book, as it would ruin the way the book works, but thematic elements easily could have been implemented on the solution pages after solving each puzzle. I would recommend to the author that he consider implementing more narrative to keep his players engaged. Otherwise, the book is just another collection of puzzles, interesting enough, but vanilla.

Criticisms aside, I did enjoy my time playing Journal 29. If you are a lover of puzzles, makes sure you check it out.

[Bart Van Loon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the concept of Journal29. The puzzles also are pretty nice at times and certainly very varied and beautifully presented.

However, there are some obvious criticisms to be made about this book/game as well. The used font was badly chosen as it made some critical information hard or impossible to read, some puzzles contain (big) mistakes bringing confusion, or worse, frustration. Moreover, the promise of a storyline is not really delivered upon.

Still, a nice implementation of a great idea and a book/game assured to bring many hours of engaging fun to its owner.

Enjoy!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Journal29 is a fun, mind bending read. Here are my notes on the experience:

Many of these riddles required google searches, outside knowledge, and for the reader to test a bunch of clue associations in order to get an answer. This was fun at times, and frustrating during others. I would’ve preferred more puzzles in which I could’ve deployed some handy dandy deductive reasoning.

You will want to use the online forum at times - not only does it give helpful nudges toward the solution, but it provides some solidarity as you continue along your strange alien-themed riddle quest.

Some of the print is illegible and one of the riddles requires you to have a CD on hand.

It was a good use of my time overall, though I don’t think I would recommend this book to a friend.

[Lauren James]

Played through these with my girlfriend long distance. Super fun.

[Brian Bohmueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A handful of interesting puzzles. Too few have elegant metas. No thematic connection. Maze of Games this is not.

Ok book. Some fun twists.

PuzzledPint.com is a monthly puzzle fix that's free and fabulous. Archives abundant!

And of course, any of the Zachtronics games available on Steam will redeem your puzzle hungry soul!

[Matthew Ochal · Rating 4 out of 5]

EEEEEK that was so fun and such an amazing gift from my wonderful amazing Mili and im so glad we got to puzzle it out together

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

- keine Story
- Rätsel stehen nicht im Kontext miteinander
- teilweise wird verrücktes Wissen abgefragt
- der Geist hat mir gefallen 👻

[Dhuaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This puzzle collection is one of the best things ever! It's rare that I get so enthusiastic, but this thing is just amazing. Puzzles range from medium to hard. None are insultingly easy. First 10 serve as tutorial of sorts, then the fun begins!

All puzzles have logical solutions. Too often "puzzle" books mean word riddles that require odd leaps and stretching it, so that when they're solved, I don't even feel good about it because the solution doesn't make sense. Not here! There's a method to every puzzle, and some are very innovative. The book as a whole requires some general knowledge, mostly maths and sciences. Sometimes, you have to take to the internet (or printed materials, if you have what you need on hand) to research. I really liked this aspect - you actually get to learn something new in the process!

For a relatively small (~60 puzzles) book, it provided me with at least 10 hours of entertainment. I used the hint system twice, early in the game; however, each new puzzle teaches you something about mechanics of the book, so as you progress, it's easier to tell what the book wants of you.

Some downsides:
1) Sometimes solutions could be spelled in a few different ways; more spellings should be accepted.
2) It would be better if the book included an optional code/solution sheet for offline use. As it is, it requires a corresponding webpage to check your answers, so one day it may go offline and become unusable.
3) There was very little plot, despite the premise. Feels like a missed opportunity.

All in all, I really, truly recommend it, if you like logic puzzles and sciences! It may be less suited for humanists though.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tohle mě fakt bavilo. Jasně, není to tak úplně kniha, jako spíš sbírka hlavolamů založených na popularitě únikových místností. Je tu 63 úkolů plných zajímavých nápadů. Něco jsem měl hned, nad něčím si lámal hlavu, abych se pak do ní mlátil... a na něco jsem potřeboval nápovědu. Bylo tady jen málo klasické věci, převládali hádanky s opravdu originálním řešením. K něčemu člověk potřeboval i internet, kde si musel dohledat potřebné informace (počítač, nebo aspoň psací stroj potřebujete ostatně i k vyřešení některých problémů) či pusti jednoduchou animaci. Je tu jen pár věcí, u kterých je český hráč handicapovaný, ale ve výsledku je to fakt příjemná záležitost.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short & sweet review: so it’s not a traditional book, but I LOVED this and am definitely picking up the sequel. Journal 29 is an interactive, interwoven puzzle game with a bit of narrative throughout. The puzzles were a mix of “so-easy-I-could-do-this-in-my-sleep” and “help-I-need-a-hint!” which kept me on my toes and gave my brain a real workout. If you love puzzles or want to try something new, but still want to keep it bookish, Journal 29 is perfect! Puzzles are not usually subject to the traditional book rating system, but I give everything about this five out of five stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Selah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's almost impossible to do half of these without hints or Google, which made me feel inadequate.

[Lackof_shelf_control · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

So this book was fun, but also incredibly frustrating at times. I had to rely on the hints and tips page for the book often as some of the logic was so absurd to me. Commas were used instead of periods and little things like that where it could make a difference. Sometimes I would fly through a few pages and then be stuck for days on others. Also, the answer has to be perfect, so if your math is even slightly off you are screwed. And you can’t always rely on google because it often summarizes or rounds up figures, so you have to be very critical with the details! Definitely a fun little puzzle book!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solving this was a lot of fun!

[Liwka · Rating 5 out of 5]

mega fajne to bylo, musze wreszcie zabrac sie za rozwiazywanie 2 czesci

[Brandy McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun! The hardest part is not overthinking the puzzles. Every time we got stuck it was because we were trying way too hard.

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! I prefered Cypher Files as the story is more enjoyable and better understood but this was quite fun and had a couple of puzzles that got me really thinking. But also that puzzle with the gears was not understandable sorry....

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! All of the puzzles were original and challenged me to think outside the box. I can’t wait to get the sequel.

[Kristi Drillien · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5 / 5)

I was given this book as a Christmas gift by the owners of the escape room company I used to work for. They thought it would be right up my alley, and my husband and I were excited to go through it, thinking it would be like an escape room in a book. It was not, but to be fair, I don't see anywhere that the book is actually stated to be like an escape room. However, even leaving that aside, there were some issues that made the book less enjoyable than it could have been.

The book starts with the beginning of a story, the same paragraph that is shown in the synopsis. But that story literally never came up again, never came to fruition, was simply forgotten about. There was no reason to include it, though I guess it gave a little starting point for the aesthetic and theming contained throughout the book. And I did like the look of the pages overall; a lot of things that seemed like pointless artwork even ended up being not so pointless by the end. I liked the way not every page was a self-contained puzzle.

The puzzles themselves, though, left a lot to be desired. There were some interesting ones that were fun to solve, some that took a little noodling and led to a thrilling "aha!" moment. However, far too many of them were just huge leaps in logic that you can only get if you happen to think like the puzzle creator. Or get help (more on that later). Many required outside knowledge, a lot of things we had to look up online, and sometimes we didn't even know what to look up. And there were no official hints. It wouldn't have been difficult to include at least some starter hints, help to get started, on the website where answers were entered, but instead, we had to find a forum online where other players were giving their own suggestions and hints.

I think, overall, the book needed further testing. As someone who has built a few escape rooms in the past and now builds another type of puzzle game for a living, I know that every puzzle I make needs to be tested and reviewed. I need to hear if it's way too hard, too confusing, too big of a logic leap, or has mistakes (and yes, there was at least one puzzle in this book that had a mistake that made it harder to solve). And while I don't want to imply that the rest of the world needs to cater to Americans, if we'd at least known from the start the creator wasn't from the US, it might have helped us think a little differently for some of the puzzles (if you do decide to go through this book, just know that commas are used where we would put a decimal point in a number; that's just the simpler one to explain). Again, it would have been simple to have a brief explanation of things like that on the web page for that puzzle.

I think the book was an interesting concept, and if you enjoy straight puzzles, you might want to check it out. If you're looking for something more like an escape room, I'd suggest one of the many tabletop escape games instead.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a novel, it's a collection of puzzles with a loose alien-based storyline. Some puzzles are super simple (for example an incredibly obvious image, and what that obvious image represents is the answer), some involve more math than I really care to do in puzzles (all basic addition or multiplications though, nothing excessive, I just don't care much for mathy puzzles), some are basic cyphers or decryption, and some are presented in such a convoluted manner that you'll probably overthink them and make them much harder than they actually are.

You do need an internet connected device in order to play (to submit your answers and in turn receive your keys), and if you are planning to re-use/re-play the book you'll also need separate paper to track everything. (I just wrote all over my book, but if I get the sequel I might not do that in order to make it giftable to one of my other puzzler friends.)

Pros:
- multiple hours of fun spread out over several days (because despite my gripes I did have fun)
- this book is a few years old, so the hint/tips forum is full of spoiler tagged tips that will prod you in the right direction without giving away the complete answer (at least the ones I looked at).
- the storyline, though limited, is reasonably cohesive
- there are some similar puzzles, but none of the puzzles really repeat themselves
- some of the puzzles were unexpected in a way that delighted me

Cons:
- the font choices were bad, which made deciphering some of the puzzles difficult
- there are at least 2 errors in the book that could potentially lead you down the wrong path (one seems to be a printing error, one is a date error)
- you mostly have to play through the book sequentially because you often need keys from previous puzzles to solve future puzzles
- if you don't know how to solve a puzzle there (usually) isn't a good way to "brute force" answers (which is a common technique used when playing these types of games)
- some of the puzzles were unexpected in a way that irritated the shit out of me

Note:
American readers would do well to remember that Europe exists, and they do things differently there (such as area codes, date formats, and using commas sometimes instead of decimal points).

[Margarida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book was not what I expected it to be, it managed to be an enjoyable experience. I think the fact that I solved these with my boyfriend made it pleasant - I'm sure that alone I would've only gotten half of the answers right. We complemented each other and managed to see things the other was missing. I seriously recommend something like this as a Christmas present, especially if you like puzzles and riddles. However, as stated above, I was expecting the book to have a storyline. Unfortunately, it didn't. The riddles weren't directly connected to a story, they were just (sometimes too) random challenges you had to solve to get to the next riddle. The synopsis is very misleading, as none of the things actually happen. I would've loved it if we figured out a part of the story with each puzzle, or if the keys meant something instead of being random words. I think that, had it been wrapped up in a story, I would've given it 5 stars. Even if some riddles were just too ludicrous for anyone to guess them without any hints. I'm being completely honest: if you managed to solve every single page without any sort of help, you're a hero. Personally, I found some pages to be too cryptic - there were rarely any instructions or hints on the book on how to solve the enigmas. This totally ruined the fun because it often broke the concentration and the mood. No one likes to feel dumb and no one enjoys having to stop in the middle of a game to ask for help.
While reading some comments on the hint page of 'Journal 29', I saw that people were stuck on some pages for weeks! You don't want that in a book - we want a challenge, but I don't want to be spending money on something impossible to solve.
I've seen many people complaining about the same issues and I can only hope that the author has listened to them before launching the second book.
I will definitely check his other book ('The Cypher Files') even though people complain about the same issue (lack of a storyline and a plot). If the author doesn't feel confident enough to write a story about those riddles, maybe he could find someone interested in doing so? It would be so much fun!

[O · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 na zachętę, bo pomysł fajny, ale zabrakło fabuły, a książka ma kilka wad.
Ładnie wydana, ale czcionka jest momentami niewygodna, myląca.
Rzeczy wymienione na liście "do gry potrzebujesz" nie wystarczą do rozwiązania wszystkich zagadek.
Niektóre zagadki banalne, inne trudne, niektóre nawet po przeczytaniu rozwiązania budzą pytanie "a dlaczego tak?". Podpowiedzi powinny być lepiej dopracowane, bo czasem nie mówią nic, a czasem są niemal rozwiązaniem.
Dotarcie do finału nie jest tak ekscytujące, jak się spodziewałam. Tekst, który wyświetla się po rozwiązaniu ostatniej zagadki nie jest satysfakcjonujący.
Mam nadzieję, że ktoś wyda książkę w podobnym stylu, ale bardziej rozbudowaną i z ciekawą historią.

[Giovanni Caramuto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that is not really a book, or maybe is much more than this. I love puzzles, and this book gave me a lot a them, every one of then different to the others. Good use of everything a book can offer, folding pages, writing, taking notes, looking for clues not only on the pages. It doesn't tell you much about the story, just a short paragraph at the beginning. I would like some more story, but it wasn't really necessary. If you like puzzles and escape rooms, you definitely would like Journal 29

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, innovative book of puzzles.

Full review (spoiler free): https://derailmentsofthought.com/2017...

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! So many interesting puzzles, and new ways to think outside the box. Now I just need to figure out what the ending means..

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun, some puzzles SUPER DIFFICULT!

[Jacqueline Oestringer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich muss gestehen, dass der "Exit-Hype" bislang komplett an mir vorbeiging. Umso neugieriger war ich natürlich, als wir spontan beschlossen, uns zu viert damit einen Rätselnachmittag zu machen. Gesagt, getan, gestern war es dann endlich soweit. Meine Freundin Verena von Books and Cats, ihr Mann, sowie mein Göttergatte und ich haben uns zusammengesetzt und uns an der Profiedition versucht. Mehr oder minder hat das auch recht gut geklappt, zumindest haben wir das Ende des Buches erreicht.
Kommen wir also zunächst zu dem Thema "Rätsel".
Generell waren die Schwierigkeiten für meinen Geschmack recht gemischt, von "ziemlich einfach" bis "nicht zu lösen" war eigentlich alles dabei. Wobei diese beiden Kategorien zum Glück nicht allzu oft auftraten. Dennoch war es uns bei ein paar der 63 Rätsel ohne Hilfe nicht möglich, einen geeigneten Lösungsansatz zu ermitteln. Das fand ich ein bisschen schade, denn man hat im Verlauf schon gemerkt, dass unsere Konstellation eigentlich recht gut passte. Ich persönlich würde auch empfehlen, das Buch mindestens zu viert zu bearbeiten, da für fast jede Stärke und Schwäche ein passendes Rätsel zu finden ist. Ich denke, zu zweit hätte es deutlich weniger Spaß gemacht, zumal wir uns mit unseren Logiken zum Teil wirklich sehr zum Lachen brachten.
Das bringt mich jedoch im selben Atemzug zum Thema "Altersempfehlung".
Angegeben ist das Buch ab 14 Jahren, wobei ich persönlich meine Zweifel habe, ob das wirklich anzuraten wäre. Also keine Angst, es ist nichts Anstößiges oder Gewalttätiges zu finden (abgesehen von der Tatsache, dass man das Buch falten, schneiden, spiegeln, anmalen, usw. muss), aber ich könnte mit vorstellen, dass der Schwierigkeitsgrad den Spaßfaktor letztlich in Summe überwiegen würde. Selbst bei uns, die wir nur selten komplett festhingen, hat sich bereits 2-3 Mal deutlich der Frust gezeigt, wenn man zu viert brütet, noch nicht mal ansatzweise eine Idee hat und letzten Endes die Lösung etwas abstrus/konstruiert erscheint. Ich denke mit 14 Jahren, wäre das vermutlich noch deutlich ausgeprägter.

Das für mich größte Defizit ist jedoch ein ganz anderes. Es gab keinerlei roten Faden, keine Hintergrundhandlung, keine aufeinander aufbauende Logik, oder ähnliches. Ich hatte ehrlich gesagt zumindest mit einer kleinen Geschichte gerechnet, um die Spieler bei Laune zu halten. Aber alles in allem war es eigentlich nur eine Aneinanderreihung von Rätseln, die bei einer lockeren Spielart -man wollte sich ja auch mal unterhalten oder etwas essen- auf eine Spieldauer von ca. 5-6 Stunden hinauslief, und somit dann in Summe etwas trocken wurde. Schade!

Letzen Endes würde ich sagen, ein guter, kniffliger Ansatz, der zwar kleinere Defizite aufwies, uns jedoch alles in allem einen schönen und witzigen Tag beschert hat. Vielen Dank an dieser Stelle an meine Mitstreiter, müssen wir bald mal wieder machen :)

[Riia · Rating 3 out of 5]

EXIT Päiväkirja 29 on pakohuonepeli kirjana. Tarvitset kirjan lisäksi muistiinpanovälineet sekä nettiyhteyden jollakin laitteella (ja parista muusta esineestä on hyötyä, mutta en tässä spoilaa!). Kirjassa on 63 arvoitusta, jotka pitää ratkaista.

Kirjan alussa mainitaan salaiset kaivaukset, jotka eivät tuottaneet tuloksia, kunnes tapahtui jotain odottamatonta ja koko tiimi häviää jättäen jälkeensä vain tämän päiväkirjan. Tämä on ainut kerta, kun kirjan taustatarinaan viitataan. Olisi ollut kauhean kiva, jos tarina olisi edennyt arvoituksia ratkoessa, mutta ei. Tämä kirja on siis vain täynnä arvoituksia, unohda taustatarina.

Osa arvoituksista oli helppoja, mutta monet aika haastavia. Tehtävien ratkaisemisessa tarvitaan laajaa yleistietoa sekä ennakkoluulottomuutta etsiä luovia ratkaisutapoja. Osa arvoituksista on monitulkintaisia: sekä arvoituksen ratkaisemiseen että ratkaisukoodiksi on monia vaihtoehtoja (mikä ei ole ideaalia). Osa sivuilla olevista piirroksista hämää (uskon, että tarkoituksettomasti) ja johtaa johtopäätöksiin, joita ei tehtävissä haeta. Ärsyttävää. Myös jotkin käytetyt symbolit ovat turhan samanlaisia tehtävistä toiseen silloin, kun niillä ei oikeasti ole mitään yhteyttä keskenään. Käytetty fontti on vaikealukuinen. Muutaman kerran viitataan muualta kirjasta löytyviin vihjeisiin. Tyypillisesti pakohuonepeleissä viitataan materiaaliin, joka on jo luettu/käsitelty aiemmin, mutta tässä kirjassa viitataan myös sivuihin, joita ei ole vielä luettu, mikä on mielestäni huono ratkaisu. Joudut hyppimään kirjassa eteenpäin ja penkomaan tarvitsemiasi tietoja. Kirja on kirjoitettu alunperin saksaksi ja joissakin tehtävissä se hieman näkyy, mutta ei välttämättä vaikuta arvoitusten ratkaisemiseen kovin merkittävällä tavalla. Arvoitukset ovat hyvin monenlaisia, henkilökohtaisesti en tykkää leikkaa+liimaa -tyyppisistä tehtävistä, niitä ei tässä kirjassa onneksi ole montaa. Turhan paljon on laskemista, ratkaisukoodiksi kelpaisi ihan hyvin pelkät selville saadut numerot, niiden yhteenlaskeminen tai kertominen ei tuo mielestäni mitään lisäarvoa.

Ihan ok kirja, mutta en jaksanut kaikkia arvoituksia kovin pieteetillä yrittää ratkaista. Kirjassa onkin joka tehtävään saatavissa kaksi vihjettä sekä ratkaisu, mikäli jonkin arvoituksen ratkaiseminen ei ota onnistuakseen.

[Stephen Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cool puzzle book, and I really enjoyed how it made full use of the book itself in solving all the puzzles. I loved that some solutions required folding pages, seeing through pages, looking at the spine of the book, and engaging in certain media online. The puzzles range from simple to extremely difficult Puzzle 60 was an incredible beast that I had to blatantly cheat on, and I like the science fiction theme of the puzzles, although I wished the narrative had been pushed more. I thought that using an online website to validate answers and giving the player key words to use in future puzzles was an innovative way to make the puzzle book more linear.

My one critique is that there are some puzzles where I felt like the book was working against me, making it more difficult to solve due to the text or images given. For example:
- Puzzle 8 - I had a hard time reading some of the letters in the maze, which made this way more difficult than it should have been.
- Puzzle 23 - It's not intuitive that the smudge in the bottom corner is a knight.
- Puzzle 47 - This was like Where's Waldo on steroids. Not the most fun to look for tiny details that are different, especially with the printing quality.
- Puzzle 57 - The fact that the commas are actually decimal points was something I would never figure out on my own.
- Puzzle 61 - The fact I don't have a CD in my apartment to solve the puzzle was amusing to me.


Overall, I enjoyed the breadth of puzzle types in this book, and it was entertaining to solve with my friends.

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much what it says on the subtitle: Interactive Book Game. It's nothing more, nothing less.

Many of these puzzles were good and inventive. However, some required googling facts or having some random bit of trivia knowledge. Those puzzles were frustrating and sometimes very simple once you allow yourself to google stuff. A few puzzles were frustrating because you needed other materials, like beyond just a pencil and smartphone. There definitely were some great puzzles though!

So those bad puzzles knocked this down to 4 stars, then the lack of story drops it down to 3. It is, after all, set up as a found journal that'll reveal things about these missing excavators. You're left up to your own imagination to craft the story, since the journal contains puzzles only. Even a few sentences on each page could've helped pull it together. For example, why are these notes hidden with puzzles? Who are they hiding this info from? What info are they trying to hide? Flipping through it and not solving anything you'd see there are aliens or some new species involved that they dug up. They're not hiding that info at all. In the end, they're hiding a sorta silly bit of info. They never reveal anything useful like locations for other digs or where they're going or whatever else.

If you're interested in this book, think of it as a creative version of other "puzzle books" that are page after page of sudoku or crosswords or word searches or mazes or whatever. That's all this is, except there's a theme, all the puzzles are different types, and some puzzles require you solve previous ones.

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book tries to present an escape room in a box. In some ways, it's effective; in other ways, it's not.

Pros:
- There is a reasonable variety of puzzles sprinkled throughout the book (though a lot of it boils down to pattern recognition).
- The book certainly has an aesthetic / vibe to it. The art is occasionally cheesy, but at least it fits the theme.

Cons:
- The promised through-line of the book is weak at best. If you're coming to this work for a story, you're almost assuredly going to be disappointed.
- Some of the puzzles might be confusing for an American audience (e.g. using a "," instead of a "." for a decimal point).
- While the initial run-through was a fun distraction, I doubt I'd return to this work after having solved everything. In other words, it doesn't have much, "replay value."

Conclusion:
As a novelty and a fun distraction this book is a success. As a narrative, the book is a failure (or incredibly obtuse in its storytelling, at least). I had fun completing this book with my significant other, but I'm not in a rush to buy or try the sequel, Journal 29: Revelation. Ultimately, if the premise or intent (ie to make an escape room in a book) sounds interesting it's probably worth a look; if it doesn't, you can probably skip this one.