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The Cypher Files: An Escape Room… in a Book!

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The Cypher Files is an utterly unique reading experience. In this brain-bending interactive game, you'll solve puzzles on every page, and obtain keys to move forward by submitting answers online. To solve each puzzle, you'll need to think outside the book. You are an agent of CY.P.H.E.R., the secret international agency working on 'unsolvable' code-based cases. Called upon to investigate cryptic clues discovered in the wake of a series of mysterious disappearances, the clock is ticking to crack the codes before it's too late. To escape this book, you must write, draw, search, fold and cut pages, explore virtual escape rooms, and think laterally to identify the perpetrator and solve the mystery. All you need to play is a pencil, a pair of scissors, an internet connection, and a curious mind.

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2020

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523 people want to read

About the author

Dimitris Chassapakis

10 books42 followers

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5 stars
72 (26%)
4 stars
102 (37%)
3 stars
78 (28%)
2 stars
16 (5%)
1 star
7 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
Profile Image for Polenta Oncia.
2 reviews
January 11, 2023
//ita
Sono al 15° enigma e sono circa a metà libro.
Che dire... Simpatico come libro game ma al momento la trama mi sembra che non abbia nulla a che fare con gli enigmi. Ogni enigma è a sé stante e non ha una vera motivazione. Mi aspettavo di più ma darò un vero giudizio una volta finito il libro.
Per il momento è ok ma niente di più.
-------------------------------------------------------
Recensione a caldo dopo averlo finito:

Libro Game simpatico ma con qualche pecca.
Nel complesso gli enigmi sono tendenzialmente carini ma oscillano tra alcune cose troppo semplici ed altri incomprensibili.
Senza spoilerare, posso dire che una storia (per quanto banalotta) c'è, peccato che troppo spesso gli enigmi siano slegati da essa e che quindi a volte ci si trova senza nemmeno capire quale sia l'effettivo enigma da risolvere.
L'enigma 19 rimane ad ora un mistero.

Altra nota negativa è la stampa: alcuni enigmi sono da risolvere guardando delle immagini. Peccato che la resa visiva non sia ottima e spesso ci si trova davanti a delle macchie nere poco nitide. Ricorda un po' quando i maestri delle elementari fotocopiavano dei libri di testo che presentavano delle immagini. Insomma, un test di Rorschach.
P.s. Non c'è scritto ma in fondo al libro ci sono degli indizi ma non sempre sono utili. L'ho scoperto alla fine, quando ormai usavo la controparte web che però non era tradotta.
P.p.s. Quando anche i suggerimenti ufficiali non bastavano, ho trovato aiuto nel sito di bess carnan.


//eng
I reached the 15th puzzle and it's about half of the book.
What could I say... It's pretty fun as a game book but at the moment the plot has nothing to do with the puzzles. Each one is a stand alone and doesn't really have a purpose. I expected much more but I'll wait the end of the book to judge it.
For now it's just ok.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Nice book-game but with some flaws.
Overall the puzzles tend to be nice but they oscillate between being too simple and being incomprehensible.
Without spoilers, I can say that there is a story (pretty banal) but it's a pity that too often the puzzles are unrelated to it and that therefore sometimes you find yourself without even understanding what the actual puzzle to solve is.
Enigma 19 remains a mystery to this day.

Another negative note is the press: some puzzles have to be solved by looking at the images. Too bad that the visual rendering is not excellent and often we are faced with unclear black spots. It's a little reminiscent of when elementary school teachers photocopied textbooks that had pictures. In short, a Rorschach test.
P.S. It doesn't say it but at the bottom of the book there are clues but they aren't always useful. I discovered it in the end, when I was using the web counterpart.
P.p.s. When even official suggestions weren't enough, I found help on bess carnan's site.
Profile Image for Sean Hughes.
42 reviews
February 17, 2023
Lots of fun puzzles! I felt the storyline got a little lost. Maybe I was spoiled by the expansive nature of the Journal 29 books because this one felt both shorter and slightly lacking in the interactive experience. The integration of more web based content was nice, but I still was left slightly unchallenged.
Profile Image for Roberta Falco.
52 reviews
February 26, 2023
3.5/4
Un sacco simpatici gli enigmi, fare taglia e cuci con il libro e le estensioni in realtà virtuale. La storia peccava di collegamenti però.
Profile Image for Simona Stefani.
433 reviews17 followers
May 26, 2024
Bellissima l’idea di un escape book, un improvement del classico libro game.
Storia breve e particolare. Multimedialità spettacolare, bellissimo trovarsi nell’ospedale!
Alcuni giochi sono incomprensibili (), altri non attinenti alla storia (una sorta di mini giochi a parte) ma nel complesso abbiamo passato una serata divertente.
Profile Image for Jacki Nevico.
12 reviews
July 2, 2022
This book was decent. It was easy to do and it had a story line. The story was terrible and didn’t really make sense but…. It had one. I feel like they just throw in a story in an attempt to make it all come together. I just like puzzles and don’t care much for a plot. Unless the puzzles are in the plot. Anyhow… my regret is doing journal 29 books before this. I expected a similar book since they’re the same author/creator. The Journal 29 books are in a league of their own. This one was great for a beginner. But after working on the others for months, I flew through this one in less than a week. I would still recommend to those looking for something different. Tip: don’t bother with the hints in the back of the book. They’re useless. Like beyond useless. Use a forum for help or you can scan for an extra tip. Even those aren’t the best.
Profile Image for Jenna.
75 reviews
February 11, 2022
Good idea, poor execution. Some puzzles were laughable, and the storyline was hardly the best.
Profile Image for Federica Barufaldi.
395 reviews20 followers
March 16, 2023
A cinque indovinelli dalla fine ho detto BASTA, non ne potevo più.
L’idea è molto carina ed interessante, però tutto il resto è stato veramente pensato male.
La storia è mediocre, capisco che sia messa lì solo per dare una specie di coerenza a questo insieme di indovinelli, completamente sconnessi tra loro, però è proprio assurda e senza senso.
La parte degli enigmi sarebbe molto interessante, SE fosse possibile risolverli. Ci sono due tipi di enigmi in questo libro: quelli semplicissimi e quelli impossibili. E la maggior parte di quelli impossibili lo sono a causa della stampa del libro.
Molti enigmi si devono risolvere osservando delle immagini, che però risultano sgranate e quindi impossibili da decifrare…
Avendo messo in piedi un sistema basato sull’uso di internet forse sarebbe stato meglio pensare di caricare anche queste immagini sul sito, possibilmente in HD, per aiutare la risoluzione.
Profile Image for Rian.
393 reviews4 followers
August 28, 2023
Als je van raadsels en puzzelen houdt of graag een escaperoom doet, dan is dit echt iets voor jou! Het is deels in het boek, deels met een website.
In het verhaal ben jij de geheim agent die de zaak op moet lossen... Gaat het je lukken? Ons wel! Ik deed dit samen met een vriendin en na 4 uur en 27 minuten te lezen, puzzelen en speuren zijn we er uit!
Profile Image for Elisa.
222 reviews27 followers
January 2, 2023
È stato carino giocare a questo libro interattivo, mi aspettavo però qualcosa in stile investigativo invece è solo un’insieme di enigmi. La trama poi è solo un pretesto per arrivare alla fine e dare una storia di sfondo al gioco. Meno intrigante rispetto al famoso La mascella di Caino ma almeno questo è risolvibile (la Mascella rimane su uno scaffale tristemente incompiuto).
Profile Image for JoEllen.
142 reviews
January 3, 2023
I think these puzzle books are way fun. Granted, I seek out a clue every now and then, but I enjoy the challenge too. The storyline on this one was pretty wacky, but it also doesn’t matter so much. I like the interactive elements where you use a phone or computer.
Profile Image for Wybredna Maruda.
507 reviews828 followers
November 11, 2021
Cała zabawa w Kronikach Cypher polega na tym, że każda strona dostarcza nam raport sprawy oraz zagadkę, którą musimy rozwiązać. Nie są to w żadnym wypadku proste wykreślanki czy sudoku – czasem to zdjęcie, fragment mapy, odcisków palców czy wyrwanej kartki, często nie dostajemy nawet instrukcji czy określonego polecenia, co do tego, co ma stanowić wynik. Musimy myśleć nieschematycznie, czasem obrócić książkę, innym razem zajrzeć do internetu. Rzadko kiedy zadanie jest tak oczywiste, jak wydaje się na pierwszy rzut oka. Po otrzymaniu rozwiązania wpisujemy go w naszą wirtualną bazę, do której dostęp otrzymujemy po zeskanowaniu kodu QR widocznego na każdej stronie. Jeżeli mamy rację, dostaniemy informację zwrotną od współpracowników, krótką rozmowę na tajnym komunikatorze oraz hasła, które pomogą nam w kolejnych zagadkach. Naszym zadaniem jest rozwikłać wszystkie tajemnice i znaleźć przestępcę, zanim zaginą kolejne osoby.

Przy tej książce naprawdę można się zmęczyć. Oczywiście, są zagadki prostsze, ale i takie, których pomysł na rozwiązanie przyjdzie nam do głowy dopiero za -nastym podejściem. Mimo to poziom ten oceniam na nieco prostszy niż w Dzienniku 29, w którym to często nie miałam zielonego pojęcia, co zrobić (tu pierwsze 10 zagadek rozwikłałam spokojnie w pół godziny). Ale jednak trzeba zaznaczyć, że po przerobieniu kilku takich tytułów przejście każdego kolejnego zajmuje mniej czasu – zwyczajnie wiemy już, jak myśleć i na co zwracać uwagę. Mnie weszło to już w krew do tego stopnia, że momentami kombinuję aż za bardzo i uznaję, że rozwiązanie otrzymane za pierwszym podejściem nie może być tym właściwym, bo jest zbyt proste i oczywiste. Okazuje się, że tylko dla mnie, właśnie przez wspomniane nabycie wprawy, ponieważ pozostałym osobom z mojego otoczenia dojście do niego zajęło znacznie więcej czasu.

Pełna opinia: https://www.wybrednamaruda.pl/2021/11...
Profile Image for very little book nerd.
506 reviews32 followers
December 26, 2021
Kroniki Cypher to już czwarta książka z zagadkami od Fox Games, po którą sięgnęłam i muszę Wam powiedzieć, że chyba najlepsza!

W poprzednich ("Dziennik 29", "Dziennik 29. Przebudzenie", "Wyprawa 1907. Zakazane Kopalnie") zagadki były świetne, ale sama fabuła kompletnie mnie nie ciekawiła. Tutaj natomiast doskonałe jest wszystko: zagadki, fabuła oraz mechanika!

Zagadki są nieoczywiste, bardzo ciekawe i dopracowane. Niektóre rozwiązaliśmy dość szybko, przy innych utykaliśmy na długo. Zdarzało się nawet, że musieliśmy schować dumę do kieszeni i sprawdzić podpowiedź. Na końcu książki jest arkusz z drobnymi wskazówkami, a na stronie internetowej można znaleźć podpowiedzi już konkretne, praktycznie od razu naprowadzające na właściwy trop.

Pierwszy raz spotkałam się z zagadkami mającymi po kilka stron. Były to na przykład pokoje, w których trzeba było wyszukać wskazówek - pomieszczenia A - I, każde na osobnej stronie. Jak zwykle ciekawie została też wykorzystana strona internetowa - niektóre zagadki kierują do przeglądarki, która lepiej niż papier pozwala przeszukać mieszkania ofiar czy wybrać numer telefonu.

Jestem zachwycona kierunkiem, w którym zmierza ta seria - każda kolejna książka jest coraz lepsza, a twórcom wcale nie kończą się pomysły!
Profile Image for Amber.
476 reviews3 followers
December 6, 2023
Another fun puzzle book! It was nice to see the incorporation of a story (something I really wished the Journal 29 books had). The story was pretty convoluted/nonsensical, and mostly seemed unnecessary to solving the puzzles, but I like the direction this is going. You could see there was a real effort to have the story build momentum, and I liked the addition of some voice acting (and the web integration is the best yet!). Now if only we could get a cool archaeological mystery and find out what happened to the "team" in Journal 29, eh?

I'm giving this four stars mostly because the puzzles were a little too easy at times. I was able to race through this book in one sitting, whereas the Journal 29 puzzles (in all three of those books) were more challenging. Other times, I couldn't solve the puzzles at all, due to no fault of my own; there was one puzzle that required you to have a certain kind of visual acuity (like a "magic eye" puzzle), which my eyes can't do, which forced me to go look up the answer because I literally couldn't "see" the clue. But there were a couple of good ones in here--puzzle 23 really got me for a bit (visual puzzles are my Achilles heel) but it was a delight when I finally saw what I was supposed to see. Looking forward to more from this author!
Author 60 books100 followers
February 8, 2023
Mezi čtením tlustých knih jsem si odskočil k další "hlavolamové" knize od Dimitrise Chassapakise, který stojí za řadou Journal 29. Ta mi přišla lepší, tady byla většina hádanek spíš z těch jednodušších... za což může ale asi i to, že už jsem toho dělal hodně a některé věci se přece jen opakují. Ale i tak je to dobře kombinované, takže někdy je vyluštění problému jen prvním krokem, který vás navede k tomu hlavnímu řešení. Nebo naopak zmate. U něčeho je nutné i dohledávat na netu, či něco řešit přímo na počítači. Má to i nějaký příběh, který ovšem spíš vyvolává touhu začít mlátit hlavou do stěny. Ale o příběh tady zase tolik nejde... byť je lepší řešit hádanky postupně. Tedy, ono je to obvykle nutné, protože, stejně jako u Journalu a dalších podobných knížek-únikovek, je výsledek jednoho problému nápovědou k tomu dalšímu.
Takže jo, zábavná jednohubka.
Profile Image for Valentina.
292 reviews19 followers
December 31, 2022
Spettacolo.
Io e mia figlia ci siamo ritrovate a fare le detective e risolvere enigmi per poter risolvere il caso di alcune persone scomparse e salvare gli ostaggi.
Devo ammettere che è un passatempo bellissimo, sia per gli appassionati del genere, sia per la famiglia.
Alcuni enigmi sono abbastanza intuitivi, di altri invece ho dovuto servirmi dei suggerimenti per poter arrivare alla soluzione. Comunque sono accessibili a tutti, basta ingegnarsi e per dare fuori dal comune.
Basta accendere il cervello ed il gioco è fatto.

Bellissimo anche come regalo.
Sono davvero pienamente soddisfatta.
Profile Image for Rebecca Haslam.
513 reviews8 followers
December 31, 2020
Never in my life have I come across a book quite like this. I didn't even think it would be possible to create an escape room in page form, but Dimitris pulled it off, and in some style too. This book gave my brain the biggest and best work out it's had in years and even now, I'm still contemplating just how he came up with the idea for this and how many people have managed to solve the puzzle he set. Impressive work to say the least.
Profile Image for David Homer.
38 reviews2 followers
February 7, 2021
Argh infuriating puzzles that don’t really make sense with the plot. Who’s the next victim agent?! Complete this word search to find out.

I just spent hours trying to figure out which colour was which in the grey scale pie charts till I had a headache until I realised it was nothing to do with the puzzle.

I’d recommend Googling the EXIT games instead, though they have some dud puzzles they also have some very clever ideas.
Profile Image for Aily.
376 reviews1 follower
April 14, 2023
3.5
io e il mio ragazzo abbiamo giocato insieme, abbiamo risolto gli enigmi e ci siamo divertiti, solo che ci sentiamo di dare 3 stelle e mezzo per la storia in sé, che non è stata molto coinvolgente. ci siamo divertiti più a risolvere gli enigmi che a capire come andava avanti il caso sul quale stavamo indagando, onestamente. però molto bello, ottimo per passare una bella serata o un bel pomeriggio♡
Profile Image for Valentina.
171 reviews20 followers
June 4, 2023
La parte enigmistica è fatta piuttosto bene e il gioco risulta interessante, per essere un libro però ha una parte narrata davvero scadente e il fatto che non ci sia una concordanza tra enigmi e storia rende il susseguirsi degli eventi piuttosto caotico.
Mi sarebbe piaciuto che le due parti si completassero a vicenda, invece i giochi potevano essere tranquillamente fatti senza neanche leggere la storia.
Profile Image for Anton Holland.
99 reviews
June 4, 2023
It was so fun figuring out all the clues and I love this idea. It was really great getting to type in what I thought was the answer and then see if I’m right. And I loved the end. Also just loved getting the story line and towards the end I was so psyched for what was going on cause I was so not expecting it at first and aaahhhh. I wish I could talk about what happens in the book but I do not want to spoil it. If I could I would do it all again!!!!
Profile Image for Jessica (secretlifeofbooklover).
369 reviews150 followers
June 12, 2023
Definizione di "buona idea, esecuzione scarsa".

Alcuni enigmi erano molto facili, mentre altri erano incomprensibili o comunque era difficile arrivarci se non si guardavano gli indizi a fine libro.
Una grande pecca è il fatto che in alcuni enigmi ci sono delle immagini e la resa della stampa non è ottima per tutte le foto, anzi in alcune non si vede una mazza...
La trama c'è ma boh, mi sembrava un po sconclusionata.


Profile Image for Libri di Smeraldo.
235 reviews4 followers
March 18, 2023
Mi aspettavo decisamente di più. Gli enigmi sono carini, ma del tutto scollegati dalla trama (quasi inesistente tra l'altro).
Inoltre, alcuni enigmi sono facilissimi da risolvere, altri incomprensibili perché non si capisce cosa si debba fare.
Mi sono divertita a tratti, per cui, lo reputo una mezza delusione.
Profile Image for Michael.
35 reviews1 follower
November 29, 2023
I've never tried anything like this. My wife and I gave it a go and enjoyed the puzzles. The book conveys an espionage mystery story through multiple pages of puzzles that require the use of your smartphone. The book also requires you to write in it and at times fold or cut the paper (my biggest hang-up and the reason for the lower score) to solve some puzzles.
Profile Image for Barney.
75 reviews13 followers
March 7, 2021
The writing and plot were very disjointed and did not make much sense. The puzzles were pretty good, as in the other books by the same creator.

All in all, I enjoyed the Journal 29 books more, but I did not regret doing this one too.
124 reviews1 follower
February 7, 2023
Questo game book é davvero mindblowing. L'unico suo difetto è un adattamento andato male sull'enigma 19 che ne rende impossibile la prosecuzione se non cercando la risposta su internet. Per il resto molto ben fatto é divertente!
Profile Image for rio.
2 reviews
December 31, 2023
It was fun! But some of the puzzles were almost too easy, and some I struggled with for a little too long in my opinion. It was really interesting though, the story was kind of sci-fi ish and it was kind of silly.
Profile Image for Magnar Sabbatini.
35 reviews4 followers
September 16, 2024
Już wiem dlaczego nie lubię escape roomów. Niektóre zagadki proste, kilka ciekawych, były też przekombinowane. Fabuła też wygląda jakby była pisana na kolanie. Na jeden wieczór ok, ale to był mój pierwszy i ostatni raz z czymś podobnym.
Profile Image for Rosa ✨.
43 reviews
Read
September 12, 2025


Como fue un regalo no lo voy a tirar, pero lo voy a guardar en algún lugar donde no lo vuelva a ver durante mucho tiempo
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews

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