Start here · Free · No printer required
Five short trials. About twenty-five minutes. A free mystery in your browser, with nothing to print.
Five proofs wait at the Ninth Shelf.
Free first test
Case file 02 · In testing
Aurelian Vane vanished from his locked study in 1698, leaving an unfinished notebook behind.
The door was locked from within.
In testing
Based on a true story
Examine the surviving accounts of the Flannan Isles disappearance. A present-day pattern begins to return as you work through the evidence.
Flannan Isles · December 1900
In development
Choose a case
01 / A small discovery
A page full of letters. A piece full of holes.
Separately, they tell you nothing.
Lay the grille over the page.
Read what it lets you see.
Read the uncovered letters, left to right.
Observation pending
02 / Beyond the screen
We’re making 3D printed escape room mysteries: physical puzzle books, tactile tools and stories in your browser. Explore the free introduction and follow the games as they take shape.
Turn the wheel. Lay down the grille. Use the printed pieces to uncover what a page alone can’t show.
Follow the story, inspect the evidence and test your answers. The browser keeps your case moving.
Some trails reach into the world around you. Examine a document, follow a message, or make an unexpected connection.
03 / The Codex
A 3D-printed book holding a cipher, permanent markings and reusable tools. Designed to stay beside you as you move from one story to the next.
04 / A glimpse inside
The Printed Secret in fifteen seconds.
Press play and step into the atmosphere.
05 / The case catalogue
Find your next mystery. Browse every case here, then keep your games, progress and downloads in your Library.
File / 001
Free first test
Your place at the Ninth Shelf is waiting. Solve five short trials in a free browser mystery. No printer needed.
File / 002
In testing
Testing by invitation only. Not on public sale.
A locked study. A missing alchemist. An unfinished notebook. Follow the traces Aurelian Vane left behind.
File / 003
In development
Still being made. Not available to play or buy yet.
Three lighthouse keepers disappeared from Eilean Mòr in December 1900. Examine the surviving accounts, compare the traces, and decide what the evidence can honestly support. At your desk, an unexplained pattern begins to return.
Behind the scenes
Before the locked rooms and hidden messages come the sketches, the first prints and the things that don’t quite work. Follow the making of The Printed Secret.
From the workbench
Real photographs, unexpected problems and small discoveries. Explore the story of the build, one experiment at a time.
Explore the timelineYou can use a friend’s printer, a library, a makerspace or a print service. Check the selected experience’s parts list before arranging a print; the materials and time depend on the room.
The Codex is itself a 3D-printed physical book containing a cipher, reusable tools and permanent reference markings. Each experience adds its own book and specific items; the recurring Codex is separate from a solution booklet or STL archive.
You can, but you will know the answers. Keep the Codex and reusable tools for the next experience, or introduce a new group to a story you have already solved.
IX · 04 · 17Hints are available in the game. Use them when you need a nudge, and return to the evidence at your own pace.
It depends on the case. The Apprentice’s Test is a gentle, curious induction with no horror or jump scares. The Alchemist’s Study is being developed as an uncanny historical mystery with disappearance and ethical tension, without jump scares. Future cases may be lighter, darker or playful: read each case’s tone and content guidance before choosing. Puzzle difficulty is separate from emotional intensity.
We plan to launch through crowdfunding. No campaign is live; the platform, timing, rewards and final print packs will be announced once confirmed.
The Printed Secret is an anthology. Each case can have its own world, cast and mood; the shared thread is discovery, fair puzzles and familiar tools. A recurring character or connection is deliberate, not something you need to assume.
