FAQ

Well, is any of this for real?

What do you mean?

Is Seventeen Games a real game company?

No. This website, like that of Black Letter Labs, is all part of an elaborate ARG-like / puzzle-hunt / escape-room-ish experience, the core of which is the Drain Teaser Quartet.

Hold on, why did the background of this FAQ suddenly turn blue?

Wherever you see text formatted this way on this website, it's just us, the actual creators of this experience, masks off, talking straight to you. No more in-story nonsense. No Seventeen Games. No Black Letter Labs. Just us.

Nice! So who are the actual creators of this experience?

We are a bit secretive, but we can tell you this: our team has a long history with dynamic puzzling. We have been design team members for The Game (puzzle hunt), the MIT Mystery Hunt, and top escape rooms. This is our third Black Letter Labs experience.

OK, so the websites are fictional, and you're anonymous. Is Drain Teaser real?

Absolutely!

And it's something I can really buy?

Yes.

And it's filled with puzzles?

Yes. Loads and loads and loads of puzzles.

And it's also a game?

Four games, in fact!

That's cool!

Yes, a unique feature of all the puzzles we design is that they are embedded in "artifacts" — physical objects that are designed to appear to be everyday items. This year the artifacts are all disguised as card games. They look like card games, they play like card games. You might even say, It's games all the way down. Yes, it's a bit meta. That's just how we roll.

How long is the average playing time?

If you mean how long does it take to play a single hand of one of the "disguised" Drain Teaser games, the answer is ten to fifteen minutes.

If you mean how long does it take to solve all the hidden puzzles embedded in a deck — well, then we're talking many, many, many hours, likely over multiple days.

How many players for each game?

You need two to six people to play a single hand of one of the "disguised" Drain Teaser games.

However, any number of people can work together as a team to solve each deck's puzzles. We think two to six makes a good solving klatsch, but that's up to you.

Does everyone who participates need their own copy of the Drain Teaser Quartet?

No, teams can absolutely get by with a single subscription. That being said, you may find it easier to have access to multiple copies while puzzle solving, and some players may wish to have their own copies as mementos of the experience. Also, team members may wish to support Black Letter Labs by purchasing their own copy of the Drain Teaser Quartet — that will certainly increase the likelihood of future Black Letter Lab experiences.

Are the games standalone?

Yes, you may play each Drain Teaser game on its own. And yet...

And yet...?

The Drain Teaser Quartet is more than the sum of its parts. As you master each deck — as you solve its puzzles — you'll begin to see that the solutions you have found on one deck create new puzzles when combined with the solutions from the other decks. In the world of Drain Teaser, puzzles beget puzzles beget puzzles. You might say, It's puzzles all the way down.

Wow — sounds amazing! Who should buy Drain Teaser?

The Drain Teaser Quartet is made for anyone who likes puzzle hunts, escape rooms, ARGs, and quirky card games that are easy to learn and fun to play. The puzzles themselves range from amusingly simple to diabolically hard, and an online hint and support system makes sure everyone can complete the experience. If you have a curious mind, appreciate mystery and strategy and a touch of the absurd — then Drain Teaser is for you!

(Also: if you are a friend or partner or parent of a puzzle enthusiast, the Drain Teaser Quartet makes an unforgettable gift!)

Can I purchase the Drain Teaser games individually?

Not at the moment. The Drain Teaser Quartet is best experienced as a single entity in four parts. This is why we offer the set as a sequenced subscription of games over a period of four months. Mastering each game will help you as you move on to the next.

I notice some use of AI art.

The Drain Teaser Quartet includes contributions from more than a dozen professional human artists whose work forms the core of what you'll encounter. (We'll be giving our artists a shout-out via our mailing list in the months ahead.)

At the same time, yes, we have used AI art in certain aspects of the experience — primarily in the lead-up, on the Seventeen Games webpage, and in other surface collateral — and we want to be transparent about that. We understand that its presence raises legitimate questions about authorship, labor, and creative integrity, and we don't dismiss those concerns. We've very consciously tried to strike a balance as we've built this experience: human craft at the center, with selective AI support, so that the core work remains human while still making a project like this possible at all.

Was AI used in any other way?

No. The design and development of Black Letter Labs, Seventeen Games, and the Drain Teaser Quartet, as well as all the puzzles, was a strictly human-intensive endeavor, over two years in the making.

OK, back to Drain Teaser. Someone mentioned there might be a discount code available?

Yes! There is a special discount available that you can apply at checkout. How can you get it? The first thing is to notice that nearly all all of Seventeen Games' seventeen games can be bundled thematically into groups of four, the Drain Teaser Quartet being the most obvious. The other connections are more subtle. Of course seventeen isn't easily divisible by four, so there is one game that stands on its own. Find that outlier game, read its text, solve its puzzle, and you're on your way to a glorious discount! Learn more here.

OK, when can I sign up?

Immediately!  

Awesome! And when will Drain Teaser begin to ship?

It's shipping NOW. And supplies are limited! We suggest you sign up ASAP.