Forsaken Souls is a book of challenging puzzles to test your cognitive skills. It contains 102 unique puzzles, featuring 120+ different mechanics. Each puzzle typically combines three mechanics to be fully solved, creating a unique, challenging experience. Forsaken Souls comes both as a physical book, and an e-book.
Each puzzle comes with a validation key you can use to check if your answer is correct, either online or using a calculator.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
💡 New Hint System for the Book - 1,300+ Gradual Hints Including Full Solutions!
6 months ago
– Sat, Sep 06, 2025 at 02:04:28 PM
Greetings everyone,
This is a very exciting update for me, and I hope you’ll find it just as exciting!
🕯️ I’ve just released a brand-new, fully rewritten hint system for the Forsaken Souls puzzle book, covering all 102 puzzles.
It’s been more than a year since the Forsaken Souls Puzzle Book came into the world, and it still means a great deal to me that you helped make it possible.
These new hints start slowly, offering gentle nudges step by step, and eventually lead all the way to the final answer, if you choose to go that far.
When I created my Print & Play Escape Room series a few months ago, I built an online hint system to guide players; gradually, cleanly, and spoiler-free until you're ready to see the solution. I was so happy with how it turned out, I decided to go back and bring that same experience to the puzzle book.
And so, nearly 1.5 years after the book campaign ended, I spent a few dozen hours carefully rewriting the entire hint system from scratch.
Each puzzle now includes an average of 13 hints per puzzle, three times more than those found inside the book. They gently lead you from early nudges all the way to full solutions - only if you need them. Each hint is carefully thought in order to provide just the smallest help needed for getting you unstuck; there are even puzzles with as much as 25 separate hints.
And yes, the hint system is fully mobile-friendly, spoiler-protected, and open to everyone.
What’s different from the original system?
Many of you may remember that the book included an embedded hint system, but:
It offered only a few short nudges per puzzle
It included no final solutions
It required a lot of work to even access each hint (index tables, concatenated chunks, etc.)
This new system is:
✅ Super easy to access ✅ Much more complete ✅ Still spoiler-freeuntil you choose otherwise
Why this matters
I’ve heard from a few players that many of the puzzles in the book were quite tough. I understand - they were meant to be challenging… but I know how frustrating it can feel to be stuck with only little support.
So whether you put the book aside, finished it halfway, or even solved it all and want to revisit, I hope this new system makes the experience smoother, fairer, and more rewarding.
If you do try it out, I’d genuinely love to hear your feedback.
Please note that I’ve done my own QA, but this update was a huge effort for me, more than I expected to pour into the book this far down the road.If you catch anything off, please send me an email at contact [at] solarwindpublishing.com and I'll patch it up.
What’s next?
You may have seen that I recently launched two Forsaken Souls escape room games - but that’s not all. I’ve already started work on the next title in the series.
Is it another book? Another escape game? Something else entirely? Let’s just say... it’s quietly consuming my thoughts, in the best possible way. I've already created a few dozen pages of material, and I'm honestly thrilled about where this is heading!
If you’d like to get early updates, behind-the-scenes notes, and even exclusive free puzzles in the future:
Thank you once again for supporting the puzzle book that started it all.
With gratitude, Dimitris
🧩 Hidden Ward vs Cursed Artifact - Which One Will Pull You In?
8 months ago
– Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 04:47:27 PM
Hi everyone,
If you enjoyed the original Forsaken Souls Puzzle Book, and even if you haven't still finished all the puzzles, the two new escape room gameseach offer a very different experience; and both carry echoes of the universe you already know.
With just over two days left in the campaign, here’s a closer look at how Hidden Ward and Cursed Artifact compare:
🔐 Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward
🕰 Set in 1933 🏚 Location: The abandoned Hawksley Infirmary 💡 Tone: Atmospheric and unsettling 🧠 Difficulty: 7.5/10 🎧 Includes 10 minutes of optional narration and video 🧩 Why it’s familiar: This is a direct continuation of the puzzle book's world; the same detective, the same haunting location, and yes... Dr Ziegler's voice still lingers in the dark.
🎼 Forsaken Souls: Cursed Artifact
🕰 Set in 1927 🏰 Location: Finch Estate 💡 Tone: Gothic, layered, and emotionally charged 🧠 Difficulty: 8/10 🎧 Includes 14 minutes of optional narration and video 🧩 Why it’s different: This is a standalone mystery; a family legacy with secrets of its own. A new setting, a new atmosphere, and new horrors to uncover. But... you know who somehow still manages to be part of all this in the shadows? You got it.. it's Dr Ziegler.
🎁 97% of backers have chosen the combo tiers; a clear sign that most players want the full experience that includes both games.
If you’ve played the original puzzle book, you’ll find that these new games offer a more balanced experience, targeted to all audiences.
The book was intentionally very challenging; a dense, layered puzzle journey meant for solo immersion. By contrast, Hidden Ward and Cursed Artifact are built for clarity and flow, making them perfect for puzzle nights, small groups, or a rewarding solo session that doesn’t require weeks of solving.
If you haven't joined yet, now’s the time. Both games are nearly complete, designed to be played at home, and rich with story, puzzles, and immersive atmosphere.
As for the story, it is really a deep continuation of the universe you witnessed in the puzzle book:
Dr Ziegler is connected to everything - his story goes far, both in the past and the future.
Forsaken Souls: Print & Play Escapes is the closest thing to a real escape room, played at home.
Check out the campaign while it's still live - just 60 hours left!
How a Family Escape Room Sparked Forsaken Souls (It Had Mummies!)
8 months ago
– Tue, Jul 01, 2025 at 03:07:20 PM
Hi everyone,
I thought I’d share a little backstory with you.
About a year into the creation of the Forsaken Souls puzzle book, there was this:
A handcrafted escape room I made in August 2023, using paper scraps, markers, glue sticks, and whatever else we had lying around. It was an Egypt-themed mystery game designed for my family, created in just a few days. My two daughters and nephew even helped prepare some of the clues.
I had no idea back then where it would lead. But something clicked.
I loved creating the puzzles, thinking through physical space constraints, paper limitations and opportunities, and the needs of players of very different ages and experience levels; from total beginners to seasoned solvers. I loved seeing them search, think, solve, collaborate, cheer. The tension of a well-placed clue. The thrill of following a trail that leads to an obvious solution.
This tiny homebrew escape eventually sparked the journey that became the Forsaken Souls escapes.
When I showed the game to a good friend, he saw how excited I was describing the experience. He casually, but seriously, said: “Why not make a commercial printable escape?”
That is the moment I knew I wanted to explore this medium seriously. To push it. To build better puzzles, richer stories, and truly immersive experiences; ones that feel like real escape rooms, even if they’re just made from paper and tape. Games anyone could print at home and step into another world.
Shortly after finishing fulfillment for the puzzle book, I began working on the escapes. Expanding the Forsaken Souls universe felt like a natural next step. I wanted to go deeper into the lore, the psychological tension, the atmosphere, the characters. The background story I had created - much more than what’s revealed in the book - made it easy for me to branch into new adventures for Detective Reed.
👉 If you’re curious where that little paper escape led, I’d love for you to see the latest chapter: two story-driven escape room games you can print and play at home; still very much handmade, but bigger in every way.
Thank you again for helping bring that journey to life. 🙏
Warmly, Dimitris
P.S. If some of the clues look like Greek you… that’s because they are! everything was made so that my Greek family could play.
And yes, that prototype had really cool 3D clues, like those two cubes and that pyramid. I was very tempted to add clues like this in the Forsaken Souls escapes, but figured it would be too much for Game Masters to prep! Still, never say never.
That escape even had actors. Or, to be more accurate... human props. I wrapped the three kids with toilet paper and they pretended to be mummies. They even had a clue written on their toe nails. Honestly, getting them to lie still on the bed and not reveal their clue for ten full minutes might have been the hardest part of my Game Master performance!
💡 A Better Way to Get Hints (and a Big Idea for the Puzzle Book) 💡
8 months ago
– Fri, Jun 27, 2025 at 04:24:36 PM
Hello dear backers,
I’ve built a brand-new progressive online hint system for the Forsaken Souls escape room games, and it works beautifully. ✅ Fast and painless ✅ No spoilers ✅ One clue at a time ✅ Up to 15 steps before the final answer
💡 I’m now considering making a similar system for the puzzle book as well; something smoother, faster, and easier to use than the offline system.
👉 See the new hint system in action - it’s part of the Forsaken Souls Escapes campaign, which by the way got funded in under 48 hours! Huge thanks to all of all of you who've have already backed my new project! 🙏
You’ll find the “Hint System” section midway down the new campaign page. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
The full story:
When I released the Forsaken Souls puzzle book, I designed a fully offline hint system using index numbers and sentence fragments. It worked, and it was purposefully made that way so you wouldn’t need internet access.
But I also heard from some of you that it could be… a little frustrating. Which is totally fair.
So in the new Forsaken Souls escape room games, I tried something different: A progressive web-based hint system that gives you one gentle nudge at a time, with no spoilers unless you ask for them. The final hint shows the answer only if you request it, and there’s a spoiler warning right before that.
The result? A faster, smoother, more immersive way to play.
📸 I even made a GIF showing how it works. Here’s a sneak peek of the hint system, but the real magic is on the new campaign page.
Now that this system is built, I’m seriously considering adding it to the original Forsaken Souls Puzzle Book, as an optional way to get hints without jumping through hoops.
⁉️ Would that be something you'd find useful?
And if you haven’t yet checked out the escape room games:
👉 The new Forsaken Souls campaign is live now It’s a standalone escape room experience, but built in the same world of Forsaken Souls; the one you helped bring to life. The puzzles are easier than those in the book, making them a perfect fit for a fun evening with family or friends.
Thank you again for all your support. This world wouldn’t exist without you.
Warmly, Dimitris
🚀 New Escape Room Games Launched - The Forsaken Souls Mystery Continues 🚀
9 months ago
– Wed, Jun 18, 2025 at 06:29:48 AM
Dear backers,
Thanks to your amazing support, Forsaken Souls is back! Not with another book this time, but with two fully immersive Print & Play escape room games.
Step into a thrilling Victorian mystery you can play at home, filled with handcrafted puzzles, immersive video cutscenes, and a spoiler-free hint system.
📸 Here’s what to expect:
🧩 Two unique, stand-alone escape games 🎧 Video cutscenes with narration and music 🕯️ Story-driven puzzles you can set up with simple props 🖨️ Print and play - no shipping required 👥 Up to 6 players - one flat price
🖋️ Crafted entirely by one creator with love; every puzzle, drawing, and story.
📅 Project Status:
✅ Game & website completed ✅ Animated cutscenes done 🧪 Final playtesting underway 📂 Files will be delivered via BackerKit shortly after the campaign ends
🎁 Early Bird Discount There's an Early Bird bundle available now: both games for a discounted price. Grab it while it's still available!
