The Mysterious Package Company was founded back in 2013 and has since established itself as the gold standard for tabletop immersive mystery experiences. Dave Starr, Managing Director at MPC, gives us a rare peek behind the scenes at the company. He shares insights into how they craft their high-end games, touches on the evolution of their popular Puzzletember event, and addresses the resurrection of fan-favourite Hastur.
(Meet Your Maker is an interview series featuring creators of puzzle and mystery games and experiences from across the globe. We aim to shine a spotlight on both established creators and those who are just setting out on their journey. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.)
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m Dave Starr, Managing Director at The Mysterious Package Company. I run the day-to-day of the studio. I first joined through a deep love of narrative games as Creative Director, and in 2020, I started The Curious Correspondence Club, which I oversaw throughout the pandemic. I was later brought back into MPC, where my focus now spans creative development, production, and business strategy; essentially making sure the stories we tell are as compelling in concept as they are in execution.
My background is rooted in immersive storytelling and design, put to action across various industries. I’ve always had a passion for creating experiences people can get immersed in, and after a stint in the media industry, I moved over to gaming. I’ve been fortunate to work on everything from large-scale narrative puzzle experiences to intricate mail-based adventures, always with the goal of sparking that sense of wonder and discovery.
For the uninitiated, what is The Mysterious Package Company (MPC)?
At its heart, MPC is about storytelling through mystery. We craft immersive experiences that arrive at your door: wooden crates, aged documents, and artifacts that together tell a story you live through. It’s part theatre, part puzzle, part collectable… unlike anything else. We also create more approachable tabletop escape-room (Doomensions & Curious Correspondence) and murder mystery games (Post Mortem).
Despite significant output, the MPC team is very small. How do you work together, and what does a ‘normal’ week look like?
We’re a small but mighty team, and I think that’s part of our strength. While we each have our areas of expertise, collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. Writers, designers, marketing, customer service, procurement and operations all overlap constantly.
‘Normal’ is not really a word we use that often in the studio! A week could involve story meetings, prototype testing, logistics planning, supplier calls, or prepping a launch campaign. One minute I’m reviewing narrative outlines, and the next I’m knee-deep in packaging design or figuring out international shipping workarounds. It’s wonderfully chaotic.
Your experiences feature a high level of authenticity. How much research goes into each project?
A huge amount. We approach every project like historians and world-builders rolled into one. Whether it’s a 19th-century explorer’s correspondence or a Lovecraftian investigation, the accuracy of the materials, writing tone, and design details matter immensely. We often spend months on research before a single line is written or a prop is created.
Who decides what the next project will be?
We all do. It usually starts with a round of bad ideas, internally we call it “not this, but…”. It’s a way for us to put all cards on the table without fear of ridicule; things usually grow from there. If an idea ultimately excites the whole team and warrants a collective “yeah, I’d love to play that,” it’s worth exploring. We look for concepts that feel thematically rich, tactile, and emotionally resonant. There’s also a balance between passion projects and what’s achievable within the realities of production, paired with the inevitable business realities.
Innsmouth Rising marks a welcome return to crate-style experiences. Hastur, your jewel in the crown, has also been resurrected. Why now?
Innsmouth Rising is a love letter to our roots: a deep, tactile experience steeped in myth and mystery. After exploring grandiose papercraft games, we felt it was time to bring back the crate format because it embodies what MPC does best: physical storytelling without restraint, something that feels both personal and grand. Innsmouth Rising ties into our ongoing fascination with Lovecraftian themes, but from a fresh angle fans haven’t seen before.
We’re deeply proud of Hastur; it’s an experience we poured an incredible amount of time and energy into. It’s one of those rare creations that continues to hold up, no matter when we revisit it, and we completely understand why it remains one of our most beloved products to this day. It will be identical to the original (nothing too revelatory, I’m afraid), aside from a few refinements to the supporting components.
How do shipping and production costs affect your creative process?
Honestly, it’s sort of the price of entry to what we do. We’re constantly balancing ambition with practicality. The cost of materials, international shipping, and customs has all increased for sure, but that just forces us to think more creatively.
Are you exploring ways to ship your games more affordably outside of North America?
Yes, that’s something we’re very aware of. We’ve been experimenting with lighter-weight experiences and partnerships with regional distributors. The goal is to keep the sense of immersion intact while reducing the barriers for international fans.
Doomensions and No Escape: Dead Man’s Tale both lean into paper-engineered, pop-up components. Did you leverage the expertise of your Curious Correspondence team for these projects?
Absolutely. The creative team that worked on Curious Correspondence had experience with paper-based storytelling, and that DNA runs through both projects. They are a fascinating blend of craft and engineering; they let us explore new ways of creating depth and surprise without relying on traditional props.
Paper is a beautiful medium, but it comes with constraints. The weight, durability (the tearing–oh the tearing!), print tolerances, and assembly complexity factor into what you can create. The trick is to make it feel substantial and immersive while staying efficient to produce… something we struggle with, as we’re constantly pushing the envelope on what and how much we can include.
Do you have plans to expand your deluxe murder mystery range, Post Mortem?
Yes, absolutely. The Post Mortem murder mystery line has been incredibly well-received, actually named the best murder mystery tabletop game by The New York Times’ Wirecutter earlier this year. Post Mortem allows us to experiment with shorter, more narrative experiences. We definitely have plans to continue developing that range, although it is not our focus this year.
I hear Neil Patrick Harris (Box One/Box Two) is a big MPC fan. Any talk of collaborating?
We love his enthusiasm for what we do! It’s surreal and gratifying to see someone whose work you admire, similarly enjoying your work. We’ve chatted back and forth over the years. Nothing concrete yet, but as you can imagine, he’s a very busy man. Never say never.
Puzzletember was a beloved event you ran for several years. Is it gone for good, or just on hiatus?
Puzzletember was something really close to our hearts. We were extremely fortunate during the pandemic to build a passionate audience through Curious Correspondence, and Puzzletember became our way to help other puzzle creators gain visibility and connect with players. In some ways, it ran its course; not only was it a massive undertaking during our busiest time of year, but it became increasingly difficult to organize creators as everyone’s schedules filled up post-pandemic.
That said, we’re channelling that same energy into a new event launching this holiday season: Black Market. It’s a month-long puzzle and challenge platform where participants can earn credits by solving puzzles (amongst other things), then use those credits to bid on one-of-a-kind Mysterious Package “Black Market” items during a Black Friday weekend auction. It’s strange, fun, and very us – in many ways, Puzzletember’s spiritual successor.
Note from the editor: The Black Market puzzle & challenge platform launches on 1 November. The auction opens on 28 November, aka ‘Black Friday’.
Do you play many games in your spare time?
Whenever I can, although I’ll admit to a little fatigue after creating them all week. I have a young kid, so life outside of work is delightfully full of superheroes, backyard treasure hunts, monster trucks, and playgrounds. It’s a different kind of creative chaos. Right now, I’m playing Enchanted Forest with my five-year-old – with a set of hybrid rules we made up together.
There’s so much great work happening across the indie puzzle scene right now; it’s inspiring to be part of a community that’s constantly pushing boundaries. Just opening Kickstarter these days, there’s an endless stream of incredible ideas being born.
Any final words?
We’re endlessly grateful to our community for continuing to embrace our particular brand of weirdness. Every crate, letter, pop-up or mystery we send out exists because people still want to believe in analogue discovery, and that’s what keeps us creating.
I’d encourage people to look to indie creators for gifts over the holidays (not just us, but all of them) instead of the usual big-box options. And if you can, buy directly from those companies’ websites. The end of the year is often when independents and studios build their war chest for the projects that will define the year ahead.
Thank you!
Dave and his team are hard at work fulfilling two successful Kickstarter campaigns, and most likely working on other projects behind the scenes as well. I am so grateful that he took the time to answer my questions and help shine a little light on some of the incredible work that the team do at The Mysterious Package Company.
If you haven’t played any of the MPC games, what are you waiting for? Commune with the dead in the pop-up haunted manor experience, Doomensions. Become a detective in the Post Mortem murder mystery series. Or splash out on one of the incredible crate experiences, full of puzzles, hand-crafted ephemera and captivating narratives. There is literally something for everyone!
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