Got stuck playing Dear Santa?

You may get stuck at some point while playing Dear Santa. No problem, it happens to the best of us.

On this page you will find the answers to all your questions. However, we recommend you don’t look for answers right away, because then you may rush through the game too quickly and that would be a shame. After all, it is a puzzle game and getting stuck every now and then is a part of the fun. So these hints are just for those times where you really can’t figure it out by yourself.

Contents of the box
If, after reading the hints, you feel that an object is missing from the game, you can check if that’s the case here.

If you don’t have that feeling, then read no further to avoid spoilers!

Box:

  • Letter from DPP
  • Introductory letter from Julian with photo of Julian and his dog.
  • Flyer Missing Person Network
  • Drawing by Julian

Envelope – Chapter 1:

  • Letter from Julian
  • Postcard
  • Letter from Henry in a torn envelope
  • Golden envelope with lottery ticket
  • Torn page from a magazine
  • Seating arrangement
  • Photo of grandma
  • Photo of Kevin and TJ on their first date
  • Photo of Charles and Catherine expecting a baby

Envelope – Chapter 2:

  • Letter from Julian
  • Photo of Julian as Sherlock Holmes
  • Insurance letter
  • Square map
  • Beer coaster
  • Train ticket
  • Wish list with green ribbon around it

Envelope – Chapter 3:

  • Letter from Julian
  • Christmas card
  • Torn letter from mother in envelope
  • 4 Different photos of father and mother traveling
  • Photo of Julian in the pool
  • Photo of father and baby Julian
  • Countdown calendar

At the bottom of the box:

  • Photo collage board
  • Card with QR code that takes you to this page.

Each DarkPark Home Adventure is assembled by hand with the utmost care. Nevertheless, something may unexpectedly be missing from the game, it happens. If it turns out that this is the case for you, you can reach us at: hello@darkpark.com

We will fix it for you as soon as possible.

START OF THE GAME

START OF THE GAME

Where do we start?
Start with the top document and work your way down.

Make sure you don’t open the envelopes until you get a sign that you may.

So investigate the first 4 documents first.

Hint 1
Maybe there’s a website you can visit?
Hint 2
Julian wrote something on the back of the flyer.
Where can I find the password?
What do you always do when you’ve forgotten a password?

Could you maybe get a hint on The Missing Person Network’s website?

Answers to log into the website - BEWARE, SPOILERS!
As you can read in Julian’s letter, he has created an account on www.missingperson.network

He’s entered his username on the back of the flyer: Julian

He has forgotten the password, but if you click on ‘Forgot your password?’ on the website, you get a hint.

On the back of the photo of Julian and his dog you can see that his pet’s name is ‘Buddy’.

This is the password.

Where can I find the answers to the questions about mother's description?
Take another good look at the drawing Julian made of the family.
Answers to the mother's description questions - BEWARE, SPOILERS!
Gender: Female
Skin color: White
Hair length: Medium length
Hair colour: Blonde
Eye color: Brown
Body length: Medium
External characteristics: Glasses
Can I open the first envelope now?
You may open the first envelope as soon as this appears on your screen: Chapter I – Christmas 2018

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

What's the password?

Hint 1
To solve this puzzle you will need the lottery ticket and the page torn from a magazine.
Hint 2
By answering the questions in the article on the magazine page you will find out how Carol found the winning lottery numbers.

However, two more numbers are circled. Do you think Julian might have done that?

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!
If you cross out all the numbers Carol has entered to win the lottery, you will be left with two numbers. These together form the password.

These numbers are (from left to right): 86154

Henry's letter

Hint 1
What could Henry mean by: ‘There are things unseen, hidden by the Queen’?

Which Queen is he talking about?

Hint 2
Examine the outside of the envelope that contained Henry’s letter.
Hint 3
Certain letters are underlined in Henry’s letter, but if you put them one after the other, no logical sentence comes out.

There’s a hint below the stamp on the envelope that you can apply to the letters.

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!
Under the stamp on the letter it says: ‘+4’.

If you move four letters forwards starting from each letter that is underlined and put all of the letters you end up at in a row, you get the sentence:

I have some dirt on Chris.

What do I do with this answer?
You don’t have to enter this answer anywhere, it’s just a part of the story.

Seating arrangement

Hint 1
You will find extra hints to solve this puzzle on the small photos.
Hint 2
Is TJ a woman or a man?
Hint 3
Rudolph, TJ and the empty chair for Margot are all on the right, by the window. So there’s 1 chair left on that side.
Hint 4
Julian sits alone at the head of the table and his aunt Sophia sits next to him, but not on the side where Uncle Rudolph sits.
Hint 5
Henry sits between two women and not on the right side of the table by the window, because there’s only one seat left there.
Seating arrangement answers - BEWARE, SPOILERS!
On top, Charles sits on the left and Catherine on the right.

TJ sits next to Catherine on the right side of the table, next to that is Rudolf and next to that is an empty chair. Chris sits next to the empty chair.

Julian sits alone at the head of the table, at the bottom of the drawing.

Next to Julian, Sophia sits on the left side of the table and next to that sits Henry.

Next to Henry sits Carol and, finally, Kevin sits between Carol and Charles.

Family

Full name of Missing Person
Julian’s mother is missing and her name is Carol Dickens as can be read on the envelope with Henry’s letter.
Child
Carol’s child is called Julian.
Husband
In Henry’s letter you can read that Carol has a relationship with Chris.
Mother
In the seating arrangement puzzle you find out that Margot is no longer alive. There’s a cross and a date of death on the back of the photo with ‘mom’ written in Carol’s handwriting. So Carol’s mother is called ‘Margot’.
Oldest brother
The seating arrangement shows that Charles is Carol’s eldest brother.
Aunt
The seating arrangement shows that Sophia is Carol’s aunt.
Youngest brother
The seating arrangement shows that Kevin is Carol’s youngest brother.
Sister in law
The seating arrangement shows that Catherine is in a relationship with Charles and, as such, is Carol’s sister-in-law.
Uncle
The seating arrangement shows that Rudolf is Carol’s uncle.

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

What's the password?

Hint 1

Julian gives the hint: red, blue, orange, green, pink

Is there a document in this chapter that includes those colors?

Hint 2

Look at it line by line.

Hint 3

If you put the letters in the correct order line by line according to the colors that Julian has given as a hint, written out numbers will appear.

Example: Eight (8)

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!

The password to log in to the ‘Locations’ category is: 3829105

City map

Hint 1

For this puzzle you need the map and the beer coaster.

Hint 2

The beer coaster shows that Carol has visited some locations on foot and some locations by car.

On the map’s legend you can see how much distance someone can travel in a certain amount of time per foot and per car.

Hint 3

Some routes lead past a location that Carol has already visited.

Hint 4

Carol’s route passes Berwick College first.

Locations

The city where Carol lives

The envelope of Henry’s letter in chapter 1 shows that Carol lives in London.

Dream vacation location

The postcard from chapter 1 shows that Carol would love to go to Fiji.

Residence of Carol's aunt

The train ticket from chapter 2 states that Julian was traveling to ‘Portsmouth and Southsea’ when he went to visit his Aunt Sophia.

School

If you solve the puzzle with the map you will find out that Carol is taking her son to Berwick College.

Gym

If you solve the puzzle with the map you will find out that Carol works out at ‘Palmer Pilatus’.

Library

If you solve the puzzle with the map you will find out that Carol borrows her books from ‘Churchill Library’.

Store

If you solve the puzzle with the map you will find out that Carol likes to shop at ‘Royal Outlets’.

Bank

If you solve the puzzle with the map you will find out that Carol has her money managed by ‘Fairfield Bank’.

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Where do we start?

Maybe there’s a website you can visit?

Video 1

Hint 1

What does mother mean by ‘a secret on the inside’?

Hint 2

Examine the inside of the envelope.

Hint 3

The drawing on the inside of the envelope depicts a flower, do you see similar flowers elsewhere?

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!

Mother has drawn flowers on the corners of her farewell letter.

There’s an image in the shape of an arrow on the inside of the envelope. If you follow this arrow on the letter from mother you will find the correct order of the numbers of drawn flowers.

So the code is: 5423

(Or 4532 if you turn the sticker upside down. That code works too)

Video 2

Hint 1

Chapter two contained Julian’s rolled-up wish list. He has hidden a puzzle in it.

There is also a hint on the back of his wish list.

Hint 2

The green ribbon around Julian’s wish list features numbers and an asterisk.

Hint 3

You also need the drawings on the back of the train ticket to solve this puzzle.

Keep in mind that the train ticket has been torn off.

Hint 4

You can use the green ribbon as a measuring tape.

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!

If you place the asterisk on the green ribbon on the asterisk at the beginning of the presents on Julian’s wish list, the asterisk that’s written at the end of each item will end up with a number.

The train ticket has four drawings that correspond to presents that Julian asks for. With this you can determine the four digits you need for the code and also find out the sequence.

So the code is: 4132

Video 3

Hint 1

At the end of the second video from mom, you get a few sequences of snow crystals as a clue.

Is there a part in chapter 3 where you find those same snow crystals?

Hint 2

In the image with the snow crystals at the end of the video of mother there are 5 lines.

The order of the snow crystals in each individual line is important.

Hint 3

It may help to use a marker when looking for the right snow crystals on mom’s Christmas card.

Hint 4

If you connect the snow crystals on the Christmas card in the correct order per line, a letter will show up every time.

You’re looking for 5 letters in total, because there are 5 lines.

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!

If you keep connecting the snow crystals on the Christmas card as they are in mother’s example at the end of video 2, you will find 5 letters.

These letters together form the word: PROUD

Video 4

Hint 1

There’s a piece of cardboard at the very bottom of the box on which mother has made a photo collage of the family. It’s just that all the pictures have been lost over the years.

Fortunately, Julian found them in his search for clues.

But which photo belongs where?

Hint 2

In the top row, all photos of family members are listed in chronological order.

So the photo taken the longest ago will be on the far left and the newest photo will be on the far right.

Hint 3

Mother and father’s 4 holiday photos are in the middle row.

The flags on the collage board indicate in which order the photos should be.

Africa, Italy, France, China.

Hint 4

Julian’s four photo’s go in the bottom row.

Mother made four drawings to indicate the sequence of the photos.

Christmas tree, water, magnifying glass, dog

Hint 5

Don’t forget to add an exclamation mark after the phrase you find in the photo collage.

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!

If all the photos are in the right place and you read the letters on them in order, you get the sentence:

I will never leave you.

Don’t forget to add an exclamation mark.

Now you have the password for the last video.

Phone number

Hint 1

What could mother mean by ‘How many days until Christmas?’?

Is there perhaps another part in the chapter 3 envelope that this could be about?

Hint 2

Mother made a small drawing on the back of the advent calendar.

Hint 3

Take a good look at the four videos of mother.

Hint 4

Mother wears a different Christmas sweater in each video.

Each sweater has a figure that you can find on the advent calendar.

Answer - BEWARE, SPOILER!

If you look for the four figures from mother’s Christmas sweaters on the advent calendar, you will find the numbers that make up the telephone number you need to enter at www.missingperson.network

The telephone number is: 1411824