October 1; the articles presented the game's plot and contained anti-piracy safeguard information, self-referential humour and an advertisement for future release Teenagent, a tiny crossword puzzle, and secret codes for use in the game. Tajemnica Statuetki became the company's premiere title. Metropolis Software posted advertisements throughout industry magazines. One issue of Secret Service contained a review that included an interview with the authors, a competition, and an advertisement. Competition entrants could win computer equipment and books. The team also advertised in the press. Geezmo thought the game's commercial success was largely due to a "deliberate, well-thought-out media campaign" that included the sale of CDs attached to a popular magazine. Sales of the game exceeded the estimates of IPS and the creators' expectations. Chmielarz sold between 4,000 and 6,000 copies by mail at a time when moving just 1,000 or 2,000 units was considered a major achievement. With the profits of the initial sales, Chmielarz was able to run Metropolis Software for two years without financial difficulty. Western hits had rarely achieved such level of sales. The market was also still dominated by rampant piracy. At a time where democracy and capitalism were being introduced to Poland, and in which The Software Protection Act was coming into effect in 1994, players were not used to paying high amounts for original games. Polish developers had become accustomed to players pirating their games and continued to spend months on titles despite little return. According to Chmielarz, the main reason for this cultural landscape was the commodity exchange he himself came from; he was very critical about pirates, particularly those who had tried to hack his game. Despite being frequently pirated, a sizable number of units were sold legally. SS-NG (Secret Service - Next Generation) puts Tajemnica Statuetki success in a piracy-prone market to it being reasonably cheap and comparable in quality to English-language adventure games. Reception Writing and plot Tajemnica Statuetkis plot and writing were highly praised; according to Video Games Around the World, its overall positive reception was mostly due to the strength of its script. Gry Online praised the "greatly realized scenario" that held up the narrative while Gra.pl said the best element of the game was its plot and MiastoGier said the game's engaging story outweighs its negatives. GameDot said the title "still surprises with its brilliance in the description of the surroundings and the structure of dialogues (very modeled