That sucks so hard but that game sounds fun lol

And now you solve the mystery of why she didn't mention anything about it so far...

Even if the gifts were items from scammers, I don't see how becoming the scammers' elaborate garbage collector would be "outsmarting" them. If she got hypothetical scammers to send /her/ money, then we'd have something… "A murder at the duchess' palace has left us in need of your help… if you could send—" "Sure, but I'll need about thirty bucks for supplies." "Uh… okay, but then we'll requir—" "And food."

Aww OP, that sucks. Is the mystery part of it, supposed to be who sent it? As someone who has never heard of this kind of game, I'm kinda confused.

The Mysterious Package Company was one of the best gifts I've ever received. Her loss.

That's not your fault that she missed out on something awesome OP. I think a game like that would be pretty interesting and fun to solve.

For what it's worth, she's probably going to feel absolutely terrible when she finds out the truth.

If you didn't tell her it was part of a gift, you deserve it. I'd throw away anything that looks like junk mail also. On another note, you may be able to get a partial refund if you call the company and complain about their poor packaging.

Dunno if starting an ARG for your mother, who I doubt knows what an ARG even is, without telling her was a good idea. Still sucks though.