Update 11/22/22: If you enjoy The Heist, we hope you’ll check out our interview with The Escape Game CEO and Co-Founder Mark Flint on The Reality Escape Pod.
The art of the steal.
Location: Orlando, FL
Date played: November 11, 2016
Team size: 2-7; we recommend 4-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $32 per ticket
Story & setting
In this counter-heist, we were stealing back a stolen painting.
Of the four games we played at The Escape Game Orlando, The Heist had the least exciting setting. It looked like an art gallery and a gallery doesn’t have the same dramatic allure as a spaceship, gold mine, or prison. That said, this was one of the more compelling art galleries we’ve seen. By that I mean that it actually looked like an art gallery.
While there was a hint of story, The Heist was mission-centric and straightforward.
Puzzles
The Heist was a puzzle lover’s room escape. There was a lot to find and a lot of solve.
The puzzles were primarily of an older design style. To that end, we saw some common tropes, but each was well executed.
Standouts
The Heist surprised us. We weren’t anticipating one particularly neat early-game interaction.
There were cleverly hidden moments of escalation and The Heist managed to steer far from our early game expectations.
Shortcomings
Some of the search-heavy early puzzles became tedious, which may have been amplified in this particular case because we were only two players at the tail end of a escape room marathon.
The lock variety and cluing led to a fair amount of trying combinations in many different locks before the right one released.
We encountered a group of puzzle components that had become rather smelly over time. These were not fun to handle.
Should I play The Escape Game Orlando’s Heist?
The Heist was designed for puzzlers. There was a lot to do.
The set didn’t hold the same allure as some of The Escape Game Orlando’s other offerings. Because of this, The Heist didn’t feel as exciting as the others, but eventually escalated to a more dramatic conclusion.
After playing four games back-to-back with The Escape Game Orlando, we’d noticed some trends in the puzzles and interaction design. While many of these patterns differentiated them from others in the industry, unless they innovate, over time their repeat customers will be able to read their designs.
While The Heist followed common themes, it still managed to defy our expectations.
Book your hour with The Escape Game Orlando’s Heist, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Note that we played the original version of this game, but The Escape Game Orlando is updating it in each of their locations in early 2017.
Full disclosure: The Escape Game Orlando comped our tickets for this game.
