Room Escape Artist

French Quarter House of Curiosities is one of the best games in New Orleans. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms around New Orleans/Baton Rouge.

Dat dollhouse.

Location: New Orleans, LA

Date played: October 8, 2017

Team size: up to 7; we recommend 4-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28 per ticket

Story & setting

After arriving in the French Quarter, we went to meet our friend Selma, the clerk at the local House of Curiosities shop. We found the door unlocked and our dear friend missing. Could we explore the odd store and solve the mystery of the missing Selma?

French Quarter House of Curiosities had an intricate set filled with little details and an eclectic assortment of objects, most of which factored into gameplay. Every shelf and display featured something new and different to look at. It was a charming, convincing, and entertaining environment.

Puzzles

French Quarter House of Curiosities included some phenomenal and amusing teamwork puzzles. It also included detail-orientated observational challenges and some good old-fashioned deduction.

The puzzles flowed well.

Standouts

We loved many of the puzzles in French Quarter House of Curiosities. These required teamwork and took place in large spaces, or across spaces, such that they were accessible to multiple players. It worked well.

The puzzles in French Quarter House of Curiosities were humorous. On multiple occasions, we found ourselves chuckling as we read clues, spotted Easter eggs, or solved puzzles.

Clue Carré added a lot of detail to the set. This made it all the more intriguing to explore. It was a random but beautiful aesthetic that worked.

So many of the puzzles felt especially satisfying to solve and they flowed well from one to the next.

Shortcomings

The gamespace felt uneven. While parts were meticulously designed, other areas felt much more plain. We would have loved to see the aesthetic permeate every corner and nook of the room escape.

While many of the props and set pieces helped tell a story, at times French Quarter House of Curiosities reverted to more random escape-roomy puzzles, where items connected for the sake of connection and didn’t really make sense in a larger narrative.

Should I play Clue Carré’s French Quarter House of Curiosities?

French Quarter House of Curiosities was fun, locally-themed group entertainment.

With an interesting set and strong puzzle flow, it will be approachable and entertaining for newbies, but not boring or basic for more experienced players.

Clue Carré was one of the earliest escape room companies in the United States. As the industry grows and evolves, they are progressing with it. French Quarter House of Curiosities excels in places where their earlier escape rooms struggled. It’s exciting to see this early entrant continually adapt.

Bring your curiosity to New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Book your hour with Clue Carré’s French Quarter House of Curiosities, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Clue Carré comped our tickets for this game.