Room Escape Artist

Houston, we’ve had a haunting.

Location: Sugar Land, TX

Date played: October 7, 2017

Team size: 2-10; we recommend 2-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $25 per ticket

Story & setting

JJ Buster, star of the psychic debunking TV show Bustered, had gone missing after attempting to prove that Madam Trousseau’s abilities were fake. His producer had hired us to track down her lost star.

The Seance was less of a seance and more of a witch’s home. We started outside of the dark abode and had to find our way in. The set was dimly lit, with a large contrast in the design of the exterior and interior environments.

While the set was dim, everyone entered with their own flashlight.

Puzzles

The Seance offered a solid array of typical escape room puzzles and mechanisms. The puzzles required searching, observation, pattern recognition, deduction, logic, and communication. The puzzles varied in interaction type. They generally became more involved over the course of the escape room.

Standouts

Escape Again created high quality, ominous introductory videos of The Seance. These were intriguing and sold the story.

There were a few dramatic, magical, and exciting set pieces, and of them, one truly stood out.

We particularly enjoyed a few of the props in the initial set. They belonged in this eerie exterior space, but they were also quite funny.

The Seance included fun and satisfying puzzles, one of which required a lot of teamwork.

Shortcomings

While we enjoyed the puzzles, we would have preferred more interwoven elements and layered connections. This would have helped involve more people in any given puzzle. We felt that all too often puzzles were seen, solved, and never enjoyed by others.

A few early puzzles seemed just a bit too random. Perhaps these work well as an introduction for new players trying to feel around for associations, but we would have liked something a bit more substantive.

While the introductory video set the scene, and a mid-game moment provided a bit more story, the narrative never built to a conclusion. The escape room felt more “voodoo” than “seance.” We were left unsure exactly what had taken place in this space, other than puzzle solving.

The quality of set pieces and props varied dramatically. In one instance, we recommend additional attention to player physical comfort given the relatively lengthy action required. In general, there was room for additional polish.

Should I play Escape Again’s The Seance?

The Seance was a solid, beginner-friendly room. The team of newbies who flooded out before our game were clearly exhilarated.

Escape Again built The Seance with a lot of love. They succeeded in creating a cohesive, approachable escape room. While some aspects of The Seance could benefit from a little more polish and cohesion, other segments were great. The intro video in particular was exceptional.

All in all, The Seance is a solid starting place for those beginning to explore escape rooms. It offers a good mix of escape room puzzles, technology and thrills without becoming impossibly difficult or terrifying.

Book your hour with Escape Again’s The Seance, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Escape Again comped our tickets for this game.