“Malus the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”
Location: Lakewood, NJ
Date Played: January 27, 2018
Team size: up to 5; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $22 per ticket
REA Reaction
One month late, we happily embraced the spirit of Locks and Puzzles’ charming Christmas escape room. Malus the Elf was a challenging puzzle-driven escape room. It could have benefitted from a little more drama, but it offered excellent puzzle value.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- Christmas aficionados
- Players with a least some experience
Why play?
- The Christmas spirit
- Challenging puzzles
Story
When Santa rejected Malus the Elf’s request to become a toymaker, the mischievous elf became determined to prove the big guy wrong. Malus created a series of puzzles and toys to show Santa what he could do, but in order to secure Santa’s attention, he also stole something that Santa would need to do his job.
Could we puzzle through Malus’ game and help Santa save Christmas?
Setting
Malus the Elf was a puzzle-focused game set in a small room within Santa’s workshop. The set felt like a festive dungeon with most of the scenery either painted or hung on the walls.
While it wasn’t an awe-inspiring room, it was a well-themed, cleanly executed setting with some playful details.
Gameplay
Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles. Malus really liked puzzles. This was a challenging game that required a fair amount of deduction to piece the right components together, and then a bit more to work through to the correct conclusion.
There were no gimme puzzles in Malus the Elf.
Standouts
Malus the Elf was a charming Christmas-themed adventure. Locks and Puzzles used simple props to create a cozy, winter-dungeonland theme.
Malus the Elf offered serious puzzles. These were balanced with other less complex puzzles, but none of them were cakewalks. The puzzling worked well.
We enjoyed the ending. It was on the nose, but it wasn’t as straightforward as it had originally appeared to be.
Locks and Puzzles have a great game for their price point, which makes it easy to recommend Malus the Elf to puzzle-minded players.
Shortcomings
Malus the Elf lacked a clear starting place. The most inviting props and set pieces weren’t in play yet and the initial puzzle was relatively complex. We recommend that Locks and Puzzles start players more gently so that teams are engaged before they stall.
One puzzle seemed a bit too ambiguous. It was layered – which was cool – but it wasn’t clued quite clearly enough.
Malus the Elf was emotionally level. It lacked a story arc as well as a surprising or climactic moment that could deliver an emotional rush to the puzzlers.
Tips for Visiting
- Locks and Puzzles has ample parking available out front.
- There are ample food options nearby.
Book your hour with Locks and Puzzles’ , and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Locks and Puzzles provided media discounted tickets for this game.
