The Cursed Caravan
This escape room is in tents.
Location: Woburn, Massachusetts
Date Played: December 15, 2018
Team size: up to 6; we recommend 3-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $28 per player
Ticketing: Public
REA Reaction
North Shore Escape balanced mystical cheesiness with a gritty homemade mystique. The Cursed Caravan came together into far more than the sum of its parts.
The Cursed Caravan was designed as a popup game… that never popped down. While this was evident in its construction, the silly vibe, unusual story, solid puzzles, and fantastic flow made it work.
We really enjoyed this escape room. If you’re looking to experience the stranger, more creative side of the escape room world, and can appreciate that good game design doesn’t require a large budget or fancy props… visit The Cursed Caravan.
Who is this for?
- Story seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Any experience level
Why play?
- A fortune teller’s tent is a fun gamespace
- Solid puzzles
Story
A strange fortune teller had set up shop and squatted in an escape room business venue. The owner had asked us to investigate her tent and see if we could dig up some dirt that he could use to evict her.
Setting
We entered a tent just off of North Shore Escape’s lobby. The space was essentially a tent made of bedding. By some force of will and smart theme selection, it worked remarkably well.
The Cursed Caravan had been originally designed as a temporary game, but it had stayed on.
Gameplay
North Shore Escape’s The Cursed Caravan was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ The story was interesting. There was a lot to follow, but it paid off.
➕The Cursed Caravan was well themed as a fortune teller’s tent. The eclectic mix of wall hangings and tchotchkes felt at home in the environment. It was an inspired thematic choice for a low-budget escape room.
➖ Although the tent looked appropriately fortune teller-esque, it also looked less than stable. We worried about accidentally breaking the set, props, or tech. The construction lacked refinement.
➕ The game flowed well. It was a small space, but we were able to move freely around it, rather than linearly through it, which made it feel bigger than it was.
➕ North Shore Escape balanced searching and puzzling to prevent late-game hangups. The puzzle flow was laid out such that we’d find puzzle elements before we needed them. Thus the puzzle solves moved more quickly. It was elegant design.
➕/➖ The tech looked clunky. This kind of worked. We could interpret it as weird fortune teller magic. At the same time, it felt like messy craftsmanship.
➖ Tech opens needed to pop. Especially when we’re being careful with a delicate set (and at one point we even encountered a “do not pull” sign), it would go a long way if “magical” opens were always evident.
➕ The story was available in readings and played as audio recordings. We appreciated that each player could take it in the way that worked for them.
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot around back.
- We recommend Cilantro Thai & Vietnamese Cuisine for a nearby meal.
Book your hour with North Shore Escape’s The Cursed Caravan, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: North Shore Escape comped our tickets for this game.
