Room Escape Artist

Alien Encounter is one of the best games in New Orleans. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms around New Orleans/Baton Rouge.

Update 12/27/22:

Clue Carré has made a few significant updates since we first visited:

• First, they added a new, layered puzzle in the first room. This gives players more time to take in the initial set, which is the most visually impressive.
• Second, they streamlined a puzzle with lengthy execution in the final act. This makes the gameplay flow more smoothly, and keeps energy high throughout.
• Lastly, they added a new prop, and with it a new puzzle, which gives the experience a more substantial finale.

With these changes, this is an even stronger game. We especially recommend it for newer players as experienced teams will breeze through it, but will enjoy the ride nonetheless.

Probing for puzzles

Location:  Metairie, Louisiana

Date Played: July 11, 2019

Team size: up to 10; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 45 minutes

Price: $23 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Clue Carré revved up their cool factor by quite a few notches with Alien Encounter. This low-difficulty, fast-paced escape room looked fantastic and played smoothly from start to finish.

Set within the Surge Trampoline Park (which looks like a fun attraction in its own right), Alien Encounter had been adapted for a less puzzley audience… but didn’t diminish the fun. We breezed through Alien Encounter and had a blast the whole time.

Between French Quarter House of Curiosities, The Bookie, and Alien Encounter, Clue Carré has established that it’s able to produce games that can stand out in an intensely competitive market like New Orleans. If you’re in NOLA, this should make your play list.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Sci-fi fans
• Families
• Any experience level

Why play?

• The set was cool
• The puzzles were approachable, tactile, and family friendly

Story

The year was 2060 and humanity was being pushed towards extinction by an alien species known as the Voldran. Our team had to break into one of their spacecrafts and attempt to find a weakness or way of fighting back.

Setting

We boarded an alien spacecraft that was loaded with wonderful details. This set represented a giant leap forward for Clue Carré. Aesthetically this game felt at home in New Orleans. For those who know what games tend to look like in that part of the country, this really means something.

Gameplay

Clue Carré’s Alien Encounter was a standard escape room with a low level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ Alien Encounter flowed well.

➕ It was thematically beautiful and well constructed.

➖ Some of the set could have benefited from a little extra sandpaper love. We didn’t encounter anything pointy or sharp, but parts of the ship were a little too rough to the touch for a sleek, futuristic spaceship.

➕ The tangible interactions felt great.

➖ Additional spot lighting on the more visual puzzles would have made some of the gameplay more comfortable.

➕ We love interesting, thematic doors… and this game delivered on that.

➖ The final sequence of puzzles solved well and worked fine… but it wasn’t as engaging or tactile as the earlier sequences. Additionally, it felt like there was room for a stronger narrative climax.

➕ A family-friendly approach was a great decision for the setting within the Surge Trampoline Park. (The whole place seemed like tons of fun… if you’re the kind of human who enjoys bouncing around and climbing on things. They have a giant Rubik’s Cube climbing tower!)

Tips For Visiting

• This game is located at Clue Carré’s Kenner location inside Surge Trampoline Park
• There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with Clue Carré’s Alien Encounter, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Clue Carré comped our tickets for this game.