At the time of this review, Time Emporium was called Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms and Puzzler’s Underground Chambers of Time was called Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery.
Puzzle me this.
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Date Played: September 6, 2019
Team size: up to 10; we recommend 5-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $28 per player
Ticketing: Public
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery was a sprawling frenzy of puzzles and adventure.
The massive gamespace had been designed by a scenic painter who took the opportunity to give each of the many chambers a unique look and feel.
In a lot of ways, this was a traditional lock-and-key escape room. It was, however, exceptionally big, and made smart use of the large space. Additionally, instead of complex puzzles, we encountered wave after wave of quicker solves.
Our knocks against Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery were mostly centered on low lighting and an ending that didn’t adequately pull together this delightful experience.
Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms imbued their first escape game with an undeniable energy that we couldn’t get enough of. We absolutely recommend Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery if you’re near Fort Collins.
Who is this for?
- Adventure seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Any experience level
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
- High-energy, puzzle-driven gameplay
- Great scenic painting
- A massive, sprawling set
Story
Over the generations, puzzle shrines dedicated to an ancient, mischievous trickster spirit known by many different names to different cultures had been found all over the world.
One such shrine to “The Puzzler” had been uncovered beneath a building in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Setting
Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery was physically massive with tons of different chambers to explore.
From a construction and technology standpoint, this experience was fairly typical. The folks behind Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms, however, have a background in scenic paining, which they put to wonderful use. Each of the many chambers had a decidedly different look and feel.
Gameplay
Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms’ Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling.
Analysis
➕ Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery was a sprawling gamespace. It was exciting to continually open up more of the environment. Behind every door, there was more adventure.
➕ Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery had a solid on-ramp. It taught us how to interact with the space before it set us loose in it.
➕ The set looked good. It was varied. Each space felt different, by design. We also enjoyed the soundtrack, especially the frenzied music.
➖ The setting was overly dim. We needed portable light sources for much of the solving. We often didn’t have enough of them, so the game became a dance of passing the lights to each other and through the different gamespaces. Some spotlit workspaces would have been a huge help.
➕ Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms built a puzzley game. There was a lot to solve, but the puzzles were largely quick hits. As soon as we had the “aha” moment, we’d be moving forward again. This made for a high-energy experience.
➖ It’s possible for this game to bind up on itself and bottleneck. We experienced some of this when one dexterity puzzle in a small space was taking us a bit too long and there wasn’t anything else for the rest of the team to do.
➖ The final puzzle was a letdown. Although the staging was great, the puzzle didn’t make any sense. Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery would have benefited from a final boss battle that pulled the experience together.
➕ There was a prize hidden in Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery!
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot.
Book your hour with Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms’ Puzzlers’ Secret Chamber of Mystery, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Legendary Adventures Escape Rooms comped our tickets for this game.
Disclosure: Our trip to Denver was sponsored by the Denver escape room community. Contributions were anonymous.
