Heist Heist Baby is an audio escape game created by Trapped Puzzle Rooms in St. Paul, MN.
Format
Style of Play: audio escape game
Required Equipment: computer with internet connection
You’ll need to sign up for a free Discord account if you don’t already have one.
Recommended Team Size: 4-6
Play Time: about an hour
Price: $15 per person, with a 3 ticket minimum
Booking: book for a specific time slot
Description
This is an audio game played over Discord. It is played via voice chat, and uses pictures sent by the game host. Each user had their own stream of pictures to use – open, enlarge, go back to – independent of the rest of the team.
Hivemind Review Scale
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The Lone Puzzler’s Reaction
Very lighthearted and fun group game – audio descriptions interlaced with key pictures of the environment allowed for a free-flowing adventure. Not a really challenging or difficult game – more of a fun with distant friends game. It did not have the feel of a race against time – more of a “what fun thing will happen next.” The gamemaster was very experienced and had the ability to adapt to the team’s desires to “explore” the space in any way they wanted – even if they wanted to do something silly to “see what might happen.” If you want an enjoyable hour playing more for fun, this is a game for you. If it remains active, it will be something that remote friends could enjoy even if physical games are available.
Joel Smileypeacefun Reaction
As a visual person, I wasn’t sure how much I would like an audio escape room. Sidenote: I loved it.
At its best, the gamemaster was brilliant. He had a crisp clear audio signal (via Discord) and was in the chat 15 minutes prior to help with any technical questions. He was enthusiastic and told an engaging and funny story. He left room for our creative ideas and let us build our own characters, but cleverly made sure we were staying on track. The puzzles were logical and nothing seemed far fetched. Also, some charmingly crafted drawings of the rooms help us to navigate.
At its worst, the other players’ audio quality reached from mediocre to almost not understandable, which made it hard to communicate amongst us. But this is obviously entirely our fault.
In the end, it’s all about what you make of it. How willing you are to play a character and use your imagination are key to how much fun you will have.
Cara Mandel’s Reaction
Heist Heist Baby first and foremost gets points for its delightful name. With a name that good, you’d have to hope the experience will be equally enjoyable and thankfully, it was. I’ll admit, the concept of an audio escape room had me a bit concerned at first but ultimately I found the format quite enjoyable and a fresh change of pace. Our game took place over Discord using audio chat with occasional visual clues delivered to us through the chat window. I was surprised by how immersed in the storyline I was, considering the lo-fi nature of the game. Add to that our team’s willingness to role-play and get a little silly and it made for a very enjoyable experience overall. Was it a particularly challenging game? No. But was it a fun one? For our team, it sure was! Gather your group of RPG-loving friends and have yourself an audio adventure!
Tammy McLeod’s Reaction
This was a fun little audio adventure, with a cute art style. Mark ran our game and he was a wonderful host. He gave us gentle hints at appropriate times, and kept the game on track when we suggested crazy ideas. I enjoyed the puzzles, though it might have been interesting to try more creative solutions to some of the game obstacles (which other teams have done, according to Mark.)
Theresa Piazza’s Reaction
With Heist Heist Baby, Trapped Puzzle Rooms continued to iterate on their audio-based escape rooms and used their medium, Discord, to their advantage. I enjoyed Herbert’s Laboratory when I played it a few months back, and Trapped Puzzle Rooms has clearly put more work into their games between then and now. The hint system is integrated with the in-game role playing, allowing the gamemaster to control game pacing in a way that is invisible to players. If you’re itching for a casino heist but still stuck at home, I recommend Heist Heist Baby.
Disclosure: Trapped Puzzle Rooms provided the Hivemind reviewers with a complimentary play.