Super Squad is included in our recommendation guide for The Best Online Escape Games for Tweens and Families . For more of the best online escape games in this style, check out the recommendation guide.
Update 6/27/23: If you enjoy Super Squad we hope you’ll check out our interview with designer Mark Larson on The Reality Escape Pod.
Super Squad 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. The host is skilled in onboarding new players.
Recommended Team Size: 3-6
Play Time: about an hour
Price: $15 per person, with a 3-ticket minimum
Booking: book for a specific time slot
Description
Trapped Puzzle Rooms offers spoken-word, Dungeons & Dragons-esque gameplay with some supplemental art. The host told the story, the players reacted to the world, and the host explained the ramifications of those actions. The more imaginative and willing to play the team was, the more the group got out of the experience.
Hivemind Review Scale
Read more about our Hivemind Review format.
Theresa W’s Reaction
If you’ve ever talked to me about virtual escape rooms, it’s no secret, I’m a massive fan of Super Squad. I’ve recommended this game to every single person that’s asked what game to play in quarantine. Now, even after 100+ virtual games, Super Squad still has such a special place in my heart.
Now you may be asking, Theresa, why this game!? Well! I’m here to tell you that you get to actually be a superhero. For a full hour. If that doesn’t sell you, know that Trapped Puzzle Rooms truly took the medium and capitalized on their capabilities — an audio-based room can be as extravagant as your mind can fathom. Their take on the concept was incredibly unique, allowing each player to gain superpowers and use them to solve puzzles. The story was cute and immersive, forcing the players to think and be in character for the duration of the game.
Trapped Puzzle Rooms never fails to produce beautiful visuals for their games, and Super Squad is no exception. The art really adds another level of immersion while enhancing the puzzles. Our group always has a blast getting fully in-character and stretching the skills of the gamemaster’s improv to the utmost extent. By now, if you haven’t played this game, stop reading, put on your cape, and book a ticket!
Matthew Stein’s Reaction
I played Super Squad six months before writing this review, and that I still remember the game so vividly is testament to how successful it was as an interactive narrative experience. This game perfectly embodies the “yes, and…” approach: our curiosity and creative engagement within the game world were consistently rewarded with rich improvised responses, and our creative alternate solutions to the situational puzzles – even when wildly different than what was intended – were warmly accepted. This contrasts with many other remote games, audio-based or otherwise, where many off-the-tracks inquiries elicit a “that’s not important” or “you can’t do that” response, which immediately shuts down the ability to play freely.
Each player in Super Squad gets unique abilities in the game, making everyone’s involvement active and essential. Our gamemaster Mark, who also designed the game, is a talented dungeon master and an absolute pleasure to interact with, though I can attest from playing all of Trapped Puzzle Rooms’ other audio games that all their gamemasters are fantastic. The game shines most through its clever situational puzzles, and as such, a couple more traditional puzzle types felt a bit out of place, though they were perfectly fair and didn’t detract from the overall experience.
David Spira’s Reaction
Super Squad was a playground.
This hosted, mostly verbal escape game (with a few illustrated and animated visuals) set us loose in a science museum with a handful of challenges… and a bunch of superpowers.
It was up to us to figure out how to use our newfound abilities to complete the challenges and save the day.
The magic of Super Squad was in the freedom that came from having an outstanding gamemaster. We could do or try anything. There were expected solutions to these puzzles, but we were free to come up with our own off-the-wall ideas. Some worked; others didn’t. All of it was fun.
Editor’s Note: David played Super Squad in December. By the time he did, many of the hivemind reviewers had already played it earlier in the year. We don’t typically review many months after playing, but this is an exception to be able to share a hivemind review for this game.