Tiger’s Eye is one of the best games in Fort Collins, CO. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms in Fort Collins.
A diamond in the rough.
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Date Played: September 26, 2021
Team Size: 2-10; we recommend 4-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $26 per player for 3+ players, $37.50 per player for 2 players
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
Tiger’s Eye presented a non-standard take on a heist theme that showcased ConTRAPtions’ expertise in building impressively large-scale tech.
Tiger’s Eye was a room of stark contrasts. Whereas the vault door and diamond enclosure were imposing metal mechanical marvels, much of the rest of the set felt sparse and underdeveloped. Certain puzzles were unique, satisfying, and unconventional, while some others had more questionable solutions. Overall, the gameplay was choppy but interesting, and there were enough magical highs to make up for the disappointing lows.
For escape room enthusiasts, Tiger’s Eye is a solid warmup before playing the more strenuous 3-hour Plight of the Margo (2019 Golden Lock Award winner). For newer players, Tiger’s Eye is an excellent way to experience ConTRAPtions’ intriguingly idiosyncratic approach to tech and escape room interactions through more accessible gameplay than that of Plight of the Margo.
Who is this for?
- Technophiles
- Puzzle lovers
- Story seekers
- Any experience level
Story
We broke into a bank to heist the massive Tiger’s Eye diamond, but it was protected by a snarkily sentient AI.
Setting
Tiger’s Eye took place in a historic bank. Through the front reception area, a diamond-filled vault was visible behind a large high-security metal gate.
Gameplay
ConTRAPtions’ Tiger’s Eye was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around puzzling, with an above-average level of tech-driven interactions.
The main objective was to retrieve the Tiger’s Eye diamond before the police arrived. A stash of smaller diamonds, with a couple of accompanying bonus puzzles, provided an optional secondary objective tacked on at the end of the game.
Analysis
➕ The hardware featured in Tiger’s Eye was astounding. And this wasn’t just any standard “place an object on a shelf and a drawer opens.” We’re talking about a real bank vault door with actuating cylindrical pistons, a metal display which intricately jigsawed open to reveal a diamond, and other interactions which you’ll just have to play yourself to see. This room seemed like the designers’ warmup before creating Plight of the Margo. If nothing else, play this room for the cool tech.
➕ An AI vocally drove forward the narrative in the room. It was engaging and humorous.
➕ Certain puzzles and interactions diverged from standard escape room fare in exciting ways.
➖ A few other puzzles had iffy solutions, either due to misleading information or arbitrary ordering.
➕ Tiger’s Eye had a unique implementation of a bank heist theme, and it was unlike any other heist rooms we’ve played.
➖ A particular type of lock at the end of the room had a highly finicky and annoying timeout feature. While we appreciated the diversity of real-world locking methods included in the game, this particular lock proved to be more trouble than it was worth.
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot.
Book your hour with ConTRAPtions’s Tiger’s Eye, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Another spot-on review Matthew. This room is a stunning example of a collection of REAL mechanisms that are sophisticated and imposing. Most of the time we play rooms with “pretend”/faux assemblies so this element is very cool. However, nothing beats good game play and there are weak spots along the journey that take some of the shine off a room that starts out as a visual masterpiece.