Room Escape Artist

Climb the Castle

Location:  Fishers, IN

Date Played: September 24, 2022

Team size: 4-10; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: from $36 per player for team of 4 to $30 per players for teams of 7+

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: To get the full experience, players will climb up and down a ladder multiple times during the game. Not every player need participate in this aspect of the game and there are stairs available outside the game space.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

A Night At the Castle was unusual in two ways. First, it had a deduction goal, in addition to the goal of escaping before time ran out. Second, moving through the set wasn’t always straightforward. Both choices can be polarizing.

The deduction puzzle forced us to engage with the props more fully. It added to the experience. The Escape Room Fishers stumbled, however, when the props were less intriguing than the space, yet we found ourselves glued to written materials. At any given point in time, the gameplay focused us on the least interesting elements in the space.

The spatial design provided a stellar reveal, a strong moment for the adventurous player, and excellent opportunities for collaboration. That said, it was a high-maintenance design, and wear can be detrimental to the experience. Prolonged searching can also be especially taxing. Additionally, the coolest moment lost its luster when repeated multiple times.

And that really was the catch with this game: the best parts overstayed their welcome.

A Night At the Castle was an interesting game designed for energetic players and well-coordinated teams. Pay attention to absolutely every detail.

Who is this for?

• Scenery snobs
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Nimble players who liked moving around the space

Why play?

• To traverse the gamespace
• The varied environment

Story

It has been commonly accepted that Mad King Ludwig committed suicide by drowning on June 13, 1886… but we thought this story covered a darker truth. We had hidden in the king’s bedroom in Neuschwanstein Castle, and now that it was after hours, we were determined to find the long-lost crown jewels, where we had reason to believe we’d find evidence that something else had transpired.

Setting

Our search began in the king’s bedroom, complete with bedroom furniture and decor in the regal tone of deep hues and metals. From there, we explored other areas of the castle, each distinctive in look and feel.

Gameplay

The Escape Room Fishers’ A Night At the Castle was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty. It also required a high level of agility.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, puzzling, communicating, and moving through the space.

Analysis

➕ Each area of the set was distinctively decorated.

➕ The dramatic reveal of the set’s expansion was a delight. It had its own unexpected twist, even for players who have experienced similar transitions.

➕ The Escape Room Fishers embraced their available vertical space with a thematic excursion into the depths of the set.

➖ In one instance extensive wear on the set felt dangerous.

➖ In this period-specific set, the game control screen looked tacky. There was an opportunity to build this into the game world.

➖ Sometimes the puzzles didn’t make any contextual sense. Why were we pixel hunting for an anachronism? And if this really needed to be a plot point, it should have factored more significantly into the game.

➖ Laminated sheets and small boxes felt out of place and underwhelming. Wall-sized interaction could have been more engaging if it anchored to the set rather than paper cluing.

➕ Our mission included an overarching mystery, in addition to escaping the room. By engaging with the game materials, we could deduce the solution.

➕/➖ A Night At the Castle will be a playground for energetic, nimble players. We expect that many players love just moving through the gamespace. For less physically adept players, the transitions may feel more taxing than fun, especially once the novelty wears off.

➖ The physical interactions, while sturdy, were far from comfortable to engage with.

➕ The cinematic entrance to The Escape Room Fishers’ lobby was a lot of fun. It set the right tone.

Tips For Visiting

• There is free garage parking available with an entrance on Lantern Road. Enter on the second level to get to The Escape Room Fishers.

Book your hour with The Escape Room Fishers’ A Night At the Castle, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Escape Room Westfield comped our tickets for this game.