We brought 48 escape room players to New Orleans in November 2022. This was our third Escape Immerse Explore tour to this region.
Over the course of 3 days we visited Escape My Room, Clue Carré, and 13th Gate.
The post-event survey surfaced one game as the overwhelming regional favorite. It also showed us that preference is highly individual.
The Overwhelming Favorite
Cutthroat Cavern was the overwhelming tour favorite. 54% of survey responses ranked it as #1.
Given the popularity of this game on past tours, the schedule was designed so that all players would experience this game.
The survey confirmed that Cutthroat Cavern is still a showstopper.
The Top 5
13th Gate’s games impressed our group. The top 4 games, by survey ranking, were from 13th Gate:
- Cutthroat Cavern at 13th Gate
- The Asylum at 13th Gate
- Spellbound at 13th Gate (upgraded from Rise’s Spellbound)
- Tomb of Anubis at 13th Gate
- Inventor’s Attic at Escape My Room
We know that many players come on this tour in order to visit 13th Gate. Located in Baton Rouge, it’s an hour drive outside of New Orleans. 13th Gate also requires teams of at least 4 players. These factors combine to make it less accessible for casual travelers and perfect for a tour destination.
We’re happy to see from these survey results that we were able to give many people an opportunity to visit some of their favorite games in the region.
Escape Warehouse
Escape Warehouse in Ponchatoula was not officially on the tour. At the time of this event, they only offered 2 games, which isn’t enough to include them as an official stop. The schedule just wouldn’t work.
However, many tour attendees planned their own outings to Ponchatoula, and the games didn’t let them down.
In the survey results, Hide & Seek ranked 6th and Mystery Gates ranked 7th.
We have our eye on Escape Warehouse. They have more games in the works, and we’d love to officially include them next time we bring a tour to this region.
Favorites Are Not Unanimous
Every company on the tour (and Escape Warehouse) had at least one game that someone ranked as their top game of the trip. In fact, 11 different games landed in the #1 spot in an individual’s rankings. These included:
- 13th Gate: Cutthroat Cavern, The Asylum, Spellbound, Tomb of Anubis
- Escape My Room: Inventor’s Attic
- Clue Carré: Revenge on the Bayou, The Voodoo Cemetery, French Quarter House of Curiosities
- Escape Warehouse: Hide & Seek, Mystery Gates
Each of these companies offers something special. They come in very different packaging with equally different strengths and weaknesses. In aggregate, there will always be a most popular game, but at the individual level, there is a high degree of variation between preferences.
Clue Carré & Escape My Room
On Escape Immerse Explore Tours, we like to showcase the region. The 3 companies on the New Orleans tour excel in different ways.
Inventor’s Attic was an early regional favorite and this survey data shows it holds up. It’s a special game.
Clue Carré has steadily leveled up over the years, and their newer games were the favorites. Overall, Clue Carré has grown more over the years than Escape My Room or 13th Gate.
Commentary
Here are a few excerpts from the survey comments:
“Picking my number 1 was a challenge and I had to think about which game I’d want to go back into and experience again. Cutthroat Cavern won because I wanted to live in that set.”
“The first big reveal in Tomb of Anubis was astounding and I enjoyed how all the puzzles in this room felt consistently grand. Some people hated how rushed we felt, but it didn’t bother me much because I was mentally prepared to not finish the room.”
“The whimsy they produce at Escape My Room is incredible. I love the instant immersion as you enter their space.”
Join a Tour
The next REA Tour is going to Montreal in May of 2023.
Tickets sold out in one week!
However, yesterday we announced a second set of tickets, on sale now.
If you’d like to experience a trip to a top escape room destination with other folks who love these games as much as you do, we hope you’ll join this trip!
