On Wednesdays we solve puzzles.
Location: Québec City, Québec, Canada
Date Played: October 22, 2022
Team size: 2-8; we recommend 4-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $31 CAD per player
Ticketing: Private
Accessibility Consideration: All players needs to be able to climb narrow stairs.
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock [A]
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
REA Reaction
If you speak to most escape room owners, they will tell you that the typical escape room ticket-buyer is a woman between the age of 30 and 45. Knowing this, it is remarkable that we rarely encounter escape room settings that directly appeal to women. Kappa bucked that trend.
The Kappa sorority house provide an inventive staging for an escape room. We delighted when it leaned into the stereotypes: clothes, shoes, jewelry. These props provided the most fun (and strongest) puzzles of the game.
Although individual puzzles were delightful, the gameplay overall suffered from a lack of gating. We spent a long time trying to solve puzzles that weren’t yet active. We also got tripped up by a lack of feedback; it wasn’t immediately apparent what solved, and what it had revealed.
With some minor tweaking, Kappa would flow more smoothly. Exode could give more teams the fun of the final layered puzzle, and probably elicit fewer groans of frustration at having these props that had taunted us all game finally become active, with barely any time to pull it all together.
In its current form Kappa has a high level of difficulty. We recommend it to experienced players who enjoy a good dose of catty shenanigans.
Who is this for?
- Puzzle lovers
- Fans of Mean Girls
- Best for players with at least some experience
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
- The cheeky scenario
- Fun props
- In-world hint system
Story
The Kappa sorority had very strict rules. All members had to behave accordingly to this specific code. We had broken into the Kappa sorority house to expose the despicable behavior of its leadership.
Setting
With wallpapered walls, bookshelves, artwork, a couch, and a piano, the Kappa sorority house had a pretty cozy living room. It was a strong opening act.
This was the most “lived in” set in the game. While the set was expansive, later sets had minimal decor. They did, however, have a clean look and some fun props.
Gameplay
Exode’s Kappa was a standard escape room with a high level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and solving puzzles. We relied heavily on communication.
Analysis
➕ Kappa had cute set with minimal decor, but enough to set the stage appropriately. It was also surprisingly expansive.
➖ That said, we wanted more from this theme. The vibe was practical reality, but we wanted cinematic reality. We wanted glam! Two set pieces delivered on cattiness (a must!), but overall the experience did not feel over-the-top enough. The soundtrack, for example, felt out of place and offered an opportunity to enhance the vibe.
➕ Our favorite puzzle used thematic props as an input mechanism, rather than as a path to a traditional lock.
➕ Exode found inventive ways to clue some more escape room-y interactions.
➖ The puzzles consistently lacked feedback. We’d solve something, and receive auditory confirmation, but struggle to determine what we’d activated or unlocked. In one instance multiple teammates took actions simultaneously and we mis-attributed the trigger.
➖ Kappa derived a lot of its difficulty from separating information across large distances. While we appreciated the reliance on teamwork to solve these puzzles, we didn’t enjoy the amount of shouting required… especially when this presented itself for a third time.
➕ The in-world hint system was a great choice for this scenario.
➖ We wasted a lot of time on a puzzle before we had all its components, without any way to realize that there would be more. With additional gating (and a less finicky input mechanism) we could have enjoyed this puzzle (which was distinctly clued), rather approach the interaction already frustrated with it.
Tips For Visiting
- There is a parking lot.
Book your hour with Exode’s Kappa, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Exode comped our tickets for this game.
