Room Escape Artist

Winchester’s Widow is one of the best games in Oklahoma. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms in Oklahoma.

A haunted affair

Location:  Tulsa, OK

Date Played: August 25, 2024

Team size: 2-8; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 65 minutes

Price: ranges from $32.50 to $65 per player depending on size of team

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  All players must cross one stair

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Eleventh Hour Enigma has created an epic tale in both physical and narrative space, guiding players through an illusion of grandeur in an approachably streamlined fashion. From before gameplay even began, we were transformed into ballroom guests and guided through an elaborate story of tragedy and redemption.

Indeed, the game’s standout quality was how it integrated both puzzling and storytelling into its ambiance, inviting us to interact with the set in unique ways and revealing plot points seamlessly as we delved deeper into the mansion. Had the puzzling felt more involved, we might have worried about the story’s effect on our time, but as it was we never felt rushed. Although there was an opportunity for the puzzling to have a tighter relationship with the narrative throughout the experience, the gameflow drove toward a satisfying union of the two.

The puzzles flowed smoothly from one to another, often leveraging the set in ingenious ways. Even some classic escape room tasks felt fresh from their gorgeous presentations. A couple puzzles lingered too long beyond their aha moments, but on the whole the game was well-paced with a wide variety of conundrums to solve.

Winchester’s Widow was a well-executed staging of a drama made memorable by its theatrical qualities. It’s well worth a visit if you’re in northeast Oklahoma.

Who is this for?

• Story seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level

Why play?

• For a well-rounded immersive experience that cohesively integrates story, set, and puzzling

Story

We had been invited to a classy ball at the Winchester mansion. However, before the event could even begin, the hostess was summoned away due to a death among the mansion’s construction crew. As we waited for the ball to commence, we were left to explore the mansion and uncover its secrets.

Setting

After handing our invitations to the maid/ gamemaster, we found ourselves awaiting our hostess in a Victorian ballroom of sorts, surrounded by classy furniture and gorgeous stained glass. In addition to being beautiful, the set drove much of the gameplay, lending many of its key features to puzzles.

Gameplay

Eleventh Hour Enigma’s Winchester’s Widow was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Gameplay consisted of observing, making connections, and interacting with the environment.

Analysis

➕ The set created a sense of grandeur through the combination of elegant accoutrements and clever staging. Unlike many escape games set in a mansion, we could believe that this was indeed a mansion.

➕/➖ The story of Winchester’s Widow unfolded through the experience in ways that added intrigue and adrenaline to our efforts. However, it was sometimes difficult to hear or understand exactly what was happening, which was unnerving when we didn’t know whether it should be informing our actions.

➕ The puzzles were integrated elegantly into the set, and the standouts required ingenious interactions.

➕/➖ A lovely reimagining of a classic escape room puzzle was creatively integrated into the space. However, it required a lengthy stretch of attention and dexterity that interrupted the pace of the game.

➖ One puzzle may have required outside knowledge (or else we overlooked the reference information somewhere in the room).

➕ Eleventh Hour Enigma created a world around the experience to make us feel a part of the story. From props in the waiting room to the in-character gamemaster to personalized touches within the game, it was clear that a great deal of care went into the world-building.

Tips For Visiting

• Parking: There is street parking that was easy to access even on a Saturday night.
• Food: Eleventh Hour Enigma offers a list of staff favorite restaurants in the area. We enjoyed East Village Bohemian Pizzeria.

Book your hour with Eleventh Hour Enigma’s Winchester’s Widow, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Eleventh Hour Enigma provided media discounted tickets for this game.