Room Escape Artist

Leopards, and bats, and snakes, oh my!

Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Date Played: June 7, 2025

Team Size: 2-14; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $33.95 CAD per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  One person will need to crawl. There are stairs.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Three things stood out to me about Legend of the Mayan Temple.

1. It’s in remarkable shape for its age. It’s an older game that doesn’t feel older. Improbable Escapes really manages upkeep.
2. It doesn’t play like its age. It felt far more fresh than I ever would have expected for a game that’s pushing a decade old.
3. There’s a killer mechanical interaction in Legend of the Mayan Temple. I’m surprised that it is as reliable as it is.

There is a joy in playing a great escape room company’s earlier material. I get to see where they came from and what kinds of design decisions they were exploring earlier in their careers. After playing Legend of the Mayan Temple, I left with a clarity on Improbable Escapes’ approach to design. Their focus on building beautiful environments and packing the space with the most fun possible shined through, even from the beginning.

Beware that Legend of the Mayan Temple has some trickier puzzles, but they are all solvable. This game isn’t my first recommendation for Improbable Escapes, but it also gives me the confidence to say that anything in their game catalogue is worth checking out.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Indiana Jones fans
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Challenging, classic escape room puzzles
• A well-kept up older game
• Some nifty analogue interaction design

Story

Our team of adventuring archeologists was on a quest for the lost cup of the king, an artifact that had been missing for more than a thousand years.

Setting

When I played Legend of the Mayan Temple, it was 8 years old. While this set wasn’t up to the same standards as Improbable Escapes’ newer games, it was both remarkably elegant for an older game, and so well maintained. Most escape room companies do not have one game that is built to this standard.

Gameplay

Improbable Escapes’ Legend of the Mayan Temple was a classic escape room with a higher level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ Legend of the Mayan Temple looked fantastic, especially for an 8 year old game. It was well-maintained.

➕ The puzzles were good, classic escape room puzzles that generally solved cleanly.

➖ One wooden prop fit too snuggly (possibly due to humidity?) This made a perfectly solvable puzzle feel far more challenging than warranted.

➕ Improbable Escapes made interesting use of a crawlspace.

➕ Legend of the Mayan Temple had a strong transition between act 1 and act 2.

➖ The second act didn’t do a great job of conveying what it wanted us to accomplish. A bit more clue structure would have gone a long way.

➖/❓ While still fair, one late-game puzzle slid the difficulty level up higher than was necessary.

➕ The final puzzle was pretty damn cool. I remain surprised that it works so reliably.

Tips For Visiting

• This game is located at Improbable Escapes HQ (303 Bagot Street, Suite 16B)
• There are paid parking lots and street parking in the area.

Book your hour with Improbable Escapes’ Legend of the Mayan Temple, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Improbable Escapes comped our tickets for this game.