Room Escape Artist

This house is insane

Location: Vorchdorf, Austria

Date Played: April 3, 2026

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 100 minutes

Price:  €43 – €85 per person, depending on team size

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: Players need to manage stairs and crawl

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

When I heard about Escape Room Vorchdorf’s game Villa of Wahnsinns – which roughly translates to  “Mansion of Madness” – I half expected a Lovecraftian theme complete with cultists and monsters roaming around. Instead, we found a haunting experience that wow’d with every reveal.

The year was 1911 and we were in the English countryside to investigate strange happenings at the Davenport Villa. There were rumors the staff was going insane. This theory was further supported when the maid who answered the door insisted we join her in a game of hide & seek. And that’s how we started exploring the mansion.

Gameplay started out a bit slow, with minimal decor and simple puzzles. But as we progressed, the set and puzzles complemented each other in unexpected ways, offering puzzling opportunities unique to the space. My favorites were the ones that gave us a few funny, ad lib moments with the inhabitants of the villa. A couple of puzzles appeared overly clunky, with detailed instructions that were hard to follow. The actors, who appeared now and then throughout the game, added just the right amount of crazy to keep us on our toes. 

But the physical gamespace was the absolute star of the experience. Though the decor remained understated, even sparse at times, the actual space was more extensive than it appeared at first. As the house took on a life of its own, we were amazed, sometimes awed, and often left wondering How exactly did they do that? With each new space (and I won’t say how many), there was something new and interesting to discover. 

Escape House Vorchdorf was located in a small town in the Austrian countryside, about an hour east of Salzburg by car. The designers of this game created a fun experience in a one-of-a-kind gamespace that I won’t soon forget. With more than a few memorable wow moments, the mansion alone is worth a visit.  

Who is this for?

• Scenery snobs!
• Haunted house hunters
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Everchanging set
• Lots of puzzles and things to do

Story

We arrived at the Villa Davenport with plans to investigate the unusual happenings in and around the manor… and the rumors that the inhabitants were going mad. A rather-intense housekeeper answered the door, saying we could only enter if we agreed to play a game first. It was our only way inside the villa, so no harm in a simple game, right?

Setting

The game took place in the home of Marta Davenport, a local resident who had not been seen in quite some time. The formal parlor we first walked into was sparsely decorated with a few chairs and a small plant on the floor. Multiple doors led in different directions from this main room, making us try each doorknob, anxious to see what we’d find beyond.

Gameplay

Escape House Vorchdorf’s Villa of Madness was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty. 

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, puzzling, and interacting playfully with the actors.

Analysis

➕ The bones of the game space, combined with exciting special effects, were the absolute highlight of the experience. What we thought was a typical escape room became a chameleon of sorts as it changed around us. It was exciting to see what happened next. 

➖ In contrast to the impressive structure, we found the set decor uneven. While some spaces contained charming built-ins and appropriate furnishings, others were sparse and decorated only enough to define the space. Some areas were surprisingly empty.

➖ The setup for the experience was simple, and as the story unfolded, we learned more about the residents of the manor. But the ending was confusing and conflicted with information presented earlier in the game.

➕ Escape House Vorchdorf found interesting ways to blend puzzles into the walls and structures around us, often resulting in a cool reveal or intriguing aha moment. One interesting space contained unique structures and props that factored into a puzzle in a unique way. 

➖ We struggled with a puzzle that had step-by-step instructions, yet could be interpreted in different ways, making it challenging to solve.

➕ One puzzle was really simple in concept, yet executed in a way that made us laugh out loud. It let us be playful as we worked through the solution.

➕ The actors had excellent timing; they did not overstay their welcome, often disappearing to let us puzzle without added pressure or unnecessary interruptions. They added just enough excitement to give life to the experience, and even provided a few lighthearted ad-lib opportunities.

➖ Two audio segments were not translated into English, causing us to miss meaningful story points.

👻 While there was a supernatural component to the game, I found the experience more spooky than scary. Note: there is a Ouija board.

Tips For Visiting

• The game is playable in German and English.
• There is a public parking lot across the street from the entrance.
• Vorchdorf is an hour’s drive east of Salzburg, or about 2.5 hours west of Vienna.
• We looked for a restaurant after our early afternoon game, but found most places had closed between lunch and dinner time. Nearby Fuzo Coffee and Kitchen had good pizza and salads.  

Book your hour with Escape House Vorchdorf’s Villa of Madness, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape House Vorchdorf provided media discounted tickets for this game.