Hamsters aren’t just cute little sentient chicken nuggets. They are also great at navigating mazes and obstacles.
There is a whole YouTube channel dedicated to making insane hamster mazes – that are frequently escape room-esque. Here’s a sample of the adorableness:
Thanks to Chris Dickson, the original founder of ExitGames.
But where does he keep the cool toys?
Location: Glendale, AZ
Date Played: March 13, 2022
Team size: 2-10; we recommend 2-4
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $39.99 per player
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock [A]
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
We played The Toy Maker when it was brand new… and if I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed that it was designed in 2014.
The game had absolutely no cohesion. With the exception of a handful of small, cheap toys, it barely did anything with its own theme.
From a gameplay standpoint, the puzzles were largely common and frequently purchasable. The biggest challenges came from searching.
While there was a slightly interesting twist on a puzzle in the late-game, overall, this experience felt like it was years out of date before it was even conceived.
I used to think that the worst thing that a player could feel after playing an escape room was a sense that they hated the game and didn’t want to play escape rooms anymore. The truth is that there is something far worse… and it’s when a player without relevant skills or a background in game, prop, set, amusement, or hardware design walks out of your gaming believing that they too can create escape rooms. If you felt that after playing this game, go visit The Nemesis Club or Paragon Escape Games for a reality check on the direction that this industry is moving in.
Our long lost toymaker uncle had passed away leaving his estate to us, if we could solve his mystery.
A quick thought: over the past few years, we’ve seen a handful of generally excellent escape rooms present end credits at the conclusion of the experience.
The first time I saw this, I’ll admit, it struck me as a little strange, but that was 100% because I wasn’t used to it. I’m completely convinced that this should be the norm. Allow me the opportunity to convince you.
A few examples that have stuck in my mind:
From a creative standpoint, end-credits solve a problem that escape rooms frequently struggle with: signaling the conclusion of the experience.
All too often the actual ending of an escape room is a gamemaster walking in and asking, “did you have a good time?”
End credits are a clean way to make it clear to players that their time in the game world has come to an end.
Mid- to high-end escape rooms take an increasing number of minds and hands to create their magic. Crediting those individuals is a professional courtesy and a sign of respect.
As we exit the early years of escape rooms, a lot of companies are looking to professionalize. Appropriately recognizing the individuals who contributed to the experience is part of growing up.
These games that we love rarely emerge from one mind and one set of hands. It’s high time that we honor everyone involved in the production.
This week, we hit 1,000 escape rooms… and it comes with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Before I dive into them, I’ll answer the question that many of you are wondering:
The Depths from The Escape Game. They just opened up a new location near our home in New Jersey. It’s at the American Dream Mall in the Meadowlands. That mall is a bonkers place with a theme park, a water park, an indoor ski slope, and all sorts of other crazy things.
It has also been under construction for most of my life… I think construction began back in the mid 90s. It was weird finally setting foot inside.
A grim gallery
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Date Played: March 11, 2022
Team size: 4-8; we recommend 5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $32.95 per player
Ticketing: Private
Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock
Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints
We left The Painter’s Collection feeling conflicted and confused.
On one hand, the set was quite pretty, making excellent use of beautiful art coupled with some interesting interactions. There was a unique aesthetic. Someone had clearly put a lot of effort into The Painter’s Collection.
On the other hand, the gameplay felt fragmented and many of the puzzles were irritatingly under-clued. The amount of times we triggered/ solved something and didn’t know why our approach worked or took a hint which left us wondering “how were we ever supposed to know how to do that?” was disappointing.
Maybe it was too many cooks in the kitchen or too few… I don’t know… but this meal was undercooked.
The good news for Eludesions Escape Rooms is that The Painter’s Collection was 95% of the way to greatness… and it shouldn’t take much to get it there. However, that missing 5% was clue structure and playability, and that’s critical. I hope that Eludesions does the work to make this game as great as it ought to be. It’s too cool to be left in its current state.
When a painter was falsely accused of witchcraft, the townspeople raided his home and learned the terrible truth that his daughter was actually a witch. She preserved her father in a painting to keep him close… and then began luring townspeople to her home to trap their souls in her art.
The young witch intended for us to become her next victims.
