It’s never too early to revel in some Christmas cheer. If you’re eagerly looking toward December and have visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, The List is a good room for you.
I would describe The List as a room that has a lot of potential, delivering a few cool moments while falling short in others. Minor refinements to the scenery and gameplay could go a long way to improving the overall experience. For those who haven’t played many (or any) games since early 2020, The List would be a great way to ease back in and brush up on your escape room skills.
The Candy Shop was the kind of escape game that immediately drew me in, put a smile on my face, and kept it there the entire time.
The set was bright, playful, and full of joy.
The gameplay was traditional and puzzle-focused, but generally well executed, with some novel interactions. That said, there was one low point in this game, and it was a singular puzzle that dominated most of the play time for one player. While the team loved this game, the person who spent most of their time solving this puzzle wished that they had picked up something else in the opening minutes of the game.
An interesting thing happened to us in The Candy Shop: we unintentionally set a record, completing this game in about 23 minutes. I don’t normally mention record-setting, but in this instance, no one on the team felt like we had only spent a third of our allotted time in the game. In spite of blazing through this, we all felt like we had gotten our time’s worth out of this experience. It was a fun game and we truly enjoyed playing it.
This was the kind of traditional escape room that made us love escape rooms. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, venture out into the suburbs for The Candy Shop.
Who is this for?
Puzzle lovers
Wonka fans
Any experience level
Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
A delightful theme
Puzzle-focused gameplay
The set feels happy
Story
Our chocolatier grandfather was searching for an heir to his candy shop. We may have been his favorite grandchildren, but we still had to prove ourselves by solving the puzzles he’d hidden in the shop and uncovering his secret recipe.
June 2021: This game has been updated since the time of this review. Read more details in the comments.
That’s what I do. I puzzle and I know things.
Location: King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Date played: June 24, 2017
Team size: 2-10; we recommend 3-5
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $112 for up to 4 players, then $28 for each additional ticket
Story & setting
With our claim to the throne usurped by a malevolent younger sibling, we had to sneak back into our family’s castle and find the proof we needed to claim the throne.
Quest For The Throne was set within a bright and cartoonish king’s study.
Puzzles
Quest For The Throne was a mixture of logic puzzles and tangible mechanical puzzles. There was something for everyone.
Standouts
Quest For The Throne was at its best when it presented physically tangible puzzles. There were plenty of these moments.
The climax was amusing.
Shortcomings
Quest For The Throne was a little too heavy on logic puzzles and laminated sheets of paper. The puzzles could have been more diverse and the paper-based puzzles could have been better worked into the environment.
There was a story in Quest For The Throne, but it was a little clunky and hard to follow.
Should I play Expedition Escape’s Quest For The Throne?
Quest For The Throne was a bright and friendly castle-themed escape room. It was family-friendly and approachable.
Quest For The Throne was at its best when the puzzles were tangible and required set-based interactions. If you don’t mind the laminated sheets of paper tucked in between these, you’ll have fun with this escape.
This would be a good entry into room escapes for newer players. It has approachable puzzling and solid puzzle flow.
More experienced players will likely play through this quickly, but find a few fun moments along the way.
Note that Quest For The Throne was designed by Andrew Parr of N.E.R.D. (New Escape Room Designs) and modified by Expedition Escape. It’s possible that players may have played other versions of this escape room in other facilities.
