Category: Reviews

💙 & 💊

Location:  Arvada, CO

Date Played: September 8, 2019

Team size: 2-8; we recommend 4-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: from $80 per team for teams of 2 to $200 per team for teams of 8

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock [A]

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Experiment C73 was David’s type of game from start to finish. The puzzles were tangible and rewarded communication and spatial awareness. A bit of dexterity went a long way.

To top it all off, Conundrum Escape Rooms took some design risks that paid off profoundly.

This wasn’t the prettiest game, but even that was deliberate and well executed.

Ultimately, Experiment C73 was way more than the sum of its parts, and many of those individual parts were great in their own right.

As far as we’re concerned, Experiment C73 is a regional must-play escape room.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• Brilliant mechanical puzzles
• Strong world-building
• Engaging communication challenges

Story

The year was 1973 and we’d volunteered for a psychiatric experiment; it seemed like a fun way to make a few bucks.

As we entered the experiment we had a bad feeling about the administrators and their intentions. They seemed keen on making us prove our sanity.

Setting

Conundrum Escape Rooms’ Experiment C73 was an interesting beast that began as one game and ended as another.

This escape room opened with an interesting twist on the split team game. Then it became something a bit different.

Conundrum Escape Rooms played with the 1973 aesthetic. They used the function of their game to set the tone for its form. If it sounds like I’m being cagey about the direction of the experience, it’s to avoid spoilers.

Gameplay

Conundrum Escape Rooms’ Experiment C73 was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty and a split-team beginning.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, dexterity, communication, and puzzling.

Analysis

➕ Experiment C73 used a small space creatively to make it feel larger than it was.

➕ The set design was smart. This isn’t to say it looked great; it didn’t. It looked exactly as intended, leaning into that 1970’s aesthetic. 

➕ The staging justified the puzzles.

➕ The puzzles rewarded teamwork.

➖ The gameplay in Experiment C73 was uneven. It was easy to end up playing support and not see the best angles. Not all teammates had as interesting or exciting playthroughs as others.

➕ Conundrum turned one classic escape room trope into a completely different one. It was brilliant. They clued this twist so creatively, and even used a crafty psychological hack to increase the odds of it working. It delivered.

➕ The puzzles were unusual, in a good way. What seemed simple was sometimes far more complex, but always fair.

❓ It’s hard to recommend a perfect team size. Although communication and teamwork were essential, the footprint was small and it could be challenging to maneuver around each other. Some of the later puzzles were single-player solves.

➕ Conundrum Escape Rooms added a personal touch that surprised and delighted us.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• This game is at the Arvada location.
• At least one player will need to crouch/crawl.
• This game has a split beginning. Not all players start in the same space.
• Conundrum Escape Rooms will soon open a second copy of this game. Larger groups will be able to book both copies and race each other.

Book your hour with Conundrum Escape Rooms’ Experiment C73, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Conundrum Escape Rooms comped our tickets for this game.

Disclosure: Our trip to Denver was sponsored by the Denver escape room community. Contributions were anonymous.

M.A.D.ness!

Location:  Denver, CO

Date Played: September 7, 2019

Team size: 8-16; we recommend 16

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: $35 and up per player

Ticketing: Public

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Last Defender was a 16-player escape game/ puzzle hunt hybrid set against the backdrop of Cold War nuclear annihilation. It had a delightfully odd and ever-present sense of humor. The puzzles ranged in intensity and intrigue. The world of The Last Defender was whimsically serious. The elegance of the on-boarding and gameflow was on a level that we rarely encounter.

The Last Defender was a hell of a production.

As amazing as its on-boarding was, our biggest gripe with the game was that it served up puzzle hunt-style puzzles, but never really taught the players how extractions worked. We stepped in and helped with that, but a lot of our teammates weren’t getting there by themselves.

Additionally, The Last Defender leaves a few key things to chance. The mix of teammates will make or break the experience. There were far more puzzles to solve than any one player will be able to experience. If you find yourself solving a string of puzzles that don’t speak to you, it probably means that you’re missing out on the ones that would have.

Sadly The Last Defender closed in Denver the night after we played it; its original run in Chicago ended long ago. While at the moment it isn’t playable, should The Last Defender return – and, oh boy, do we hope it returns – this is a must-play for both escape room fans and puzzle hunters.

If given the chance, we would replay The Last Defender without hesitation if only to explore the puzzles that we didn’t get to solve.

Who is this for?

• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Sci-fi fans
• Team players who are comfortable with randoms
• Any experience level, but experience really helps
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• It was hilarious
• The puzzles were challenging and engaged a large group
• Really cool 8-bit cabinets
• The black rabbits
• Great player costuming
• An incredible overall experience

Story

It was 1983 and the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in the Cold War. The strategic approach of both sides was nuclear deterrence through a policy of mutually assured destruction (MAD).

As members of The Defenders, our job was to work alongside an artificial intelligence put in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal. We had to ensure that if the Soviets nuked the United States, it would end the world even if no one was around to order the strike.

What could go wrong?

Setting

The Last Defender began in a comfortable lobby where we signed in and gathered awaiting the beginning of the game. (Oddly, the lobby had seating for 14, maybe 15 people, but the game played 16.)

At game time, the hosts entered, introduced the rules, and then put on their black rabbit costumes. From that point forward they only communicated in gestures. They ushered us into a locker room.

In the locker room we each received a bright orange flight suit that fit our measurements (which we provided during ticket purchasing). Once we suited up, we entered the game world.

The Last Defender’s game world was a hybrid of 1980s arcade and colorful parody of a Cold War nuclear command center. It had a playful vibe which beautifully juxtaposed against the apocalyptic nature of the story.

As great as the set looked, the 80s video game-inspired sound effects were the detail that truly sold the world to me.

Gameplay

The Last Defender was an immersive puzzle hunt. It was difficult compared with most escape rooms and easy when judged as a puzzle hunt.

Core gameplay revolved around teamwork, communicating, puzzling, and some searching.

Analysis

➕ The Last Defender was both serious and entertaining. The writers struck a nice balance in tone with the instruction, presentation, and tasks/ puzzles. It was hilarious yet poignant, with mission-focused gameplay.

➕ As players, we were assigned characters and outfitted in jumpsuits with the appropriate insignia. These were cleverly designed with Velcro patches so that costumes could be easily reconfigured for each group. We each had a personalized uniform that fit us well enough. By costuming up, we were stepping into our roles and naturally taking the experience more seriously. Simultaneously, these were ridiculous outfits, which made the experience that much more entertaining.

➕ Our black rabbit gamemasters directed the gameplay brilliantly. They didn’t speak, but their body language was emotive. They gave direction to individuals and to the group, but they never gave us solutions.

➕ The puzzles were seriously challenging. They were largely tangible and relied on different types of thinking and communication. They could also engage multiple people at once. The Last Defender showcased a breadth in puzzle design.

➖ Not all the tasks and puzzles were of equal value. Some were more fun to solve than others.

➖ It would be easy to get stuck grinding on puzzles we didn’t like or weren’t good at. In an escape room this isn’t a big deal. In The Last Defender you could potentially bad luck yourself into a series of bland challenges and miss the great stuff.

➕ There was plenty to do at all times. Every one of the 16 players in our group was engaged almost the entire time. The Last Defender would certainly be replayable, as there were so many things going on at all times.

➖ When our group played well, the end bottlenecked. When there were only a few puzzles left to solve to save the world, not all 16 people could be actively involved in them.

➕ The set, tech, and sound effects were fantastic. There was a whimsy to The Last Defender that cut its seriousness. Also, the arcade cabinets were too cool.

➕ The Last Defender had smooth on-boarding that set up the group for success. Our early tasks introduced us to the space and to the necessity of communication. Things that seemed utterly useless at the time proved critical later on.

➕ The pathing worked well. As a group, we progressed from structured to unstructured activity without missing a beat. The gameplay built us into a team remarkably quickly.

➖ While The Last Defender taught much of the gameplay through play, it didn’t teach the puzzle hunt concept of “extraction.” It was crucial that players solve a puzzle all the way through to the extraction, which was a novel and challenging concept for newer puzzlers.

❓ Individual experiences at The Last Defender will vary. Not all puzzles were equally as interesting. Not all teammates were equally as fun or as competent as others. Some of your experience is the luck of the draw – what role you and others are assigned to. Some of your experience is what you make of it, or where you find yourself needed.

Tips For Visiting

• The Last Defender is no longer running in Denver.

If The Last Defender comes to your city, book your hour and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: The Last Defender comped our tickets for this game.

Disclosure: Our trip to Denver was sponsored by the Denver escape room community. Contributions were anonymous.