Reviews Archives - Room Escape Artist

The Escape Game – Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys [Review]

23 June 202123 June 2021 by David Spira, posted in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Reviews, The Escape Game

Losted & Founded

Location: King of Prussia, PA & Las Vegas, NV

Date Played: June 18, 2021

Team size: up to 12; we recommend 4-7

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $37.99 per player

Ticketing: Private

Game Breakage: No

Accessibility Consideration: at least one player will need child-like agility

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

Before I dive into our own review of Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys, our old friend, Chuckie Finster, has a few thoughts that he’d like to share on this game:

REA Reaction

Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys was a licensed game built on top of the 2018 Golden Lock Award winning Playground.

The Escape Game got so much right with Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys. It was a fantastic representation of Rugrats and managed to appeal to the serious fan, casual fan, and unaware people in our group. We all got different things out of it and enjoyed the experience.

Tommy's animated kitchen viewed through a playpen.

Additionally, this was an impressively effective reskinning of a beloved game. Having already played Playground, I was worried that the game would feel too familiar. While the physical footprint was identical, and some of the biggest moments from Playground remained more or less intact, it felt like a unique experience. This is partly because the biggest moments fit well into a Rugrats game, and partly because these big moments were fun enough to feel great on a second pass.

Rugrats: Search for the Losted Toys was an energizing game. We drove 2 hours to play it and were happy to have done so. I don’t think that I’d recommend getting on an airplane just to play it, but if you’re near or already going to Las Vegas or the Philadelphia area, this is a must-play.

Who is this for?

Adventure seekers
Puzzle lovers
Scenery snobs
Rugrats fans
Any experience level
Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Children at heart

Why play?

Nostalgia
Child-like gleeful moment
Fun puzzles

Story

Angelica had hidden all of the kids’ favorite toys, but in the process she’d lost her own beloved Cynthia doll. Now Angelica, Tommy and the gang need some help from us, the grownup babies. If we fail, the toys could be losted forever.

Illuminated scoreboard of "Founded Toys" all 7 are lit.

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Escape Notice Games – Stolen at Sea [Hivemind Review]

21 June 202121 June 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Stolen at Sea is a tabletop escape game created by Escape Notice Games.

Black cat inspecting a series of locked backs with White Star Line First Class baggage tags.

Format

Style of Play: tabletop escape game

Required Equipment:

Recommended Team Size: 1-3

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: $49.95

Note that this game can be played more than once (but not by the same players). Instructions are provided to reset the game so you can pass it along to other players.

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

You are investigating the disappearance of a priceless artifact aboard the RMS Aquitania in 1923. To do this, you sort through a large amount of physical evidence from the ship to evaluate the alibis of various passengers and track down the stolen object. Each phase of the game focuses on three suspects, and each suspect produces a single digit. Once you have collected all three digits, you can unlock a physical combination lock to open a pouch of new suspects and proceed to the next phase of the game.

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Cantaloop Book 1: Breaking into Prison [Review]

20 June 202121 June 2021 by David Spira, posted in Book, Products, Reviews

Point-and-click Adventure Game Book (Seriously)

Location: at home

Date Played: May 8, 2021

Team size: 1; we recommend 1-4

Duration: 5-8 hours

Price: about $30

REA Reaction

Cantaloop Book 1: Breaking into Prison was described to me as “a really good point-and-click adventure game in book form… that actually feels like a point-and-click adventure game.”

After taking this product into the lab and studying it, I can confirm that description as entirely accurate.

Cantaloop book cover depicts the main character in a mugshot with a lot of swagger.

The art, writing, characters, and puzzle design all worked together to feel like a great point-and-click adventure game. The difference is that you can play it in a small group, with physical (albeit mostly paper) props, and enjoy it communally… like an escape room.

Our group of 4 loved playing Cantaloop. It was smart, funny, and craftily designed, with all of the tropes that make people love (or hate) point-and-click adventure games. If that sounds appealing to you, then this is a must-buy. If you despise point-and-click adventure games on computer, I doubt that Cantaloop will suddenly convert you.

When we finished playing, we mused about how this game could easily be translated into a mobile app, and go full point-and-click adventure game… but concluded that it shouldn’t, because it would be less fun.

Paper might be the future of the point-and-click adventure genre. No joke.

Who is this for?

Point-and-click adventure lovers
Story seekers
Any experience level

Why play?

Strong writing and characters
Tons of humor
It felt like a proper point-and-click adventure

Story

Charismatic crook “Hook” Carpenter is back on Cantaloop Island and assembling a new team for one last job. The catch: the hacker he needs for this job is locked up in prison.

An in-game environmental image of a light house.

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Swamp Motel – Plymouth Point [Hivemind Review]

19 June 202121 June 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Closed Game, Hivemind

Plymouth Point is an online game with elements of puzzle hunt and ARG, created by Swamp Motel.

Format

Style of Play:

Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
Light puzzle hunt
Video-based experience

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 75 minutes

Price: $75 for a group of 2-6 players

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Plymouth Point is an online experience that included a Zoom call with sleuthing around the internet. In the Zoom meeting we had an introduction by the main character (gamemaster). Then we went bouncing around the web using Facebook, websites developed by the game, Google Earth, etc. to track the missing person and solve the mystery. To solve certain clues, we needed a phone (call) and a Facebook login. This game required a large amount of screen sharing via Zoom as we visited all these websites.

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Clue Chase – Scarab’s Curse [Hivemind Review]

18 June 202121 June 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Clue Chase, Hivemind

Scarab’s Curse is a web-based puzzle game created by Clue Chase in New York City.

A panoramic view of art and hieroglyphics in an ancient Egyptian tomb.

Format

Style of Play:

Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
Play on demand
Web-based puzzle game

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, pen and paper, mobile device

One puzzle requires you to call a US phone number.

Recommended Team Size: 1-4

Play Time: 1-2 hours

Price: $20 per team

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

This game takes place on a website where you get a bit of the plot, solve a puzzle, enter the solution and then get to the next page (and the process repeats). Sometimes you find clues for later puzzles that you need to write down because you can’t return to a page once you leave it. It does have a hint system, but no gamemaster. Be prepared to read a lot in this game.

A video crew filming in an Egyptian tomb reads, Congratulations, for finding the murderer!

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