Category: Reviews

Clock Escape Rooms – Rebellion [Review]

by David Spira, posted in Athens, Reviews

Arrested Rebellion

Location:  Athens, Greece

Date Played: March 3, 2020

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

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: from €48 per team of 2 to €75 per team of 5

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating:  We’re unsure what fire escape measures there were, if any. More Info.

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Rebellion was a good, puzzley escape room. It was generally more puzzle-focused than the rest of the games that we played in Athens.

In-game: A metal door within a dungeon with runes inscribed in the stone above.
Image via Clock Escape Rooms

I legitimately enjoyed this game. It would stand out a lot more in other parts of the world. In Athens, it didn’t have the drama, intensity, or heavy storytelling that etched other games into my brain. When I went back and looked at my notes I remembered how much fun I had playing, but those moments weren’t persistent memories.

For locals, Rebellion would be a fantastic game. For travelers, it was good, and I’m happy that I played it, but I didn’t need to play it.

Who is this for?

  • Puzzle lovers
  • Scenery snobs
  • Fantasy fans
  • Players with at least some experience

Why play?

  • Amusing opportunities for character interactions
  • Puzzle heavy (for Athens)
  • A couple of cool set pieces

Story

We needed to infiltrate the king’s keep and the easiest way in was through the dungeon.

So… we got ourselves captured…

In-game: a map of a fantasy land surrounded by gold, and weapons.
Image via Clock Escape Rooms
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Legendary Quests – Project Avatar [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind

Project Avatar is an unusual avatar-based escape room livestream, designed specifically for online play, created by Legendary Quests in the Ukraine.

Person entering strange room, surrounded by fire.

Format

Style of Play: avatar-based livestream of a real room, but designed specifically for online play

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection; pen and paper also recommended

Recommended Team Size: 2-5

Play Time: about 2 hours

Price: €200 for up to 8 players

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

You are controlling a silent avatar through an environment that encourages video game-like play. You will see a first-person POV with some HUD-type overlays showing status information and maps. While the avatar does not speak, they will respond nonverbally to the commands you give.

First person view view of hands reaching for something on a desk.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Real Escape Games by SCRAP – Escape from the Alien Research Facility [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind, SCRAP

Escape from the Alien Research Facility is a digital escape game, designed specifically for livestream play, created by Real Escape Games by SCRAP, based in Japan.

Escape From The Alien Research Facility promo image depicts a red headset and an alien that looks like a xenomorph.

Format

Style of Play: digital escape game, created for livestream play

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Also recommended: the use of a shared Google Sheet + a shared Google Drive folder or other resource for collaborative solving

Recommended Team Size: 7

Play Time: The game has a time limit of 60 minutes. Including briefing and debriefing, the whole session is about 120 minutes.

Price: ¥20,000 (about $185) for a team of up of 7 players

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

We guided an actor/ gamemaster through a world uniquely designed for online escape game play.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Bewilderingly – Escape the Grid [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind

Escape the Grid is a set of crossword puzzles with individual metapuzzles and a final metapuzzle created by Bewilderingly.

A crossword grid. Some squares have unusual circles in them.

Format

Style of Play: 10-crossword puzzle suite, each with a metapuzzle leading to the next crossword puzzle

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection and either a printer, pen, and paper, or digital crossword software

These are PDFs designed for print solving, but you can also solve on screen. There is a .puz file included for use in digital crossword software. Across Lite worked well.

Recommended Team Size: 1-2

Play Time: There is no game clock. It took anywhere from 3-6 hours total to solve everything.

Price: pay what you want

Booking: buy and play at your leisure

Description

Although this is called Escape the Grid, it is not an escape room; it is a series of crossword puzzles, presented with light storytelling and gating that is influenced by escape rooms. Players will solve a crossword puzzle, and then use that solved crossword to solve a metapuzzle that extracts the 4-letter word that will unlock the next crossword puzzle. There are 10 total crosswords with metapuzzles. These all culminate in a final metapuzzle.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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Lost Escape – The House of Wizard [Hivemind Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Hivemind

The House of Wizard is a real-life escape room livestreamed through an avatar, created by Lost Escape in Kaunas, Lithuania.

A stained glass window where each piece of glass is a different color and numbed.

Format

Style of Play: real-life escape room livestreamed through an avatar

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: about $11 per person

Booking: Book online for a specific time slot.

Description

This is a standard live remote game where you verbally tell the avatar what to do and see their actions via a Zoom video. The avatar is lightly in character during the game.

A bookcase in an old castle.

Hivemind Review Scale

REA's hivemind review scale - 3 is recommended anytime, 2 recommended in quarantine, 1 is not recommended.

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