Room Escape Artist

Derailed

Location:  Austin, Texas

Date Played: February 2, 2019

Team size: up to 12; we recommend 4-5

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $39.95 per player

Ticketing: Public

Emergency Exit Rating: [A] Push To Exit

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Mindspark Escape Games can build phenomenal sets and amazing moments.

The first half of The Terminal was exciting and fresh, with an aesthetic that felt as cool to play within as it looked.

In the second half, however, The Terminal chugged along slowly. The set was uninspired, the gameplay dragged, and the conclusion was unsatisfying.

The rails are laid. With a few changes, Mindspark Escape Games could easily turn this train around.

Although the wow factor wasn’t sustained and the gameplay became tedious and cumbersome, we recommend The Terminal for players in Austin who are interested in sets, engineering, and thrills. That first half was quite a ride.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level

Why play?

• The train car. Wow.
• Memorable moments.

Story

Our subway car had abruptly derailed and crashed into an abandoned station. As we searched for a way out, we happened upon evidence of a global criminal conspiracy.

Setting

Terminal opened up big, with a detailed rundown subway car that looked and felt fantastic (except for having more luggage than one would expect to find in a subway). This set was gorgeous and memorable.

Unfortunately, the late-game set, which was where we spent a lot of our time, was a significant step down from the initial amazingness that Mindspark Escape Games introduced us to. We entered through greatness, and concluded in a generic, nondescript basement-like space.

Gameplay

Mindspark Escape Games’ Terminal was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, puzzling, and parsing clues from red herrings.

Analysis

➕ Our escape room started aboard a moving train. It looked great. We felt like we were on an adventure. It was outstanding.

➕ Mindspark Escape Games knows how to deliver epic moments. The train wasn’t the only memorable reveal in Terminal.

➕ We enjoyed many of the puzzles in the first half of Terminal. These puzzles used the space and props in interesting ways.

➖ The gameplay derailed in the second half of the experience. The puzzles were tedious. One puzzle required extensive calculation with no methods for self-check along the way. We ended up repeatedly calculating each part to find minor errors long after we’d solved the conceptual puzzle. Another puzzle was only partially clued.

➖ The later half of Terminal was riddled with red herrings. As experienced players, we mostly avoided these, but newer players will be lost in a sea of information with no way to determine what’s relevant.

➖ Why did we happen upon evidence of a global criminal conspiracy… in a little back room full of wall scrawling and papers? Why couldn’t we have puzzled through an adventure aboard the train or in the spacious and interesting train station?

➖ Terminal lacked a climactic ending. In fact, it lacked an ending all together. Nothing opened, revealed, or otherwise changed to signal that we’d won this game.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• Let your gamemaster know if you struggle with motion or have balance issues.

Book your hour with Mindspark Escape Games’ Terminal, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Mindspark Escape Games comped our tickets for this game.

I was told there’d be smores.

Location:  Georgetown, Texas

Date Played: February 1, 2019

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 48 minutes

Price: $25 per player

Ticketing: Public

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Saloon placed traditional lock-and-key escape room puzzles in an unconventional set up.

Come for the puzzles, stay for the gamemastering. If you’re looking for straightforward puzzle-play, know that The Saloon is just as much about interacting with your in-character gamemaster as it is about solving puzzles. Embrace the interaction to get the most out of this escape room.

If you’re in Austin and you like puzzle-focused escape rooms, but want to see a twist on that standard, head over to Georgetown for The Saloon.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
• People looking for an experience that’s quirky and cute

Why play?

• The gamemastering
• The vibe

Story

While traveling along the Chisholm Trail, we had stopped in a local saloon for a drink. It turned out that we were visiting a dry county and the owner of the establishment had grown mighty lonely… so she had hired a local blacksmith to create a series of puzzles to ensnare patrons in the saloon and force them to keep her company.

Setting

The Saloon’s set was mostly wood, which gave it a unique look, even if nothing about the gamespace was particularly fancy. It was simple, effective, and on-theme without any bells or whistles.

Gameplay

Boomtown Escape Games’ The Saloon was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, puzzling, and interacting with the in-character gamemaster.

Analysis

➕ Our gamemaster was a character in our experience. She was phenomenal. Her energy made this experience more than just a collection of puzzles.

➕ We loved the unique story and set up for this escape room.

➕ The wooden saloon aesthetic worked well. The lock-focused gameplay made sense in the narrative. (Boomtown Escapes could replace the more modern locks with period-esque locks to sell the story.)

➖ Some of the puzzle components were too small for the scale of the gamespace. Better integration of the puzzle’s components into the props would have been an improvement over the many small sheets of paper that held much of the game’s content.

➕ The puzzles offered variety in type and difficulty. They were traditional in style, but still offered challenge.

➖ One challenging puzzle seemed unsolvable without requesting a hint or substantial time for trial and error. We burned a lot of time before realizing that we didn’t have enough information.

➖ The gameplay was level. The Saloon lacked a big reveal or otherwise memorable team moment.

➕ The saloon owner was just a bit sneaky. We liked this about her. She made us think a little differently, in terms of escape room gameplay.

➕ Boomtown Escape Games had some lobby mini escape games that were delightful. We played The Loot and truly enjoyed it.

Tips For Visiting

• There is street metered parking.
• Georgetown has an adorable town square with lots of shops and restaurants. Boomtown Escape Games offers recommendations.
• Boomtown Escape Games offers portable / lobby games. We enjoyed The Loot, a 15-minute add-on experience.
• Embrace the in-character gamemastering to get the most out of your experience.

Book your hour with Boomtown Escape Games’ The Saloon, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Boomtown Escape Games comped our tickets for this game.