Andrew Reynolds Archives - Room Escape Artist

A/Maze – The Ghost of Pointe-à-Callière [Hivemind Review]

20 July 202123 July 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

The Ghost of Pointe-à-Callière is an online escape game that explores a real-life museum. It was created by A/Maze in Montreal, Canada.

An illustration of a puzzle involving letters plugging into one another.

Format

Style of Play:

Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
Point-and-click… ish

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 60-90 minutes

Price: $50 per team

Booking: fill out a form on their website to book

Description

In this game, you’re navigating through a 3D representation of the museum by either 1) clicking on an area using an overhead floor map of the museum or 2) moving around the museum in a Google Street View style.

The game tells the player what to look for, and provides puzzles to solve using the exhibit displays. This game is linear and it says so up front.

When a puzzle is solved, any team member can type it into “Mission Control” (a shared session across the team) and advance the entire team to the next puzzle.

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Amazon Prime Video – Panic The Experience [Hivemind Review]

12 July 202114 July 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Panic The Experience is an online game created by Swamp Motel to promote the Amazon Prime show Panic.

A woman viewed through a camera on video chat.

Format

Style of Play:

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

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 30-60 minutes

Price: free

Booking: book online for a specific time slot (but this experience is no longer running)

Description

Players join a video meeting as volunteers helping to find a missing high school student. From that starting point, players must solve puzzles to find more information, moving the story along until the student is located.

Closeup of finger inputting a combination into a padlock.

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Morpheus – Manor of Lies [Hivemind Review]

11 July 202114 July 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Manor of Lies is an audio role-playing game created by Morpheus, based in the UK.

In-game: A completely black image with nothing visible. — First person view

Format

Style of Play:

Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
Audio game
Interactive NPCs
Immersive theater

Required Equipment: computer with an internet connection, blindfold, and headphones (preferred)

Recommended Team Size: 3-6

Play Time: about 2 hours

Price: £39 per person

Booking: book online for a specific time slot

Description

Manor of Lies is a fully audio game. Players are asked to wear a blindfold and headphones for full immersion as they play a dice-free role-playing game. This game focuses more on investigation and interrogation of NPCs.

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Online Escape Rooms Ireland – Spirit Seekers Ireland: The Clare Abbey [Hivemind Review]

8 July 202114 July 2021 by REA Hivemind, posted in Hivemind

Spirit Seekers Ireland: The Clare Abbey is a point-and-click game created by Online Escape Rooms Ireland in Ennis, County, Clare, Ireland.

View from a country road in Ireland. Text reads, "The Clare Abbey lies on the west bank of the river Fergus, a mile south of Ennis and north of the village of Clarecastle.

Format

Style of Play:

Online native experience (can NOT be played IRL)
Play on demand
Point-and-click
Web-based inventory system

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, pen and paper

Pen and paper are useful to keep track of what you find in each area, since you will need to revisit areas throughout the game.

Recommended Team Size: 2-4

Play Time: 60 minutes

Price: €24.00 per game

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

Spirit Seekers Ireland: The Clare Abbey is a point-and-click game with 360-degree views of a real place in Ireland. Non-linear gameplay allows players to search independently, find items, and interact with the environment to solve puzzles. Items are automatically added to an inventory page. The game is creepy but not scary.

A pelican case open with a camera, an IR detector, an audio recorder, a strange device, and a file labeled "evidence."

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Escape Notice Games – Stolen at Sea [Hivemind Review]

21 June 202114 July 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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