The Escape Game: Ruins Forbidden Treasure (Online)

I have not played many online games and was debating whether I should play any rooms that were converted from a physical escape rooms to an online one.  Would I be doing myself a disservice by playing a top notch game (in-person) that was reduced for a virtual audience? Given the current state of affairs, I decided that I would play The Escape Game's latest room online with some friends who have not played many escape rooms before. From The Escape Game's site:

"You’re on a relaxing aerial tour of a remote jungle when everything suddenly falls apart. You’re stranded at the foot of ancient and mysterious temple ruins – home of a massive fabled treasure. Adventure has come knocking and the treasure could be yours for the taking! Fortune favors the bold. Will it favor you?"

Set Design, Technology & Puzzles 

This game was played via an in-game actor with a webcam. The actor would take directives from our group to solve various puzzles in a similar fashion to other online games we played. The main difference here was that once you entered a room, you had access to a 360 degree photo of it and could peruse the space at your leisure in order to determine what was important. That made a HUGE difference in terms of not getting motion sickness which basically forced me to quit games in the past. Having everyone search through this virtual interface was fantastic and an amazing way to recreate the escape room feeling at home. There was also a virtual inventory box where items would appear when the in-game actor found something, and then disappear when it was no longer needed. 

The set looked amazing, and did make me feel that I was missing out a bit on the immersion by not playing the physical room. There were some fun tactile puzzles and room transitions that would definitely have been better to play in real life but playing them virtually was still a great experience. 

The use of the technology was excellent, just like in their Special Ops game. We really did feel like the game took place on a movie set. Some enthusiasts might find the puzzles to be less challenging but for 98% of players, including myself, they were perfectly fine for the theme. 

If you are able to play this game in person, I would highly recommend that you do, otherwise playing this game online would be the next best thing.

Memorable Moments 

I love how The Escape Game perfectly immersed us into the world of adventure and the journey from room to room was seamless and exciting. Some of our teammates were in awe about what actually happened before our eyes!

Room For Improvement

One of the puzzles towards the end would have been much easier to perform in-person with multiple hands. Given this was adapted for online play, there wasn't much that could have been changed so it's understandable given the circumstances.

Overall Thoughts

I would think that this room is up there with one of the tops rooms I have played at The Escape Game (the other being Special Ops). I might actually even replay this room in person if I ever get chance!

• Set design: Excellent
• Difficulty: Average
• Price: $28/person
• Number of players: 3-8, (we recommend 3-4), private
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating (For Online games): ★★★★★

See their website here: https://theescapegame.com

Disclosure: The Escape Game comped the tickets for this game

The Escape Game: Unlocked (Online Game)

The Escape Game is one of the largest corporate escape room companies in the world. Over the past two years, I played five of their games and if you are ever in one of the 17 cities they are present in, you should make an effort to stop by.  My favorite rooms were Special Ops and Playground and both were some of the top rooms I have ever played. We jumped at the opportunity to play a brand new, digital only game: TEG: Unlocked VOL 1 & 2. From their site:

"The Heist - Vol. 1: Chasing Hahn 

Work as a secret agent to thwart the infamous art curator and suspected art thief, Vincent Hahn. You’ll need to uncover his true identity, connect him to a crime, and work with the International Police to finally exact justice. With the help of your Intelligence Agent, you’ll need to stop Hahn before another masterpiece goes missing. *This volume, “Chasing Hahn”, is a continuation of The Heist story, but you don’t need to play The Heist escape game first. The experience will be the same whether you’ve played The Heist or not. 

The Heist - Vol. 2: The Silk Road: 

Vincent Hahn just barely escaped, but Intel has noticed some suspicious activity in Hong Kong. According to reports, Hahn is dealing with artifacts related to the Silk Road. Your mission is to go there, find Hahn, and capture him before he can get away. "

Design, Technology & Puzzles

The format of these games were as per the below:

The dossier was comprised of PDF files that acted as the evidence from the heist. There were quite a few files to go through and the game utilized an online terminal to verify your solutions to various puzzles. As you correctly determine answers to the mission, things opened up and you are granted access to more material to study. 

The Dashboard interface was slick and it reminded me of the what I have seen in one of their physical escape rooms. Think of it like something that you would see in a Mission:Impossible movie. Here is their trailer to give you an idea of how the game looks:

 

Vol. 1 was actually a physical kit that went sent out to people and then digitized and offered online.  The puzzles were focused on examining evidence from a crime scene and somewhat similar to what you would find in a standard escape room that had paper puzzles. The overall gameplay was definitely not as exciting as a physical room and going into it knowing this would help set expectations.

I believe that Vol. 2 was conceptualized as a digital only game which was why we felt that it was a lot stronger in terms of immersion and gameplay. There were some interesting puzzles that involved multimedia elements that really made it a lot of fun. We enjoyed the presentation and the flow quite a bit.

Memorable Moments 

Vol. 2 was definitely an improvement on its predecessor and the way that the story unraveled with the use of video was very clever. It seems so real despite not having a live person acting in the game! The feeling of being a remote secret agent and working with field agents was fantastic!

Room For Improvement

There was an instance in Volume 1 where outside knowledge was needed and it was not known to the group until we were forced to take a hint. I think we spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure it out and it was pretty frustrating to find out that we had to Google the answer.

In Volume 2, we almost missed a critical segment of the story by pressing the "back" button on the browser. We tried to go forward but the story was gone and we were able to get it back by going into incognito mode. Phew!

Overall Thoughts

Online games are definitely not the same as physical but for $10, we highly recommend playing Vol 2.

• Design: Clean Input Interface
• Difficulty: Above average for Vol. 1, Below average for Vol. 2
• Price: $10/game
• Number of players: 1-4
• Duration:  Play at your own pace but likely 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: TEG Vol 1 ★★★, Vol. 2 ★★★★ 

See their website here: https://theescapegame.com/unlocked/

The Escape Game: Special Ops (Minneapolis, MN)

On a recent trip to Minneapolis, I found myself arriving at the airport late at night. With not many options available to me, I decided to solo a room at "The Escape Game" (aka "TEG"). TEG is a franchise with locations in 12 cities and plans to expand to another nine cities. I played all four games at their Houston location which were pretty solid. There were some worries in playing my first solo room because it's not as fun to miss out on parts of the game but I decided going hint heavy would help a lot. I played "Special Ops: Mysterious Market" and the below is from their site:

"It started as a routine operation. You and your fellow field agents were sent to investigate the area’s local market. It’s late, it’s quiet… but something’s not quite right. Just as you are about to wrap up your inspection, you encounter a twist you never expected. Should you have seen this coming?"

Set Design, Technology & Puzzles 

As a side note, TEG was located on the third floor at the "Mall Of America", right beside the airport. This indoor mall was huge and had a theme park situated in the center of it all! They even had a Tim Horton's and restaurants offered poutine so I guess Minneapolis has a lot of Canadian tourists.

The set, like other TEG games I played in the past, was spot on. There were nice touches that made the environment look realistic, all packaged in a physical space that was definitely above average in size.

The technology that was woven into the room towards the end of the game made me feel like I was in a movie. A few of the puzzles throughout the game were familiar to me and one of the final components was pretty novel. Puzzles varied from searching, mathematical and of course logical. There was no need for any physical exertion at all so players with any physical limitations would be fine in the room.

I really enjoyed how the game ramped up from a very ordinary start to a fun and cinematic-like final act. Knowing that I would need to leverage the help of the GM quite often, I decided to call her "operator" (this was a first for me). It felt a little like an episode from the TV series "24" where counter terrorist agents search for clues to stop the baddies from blowing up stuff. Think Jack Bauer liaising with Chloe for various intel on how to solve things. Playing solo, I had to make it unique! The GM was great. She was super helpful and knew exactly how to help me. I used to take customer service for granted but in a solo game, you really need a GM who is attentive.

I just watched the trailer for the room on their site. My suggestion (I also do this with movies) is DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER. There are some spoilers like when you watch a movie trailer!

Memorable Moments 

The technology enabled final sequences were a blast! If you're into secret agent movies, you will love it even more!

Room For Improvement

There were a few puzzles that were common and while not inherently "bad" and perhaps even novel for beginners, those who have played a few rooms will likely have seen some of the elements in other places.

Overall Thoughts

Special Ops was a fun room that was polished and made excellent use of technology. This room was my favorite out of the five rooms I have played thus far at The Escape Game and I highly recommend playing it if you have the chance!

• Set design: Great!
• Difficulty: Above average
• Price: $39.99/person
• Number of players: 1-10, (we recommend 3-4), public
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★★

See their website here: https://theescapegame.com

Disclosure: The Escape Game comped the ticket for this game.