Hi all
As you might know, my favourite room to date is The Cipher Room’s Marlowe Hotel. I knew about 10 seconds into playing Marlowe that it was my favourite (and that it would be for a very long time). I am happy to report that almost 4 years on, Marlowe is still my favourite room. For those of you who have played Marlowe, you know why; for those who haven’t, its theming is truly unique and its level of immersion is unmatched.
In December 2021, my usual team of 4 returned to The Cipher Room to play their latest room, Mr Pepper’s Toy Shop. It had been almost 3 years since we had been to The Cipher Room (when we played Marlowe). In the meantime, owners Marise and David had opened up a second location at St Peters. Much like their original Newtown location, the theming of the St Peters premises is beautiful. The experience starts as soon as you walk into their beautiful foyer and as you walk down their seemingly never-ending hallway.
The story behind Mr Pepper’s Toy Shop is as follows:
Your business card might say ‘Real Estate Agent’, but that’s only part of the story. You work for S.C.A.R.E. (Supernatural Consultancy And Real Estate) a quirky agency that specialises in haunted properties. One day you’re sent to inspect a dilapidated and abandoned toy shop. Tucked down an alleyway in the old part of town, the shop has been empty for over 70 years. Lately, however, strange noises and lights have been reported coming from inside. It’s your job to venture in and discover the truth. Is it really haunted? Why is it locked up? And what happened to the owner, Mr Pepper?
Mr Pepper’s was my 203rd escape room to date. Here’s what I thought:
- true to form, the craftmanship in each of the The Cipher Room’s rooms are the best in the market. Every single item in the space – from the props to the wall treatments to the lighting, sounds, etc all perfectly suit the space. The level of thought and preparation, not to mention the craftsmanship and skill in bringing the design to life, is amazing;
- all of the puzzles in Mr Pepper's were of the same excellent quality we have come to expect from The Cipher Room. They were challenging and varied, there were elements of hunt and seek fun and the props were all beautifully and seamlessly woven into the room theming, all of which made for a truly immersive experience;
- whilst the theme is a pretty dark theme, I would describe the game as more eerie than truly scary (ie there are no NPCs jumping out at you, for example). The purpose of the room is not to scare you over and over again, but to immerse you in Mr Pepper's world. There are a couple of well-timed jump scares though;
- I don’t recall how quickly my team escaped, but I didn’t feel like we went down to the wire (but we had plenty of puzzles to keep us busy throughout the experience). With beautifully-crafted, immersive rooms such as those at The Cipher Room, these days I tend to spend part of my time just enjoying the craftsmanship and design (rather than rushing for the record); and
- as always, Marise took us through the room after we escaped and explained all of the puzzles, the room flow, design aspects, easter eggs, etc. It is a really nice touch to have the game designer personally explain how the puzzles came to be, where they sourced different materials from, how long it took to build dioramas and to sew the finishing touches on the curtains, etc. The amount of care and attention to detail that have been applied to all of The Cipher Room’s rooms is the reason why they are the best at what they do.
Mr Pepper's is a beautiful room. The puzzles are first rate, the props (and their seamless use as puzzle elements is so well considered) and the theming and craftsmanship are extraordinary.
Where: The Cipher room (St Peters)
Duration: 60 minutes
Themes: 5 real life rooms
Cost: $55 per person (although we were kindly hosted by The Cipher Room)
Overall Rating: Another work of art from The Cipher Room!
More details: https://www.cipherroom.com.au/
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