Paniq Room - Wizardry Review

 

Hi everyone

In March 2024, my wife and I took our girls back to Paniq Room at The Rocks in Sydney. Our first adventure at Paniq Room was back in February 2015, where my tenth ever escape room was their Supercell 117 room. We had so much fun in that room and we have had a lot of fun over the years playing all of their rooms.

My girls love a Harry Potter/wizard themed room so we decided to take them to play Wizardry on a rare weekend when we had some free time. The summary of Wizardry from their website is as follows:

The wizarding world is in peril, and only you can help! Dark forces are on their way to your wizarding school, and it’s up to you to stop them. To defeat them, you’ll need your trusty broom, and it’s unfortunately been locked in the school’s highest tower. In order to find your broom, you’ll have to sneak into the school unnoticed, escape the potion master’s dungeon and overcome all the tricks of the headmaster’s study. But hurry up – dawn is only an hour away, and the forces of darkness will be here by daybreak!

Wizardry was my 290th room. Here is what I thought: 

• the theming in Wizardry was really nicely done. The quality of the set design and props is very high – this is on par with more modern rooms that have all really stepped up with the quality of their theming;
• we enjoyed the puzzles in Wizardry. Some were a little tricky but the majority were all solved by our girls (who were aged 7 and 11 at the time). Consistent with more modern generation rooms, there were no locks to be seen anywhere in Wizardry;
• Wizardry is clearly aimed at Harry Potter fans and children and I think it does a really good job in that space. My girls (the eldest of which is a HP nut) really enjoyed the magic of this room;
• overall I would describe Wizardry’s puzzles as being on the easier side, but this was still challenging for our girls.

I can see this room being a hit with kids – it looks beautiful and plays really well, with significant ‘magical’ moments thrown in. One thing to note about this room though is that it is an Indestroom room. For those who are not aware, Indestroom is a company that designs and builds ready-to-play escape rooms, which are then purchased by ER businesses around the world. I wasn’t aware of that fact when I played Wizardry, but since then I went and played a room on the Gold Coast called “The School of Magic”. To my surprise, both rooms were largely identical (subject to a few puzzles that were different and a different ending). So that's something to be aware of if you have played other wizard-themed rooms around the country (or possibly overseas).


Where:                    13 Cambridge Street, The Rocks

Duration:                60 minutes

Themes:                  6 themes

Price:                       $55pp (for a team of 4)

Overall Rating:       A wizard room with high production value – great for kids

More details:           https://paniqroom.com.au/ 

 

The Cool Space - Séance Review

Hi everyone

In February 2024, I headed to check out the (then) newest escape room outfit in Sydney. Located in Chippendale, the business is called The Cool Space. This time I played with 2 of my enthusiast friends, so we were a team of 3.

The Cool Space is run by friends Josh and Daniel, who themselves are enthusiasts and who each worked previously at 2 of the best escape room businesses in the country. I think it’s always nice to know that the ER owners/designers have played a lot of rooms as enthusiasts, as it usually shows in their attention to detail in their own design (especially if, like most of us, they have been burned by shitty puzzles themselves when playing others’ rooms).

Their first room is called Séance. Here is the room summary:

Contact a spirit and puzzle your way through their story in a unique, seated escape room experience! Calling all ghost hunters! The new owner of the Abercrombie mansion needs your help… Gather your crew, it’s time to perform a seance! After discovering a strange box inside the mansion, the new owner has tasked your team of ghost hunters to make contact with a haunting spirit said to hold the key that unlocks the box. The task is fairly simple, gain the spirit’s trust and get the key.

What could possibly go wrong?

Séance was my 289th room. Here is what I thought: 

• my favourite aspect of Séance was the innovative use of what is a pretty small space. Players are seated throughout the entire experience at a table while a séance takes place; at no point do players walk around the space of even stand up. This is truly unique (I have not heard of anything like that anywhere else) and no doubt this made designing the puzzles and room flow really challenging, but it really paid off;
• from a business perspective, the smaller space would no doubt have been cheaper and quicker to build compared to other much larger rooms. But I think it was a really clever move by The Cool Space, as it allowed them to open quickly and start making money while they then build their second, larger space. I 100% prefer this over the more common practice now of newer ER businesses purchasing room designs and whole fitouts from third party companies like Indestroom – I have yet to play an Indestroom room that I really enjoyed;
• the puzzles and theming in Séance were all strong. When I played back in February 2024, some of the puzzle elements were quite simple. I returned in July 2024 to watch my wife and her family play Séance and Josh and Daniel showed me the various puzzles they had changed and certain puzzle elements that had been swapped out for sturdier materials;
• there was also fun actor engagement in Séance. In fact, I brought along a ‘family heirloom’ with me in an attempt to try to make the actor break character. I had mixed results and will have to try again when I play their next room 😊;
• from a puzzle and room flow design perspective, I thought there were a lot of clever elements in Séance. All facets of the space were utilised (and they were utilised really well); and
• this room is a scary room, so it’s not suitable for kids (their website suggests 16+). I have played many of the scariest rooms in the world and I think the scariness level in this room is very low (so if you don’t like scary rooms, don’t be put off). If you have a real aversion to scares, reach out to them ahead of time and I am sure they will accommodate your request.

I was really impressed by Séance, especially given that it’s Josh and Daniel’s first room. The puzzles were all challenging and rewarding to solve and the use of the space is truly unique and innovative. We really enjoyed this room and look forward to what they have to offer next. Also, everyone who plays Séance walks away with one of the coolest ER pins I have seen to date. The Cool Space’s logo is an ice cube – the pin for Séance is an ice cube seated on a chair (much like players in Séance). I suspect their next room will have a similarly cleverly-posed ice cube (pins are awesome and greatly appreciated).

Where:                    2/134 Abercrombie St, Chippendale

Duration:                60 minutes

Themes:                  1 theme so far (another on the way soon)

Price:                       $55pp (for a team of 4)

Overall Rating:       A truly innovative room, executed really well

More details:           https://www.thecoolspace.com.au/

Labyrinth Escape Rooms - Zen and Outbreak Reviews

 

Hi everyone

In February 2024, I headed back out to Parramatta to play a new room at Labyrinth. We have always had fun at Joan and Frank’s rooms there each of the times we had been before. This time I played not with my usual group, but with other enthusiast friends. We had originally planned on playing just their Zen room, but we escaped pretty quickly and managed to sneak in their Outbreak room too.

There is what I thought of both rooms:

Zen – Room 287

As for theming, this room had a pretty cool impact the second we walked in. The room had a futuristic feel, almost completely devoid of colour. It felt to me like it was a futuristic zen space with possibly hints of an asylum thrown in. There were some cool puzzles in the room that contained a mix of dexterity as well as some really cool, well-concealed high-tech components. This was a fun room – we all laughed at various points. Overall the puzzles were on the easier side – it would definitely suit newer teams and certainly families.

Outbreak – Room 288

I really enjoyed Outbreak. From the perspective purely of theming, I think this is Labyrinth’s strongest room – the props were great, the treatment of every surface was really well done, the mix of high-tech elements throughout was also great. Outbreak felt like a movie-set. I also really enjoyed the puzzles in Outbreak – again, they all made sense in the space, there was a nice mix of hunt and seek fun and some really cool tech in some of the puzzles. I thought this was a cracker room and really enjoyed it. We also broke the record (although I am not sure if that record still stands in the almost 12 months it has taken me to write up this review). Highly recommend this room!

Where:                    1B Victoria Rd, Parramatta

Duration:                60 minutes

Themes:                   6 themes

Price:                       $60pp (for a team of 4)

Overall Rating:       Awesome theming – Outbreak is my new fave Labyrinth room

More details:           https://labyrinthescaperooms.com.au/

Cubic Escape Rooms - Memento & The Recording Device Reviews

Hi everyone

In February 2024, I was invited by the owners of Cubic Escape Rooms to come and play one of their rooms. I ended up playing 2 rooms there back to back with other enthusiast friends of mine. The first room that we played was Memento, which we then followed up with The Recording Device.

There is what I thought of both rooms:

Memento – Room 285

This room involves players delving into the mind of the main character and then learning more about his past and certain events that have shaped both he and his family. It was an interesting story with some interesting puzzles. The theming was also unique in that much of it was reminiscent of a black and white comic book. There was a nice mix of puzzles and though all were on the easier side for our enthusiast team, there were a couple of interesting puzzles that we all enjoyed.

The Recording Device – Room 286

This room is set in a Sydney hospital during a thunderstorm. There has been a murder and players need to figure out what happened. One unique element of this room is that each player is given a role to play, with special information only each player knows about themself. There were some interesting puzzles in this experience (particularly during the first space), but some of the elements that related to each player’s role didn’t quite hit the mark for me. After our experience, our game master took us through the various information in the room that related to the murder and that didn’t quite gel with us either. Overall it was an interesting experience, but we preferred Memento.

Where:                    L1, 741 George St, Haymarket

Duration:                70 minutes

Themes:                  4 themes

Price:                       $55pp (for a team of 4)

Overall Rating:       Reasonably solid rooms – Memento was our pick of the two

More details:           https://cubicescapesydney.com.au/

Next Level Escape - Forest of Echoes Review (Sydney)

Hi all

In October 2023, my usual team of 4 returned to Next Level Escape to play their latest room, Forest of Echoes.  We have played all of the other rooms designed by Next Level over the years (including online rooms and even some pop-up rooms at cons) and we have always loved their rooms.  They are rooms designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, and it shows.

Forest of Echoes was our 229^th escape room.  The summary of the room from their website is as follows:

All right, scouts! Are you ready for your big adventure in the woods? Don’t mind the rumours about the forest being haunted by spirits, we’re pretty sure it’s all nonsense and poor old Sam will find their way back one day soon. After all, time can pass very quickly in there; morning to noon to evening to night and before you realise, it’s morning again! Stay safe in the woods, scouts – it’s everyone’s responsibility!

Here is what I thought of Forest of Echoes:

·        the famous Next Level Escape sense of humour that we have come to love and expect was included in our experience in Forest of Echoes.  Our game master (er, scout leader) took us through our mission briefing and then led the way into the forest…;

·        the space in Forest of Echoes is truly beautiful.  An immense amount of work has clearly gone into the construction of the room – all surfaces inside the space have been considered and hand-crafted, which really adds to the immersion.  Adding to this are the impressive lighting and soundscape;

·        there is a really strong backstory to the room and I think it is true to say that every single puzzle has been designed so as to link back to that backstory.  That sounds like a pretty simple premise, but this is something that so many rooms do not do well.  The backstory in Forest of Echoes is really strong and very well-considered [Quick side note – you can check out an interesting article by Scott Nicholson, a Canadian professor of game design and development, here with respect to the undeniable link between great back stories and immersive escape rooms]

·        the most unique element of Forest of Echoes is a mechanism which allows players to control the time of day or night.  The entire experience has been designed around this aspect, as different puzzle elements appear/react at different times of the day/night.  Purely from a design perspective, this is uber cool as it allows for various different experiences to occur within the same space.  The mechanism worked perfectly and it soon became abundantly clear just how much hidden tech there is in the space to make everything work; 

·        Forest of Echoes is a non-linear (or multi-linear) room, which tends to suit my team over a linear room (as it allows us to divide and conquer).  However, although the room is a non-linear room, some puzzles need to be solved (or even identified) at different times of the day/night, so our team generally worked together on each puzzle.  The signposting is subtle in the room, so players will need a keen eye and attention to detail in some aspects to discover all of the puzzles (and their solutions).  However, the game master (scout leader) is always available to assist newer players in particular;

·        as far as the difficulty level of the room, I think Forest of Echoes is pretty challenging. We escaped (from memory) in about 62 minutes of the allowed 90 minutes, but I don’t feel like we were speeding through at any point in time;

·        Forest of Echoes is certainly one of the most high-tech rooms that we have played.  The lighting (as well as other aspects) plays a really pivotal role in the space, given the time changing mechanism. On that front, this room will also appeal to that part of the market that that love magic magnetic/RF car reader mechanisms over more traditional padlocks (as there are none of the latter in sight in Forest of Echoes); and

·        the room is only available for players 16 years or older.  This is due to some light sexual and drug references, as well as the fact that there are many breakable elements in the room.

Our team was talking afterwards about Next Level Escape’s rooms and we agreed that their 5 rooms on offer (as well as their online rooms and previous pop-up rooms) are all so very different.  The common denominator to all though is their humour, great puzzles, high quality theming and the fact that they ensure that players have a great experience. We really enjoyed Forest of Echoes and can’t wait to play their next room.

Where:                        Next Level Escape

Duration:                    90 minutes

Themes:                      5

Cost:                           $60 per person (assuming team of 4)

Overall Rating:           A beautiful and unique narrative driven adventure

More details:              https://www.nextlevelescape.com.au/

 

Mission Sydney - Intruders Review (Sydney)

Hi all

In October 2023, my usual team of 4 returned to Mission Sydney to check out their latest room, Intruders.  They kindly invited us to return some months before, but it took us that long to sort ourselves out (as this was certainly not a room that we could bring our daughters to).

Intruders was the only Mission Sydney game to date that I hadn’t yet played.  In fact, our second ever game way back in September 2014 was Mission Sydney's Vampire Castle.  You can see my review of that room,  here (and the room is still available to play today).

Some 226 rooms later, Intruders was our 228^th escape room. The summary of the room from their website is as follows:

A hospital outside a town was mysteriously abandoned a few years ago and the local council has ordered the hospital to be demolished in the early hours of this morning. There have been reports of alarms sounding at night from inside the hospital and the initial investigation team disappeared for an unknown reason.  You have heard that a YouTube director who investigates paranormal activities has organised an urban exploration before the hospital is demolished. For your own personal reasons, you asked if you could join as part of his film crew.  You only have 90 minutes to sneak into the hospital to discover why the hospital was abandoned before the demolition crew arrives.

Here is what I thought of Intruders (apologies if it’s a case of TLDR…):

·        Intruders was genuinely fantastic.  Before we started, our game master said that she really hoped that we would like the room, but noted that it was different to a typical escape room. And she was right – Intruders is not your typical escape room.  There are probably only half a dozen traditional style escape room puzzles in Intruders, but that’s not the main drawcard here;

·        Intruders is described as “escape room theatre”, which is exactly what it is.  Some of my favourite experiences over the past 9 years have been immersive theatre experiences set in an escape room (or adjacent) world, such as Monroe & Associates (a superb spy-themed experience set in a caravan) and Art Heist (a brilliant art heist-themed room set in an art gallery).  But these were temporary, pop-up offerings only. Whilst a few permanent escape rooms have included a game master NPC actor inside the space, I wouldn’t describe any of those as true immersive theatre;

·        I am genuinely happy to confirm that with Intruders, Sydney-siders have a permanent immersive theatre offering.  The experience begins standing outside of an abandoned hospital. You are part of a YouTube crew looking to get some footage of some paranormal activities going on inside the hospital;

·        our YouTube director was “George”, a young up and coming director with high hopes for his future career (which hadn’t quite taken off yet).  George’s performance throughout was brilliant – he ensured that all 4 of us were engaged and involved, pushed us all at different times out of our comfort zone, cracked jokes, made weird music references and gave us nudges in the right direction where needed (without spoiling anything at all).  Immersive theatre experiences like these are only as good as the actor that players get to interact with and George was as good as they come;

·        the theming throughout this experience was of the incredibly high quality that we have come to expect from Mission Sydney rooms.  Despite being in an escape room on George Street, we felt like we were really inching our way through an abandoned hospital in the middle of nowhere.  Lighting and cool strobe effects, music, and other audio were used to really ramp up the level of immersion;

·        a question I suspect many of you are asking is well, just how scary is Intruders?  At the time of writing this review, I have played probably 10 or so scary rooms around the country (and some in LA).  Usually in scary rooms I am the member of my team who is pushed into dark corridors or cupboards, etc because it doesn’t usually phase me to any great extent.  I enjoy jump scares too, so they don’t normally bother me too much.  However, I was f*%&ing horrified in Intruders;

·        after having thought about it for almost a week after playing, I think there are a number of elements that resulted in me being petrified.  Intruders f*&@s with your mind – it’s not just a matter of there being 100 jump scares, but it’s more of an art of selecting when to scare you.  The room design is also incredibly clever – by assigning players different roles, players are then forced to perform certain tasks that they need to do (so there is no avoiding getting involved).  As far as room flow goes, there are also clever moments where players are funnelled into certain spaces which require them to be brave.  You would also think that having George with you the whole time might make you feel a little safer, but you would be wrong;

·        I have never been so scared in an escape room, period. I have also never sworn at an actor as much as I did in Intruders – George was great, but I lost count of the things I called him by the end of the experience ;-)

·        as with all immersive experiences I have played before, the greatest fun for me is derived from making actors break character.  I consider it my personal challenge.  I am pleased to report that on at least 2 occasions, I secured a decent laugh from George :-)

Intruders is pretty expensive compared to some other rooms, but please take my word for it when I say it is 100% worth the money.  Not only is it a 90 minute experience, part of the fee includes paying for multiple live actors.  If you don't want to take my word for it - check out Mission Sydney's reviews (particularly of Intruders) on TripAdvisor - so many 5 star reviews and for good reason.

This room, as well as Mission Sydney's various other rooms, shows just how far they have come over the past 9 years since their Vampire Castle room. Despite being well known for their high tech and visually spectacular rooms, Mission Sydney do not just make the same type of room – their rooms are really quite different and varied.  This is certainly the case with Intruders, given that it is much more of an immersive theatre experience than it is an escape room.  It was so good, I wish I could go back and play it again (but honestIy, I’m too f(#*ing scared to).

After the experience, my daughters asked my wife what we thought of Intruders.  Her response was “your father almost pooped his pants”.  Truer words were never uttered.

Where:                        Mission Sydney (George St)

Duration:                    90 minutes

Themes:                      8

Cost:                           $87 per person (assuming team of 4)

Overall Rating:           Brilliantly immersive and horrifyingly scary

More details:              https://www.missionsydney.com/