Break the Code Plus - Avatar Review

A bit of a different review this time.  My usual fellow escape room buddies in my usual team did not try this room with me, but instead I tried this room with work colleagues.  We booked a corporate afternoon with 4 teams trying different Break the Code Plus rooms simultaneously (Avatar, Indiana Jones, Mission Stealth and Da Vinci rooms).  This was my twenty-first escape room in Sydney (and my thirty first room in Australia so far!).  

First off, I'll say what I enjoyed most about the Avatar room at Break the Code Plus:

1.    Their front of house and online booking system were excellent.

2.    The theming was ok - not the best, but better than most.       

3.    They had one puzzle mechanism that I hadn't seen before, which is cool.

4.    We were handed a photo of our team after our escape - this is a nice touch and by memory, Mission Sydney is the only other room that hands out photos after the escape.

And now for what I didn't like:

1.    They have a really bad communication system, which involves players hitting a button and then the game master walking into the room.  This really ruins the immersion aspect and detracts from the flow of the game. 

2.    The puzzles are largely very clunky.  There are one or two puzzles that are reasonably well done, but the majority are not well designed.  A couple of the puzzles use cool mechanisms, but the input data used to solve the puzzles is vague, ambiguous or has multiple interpretations.  This was really annoying and unimpressive.

3.    Some of the puzzles are examples of lazy design. Without giving any spoilers, one puzzle involves hunting down a tiny code that has been hand-written in invisible ink in the room.  This is not clever - it's really uncreative and disappointing.

4.    My team this time consisted of myself and 3 other first-timers.  We did not escape within the allowed 60 minutes (I think it took about 65 minutes all up).  We needed help on the final puzzle and when the solution was explained, I rolled my eyes and thought it was pretty poor (and again, ambiguous).

5.    Their price (without a discount coupon) is $180 for 4 adults.  This makes them the most expensive escape room outfit in Sydney (equal with Mission Sydney's Dr M, which is a far superior room).  Their rooms are not good enough to justify this price tag.  

This room was below average in my honest opinion.  Their Indiana Jones room is much better (although not without its faults as well).  This escape room outfit is pretty cheap and cheerful - most aspects of their rooms are average or below average.   

We still have another 2 Groupon vouchers for Break the Code Plus, so we will be back soon to try their Da Vinci and Lost rooms.

One other aspect of their rooms that REALLY annoyed me today was that the staff had not correctly reset one of the other rooms being undertaken by another of our corporate teams.  Without spoilers, one of the doors between rooms in one of the other themed escape rooms was accidentally left open before the escape began, so that team walked straight through the door and then were really confused by the various puzzles in the previous room which didn't seem to do anything.  This is truly inexcusable and is a sign of a poorly run outfit. 

Overall, this is a below average room - don't waste your money.

Where:                        Level 1, 741 George Street, Haymarket, NSW

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                     6 themes (which will apparently change often)

Cost:                           $180 (for a team of 4) (although we had a Groupon for $80)

Overall Summary:     Disappointing and very overpriced.    

More details:             http://www.breakthecode.com.au/  

Melbourne escape rooms reviews

Hi all

My first 3 Melbourne escape room reviews are up.  They are reviews of each of Rush Escape Game's 3 rooms.  Rush Escape Games is currently ranked No.1 on TripAdvisor.

Click below to see the reviews:  

1. Da Vinci Down Under
2. Lost in Paradise
3. Mission:Possible

Enjoy!

Thanks

Scott

Melbourne escape rooms were awesome :-) :-) :-)

Hi all

If you have read my blog recently, you probably know that I was planning on heading down to Melbourne to try out a few escape rooms.

Well, I went down there this past weekend (actually, it was a 3 day long weekend) in which we tried 9 rooms and beta tested a brand new room.

The rooms were awesome and met (or exceeded) my pretty high expectations.  The room owners/game masters were all great too and provided awesome experiences.

I'm tired now (we only flew back a couple of hours ago), but I'm keen to get cracking on my reviews.  It will probably take me another week or two to write them all, so watch this space.  Or more correctly, watch this space: http://escaperoommelbourne.blogspot.com

I figured it's more logical to set up a separate escape room blog for the Melbourne rooms.  I'll post updates here though to let you know once I've posted each of my Melbourne reviews.

I'm also trying another room at Break the Code Plus later this week (with my colleagues at work, which is a first for me).

Thanks
Scott

Labyrinth Escape Rooms - Mad Scientist has opened

Hi all

Just a quick update to let you know that Labyrinth Escape Rooms in Parramatta are now taking bookings for their second room, Mad Scientist.  The room summary is as follows:

A crazed scientist is on the run! As watchmen track his path, you and your team are to go back to his lab to find his secret chemical concoction.

Nothing’s for certain; but we’re told this liquid substance has the power to rewind human ageing – for good! The clock is ticking to outsmart the mad scientist before it’s too late!

Their first room, Insane Asylum is a great room so I'm sure Mad Scientist will be of the same quality. 

Go to their website to book:  http://labyrinthescaperooms.com.au/ 

And as always, if you check out the room, post a comment here and let me know what you thought.

Thanks
Scott

ParaPark Sydney - New Crime Scene '95 room

Hi everyone

I'm VERY happy to let you all know that ParaPark Sydney will be officially opening up their third room on Tuesday 20 October 2015!!  

The new room is called "Crime Scene '95".  I managed to find some information about the new room on an international ParaPark website, which summarises the room as follows:

Welcome to Wicks Road, Macquarie Park! The inquiry team has just arrived on the scene of a terrible crime. The police are helpless and they have stopped the investigation, so it is up to you to find out:

1. what happened?
2. who the murderer was?
3. who the victim was?

Oh no…??? A sudden change is about to happen on the scene… Discover all the traces of evidence and don’t let any evidence disappear – and please, don’t let anything take your mind off the investigation! Come to an exciting crime scene investigation and stop the murderer before he comes back and stops you! 

Tick tock - time is ticking and the evidence is increasing…

Like Gateway 9A, this room has a rating of 5/5 for difficulty.

Gateway 9A is easily one of the best rooms in Sydney.  Check out my earlier review of Gateway 9A here - loads of different hand-made puzzles, brilliantly themed and run by enthusiastic owners who ensure that all teams have have a great time in their rooms.  

My team cannot wait to check out Crime Scene '95!!!

Go here to make a booking!

Scott

Review of Break the Code Plus Mission Stealth [CLOSED]

My group of friends (4 adults) checked out Break the Code Plus' Mission Stealth Biohazard Virus in October 2015, about a month or so after they opened.  This was our twentieth escape room in Sydney (so far!).  

We found the place very easily - they are hidden at the end of a short alley way (take a right before you come to the shop at the end of the alley way and go to level 1 in the lifts).  There is plenty of signage so you shouldn't have any problems.

They currently have 6 rooms (one of which is an outdoors escape).  We did their Indiana Jones room and after a Coke break, we came straight back and tried Mission Stealth.  

First off, I'll say what I enjoyed most about the Mission Stealth room at Break the Code Plus:

1. Their front of house and online booking system were excellent.
2. The theming was pretty good - not the best, but better than most.       
3. All of their puzzles were hand-made and some were really different to others we had seen elsewhere.  Some of the puzzles required an element of skill (so you can't get through on your brain alone), but I really liked this aspect because it was quite different from most other escape rooms in Sydney.  That being said, I can see how it could annoy a lot of players.    
4. I think they had a good mix of high tech and low tech puzzles.  They didn't rely too much on hunt and seek.
5. We were handed a photo of our team after our escape - this is a nice touch and by memory, Mission Sydney is the only other room that hands out photos after the escape.

And now for what I think can be improved:

1. They need to provide more of a back story upon entering the room to set the scene.
2. They have a really bad communication system.  Unlike their Indy room, we were given a walkie talkie at the beginning of the room.  However, rather than communicate via the walkie talkie, the game master just came into the room when we asked for a clue - this really ruins the immersion aspect and detracts from the flow of the game.  Also, when we used the walkie talkie, we had to wait a few minutes for a response.  In fact, we ended up knocking on the door (which got a quicker response).  Good rooms require dedicated game masters - they seemed to have plenty of staff, but none were actively watching on cameras (and they weren't responsive when we used the walkie talkie).  This was a real shame.
3. The room design is cool - it reminded me in some respects of Paniq Room's Supercell 117, but it wasn't executed nearly as well.  I won't give away and spoilers, but in the first part of Mission Stealth, the team is split and separated.  It was REALLY hard to communicate with each other though because the rooms were too sound proof - they also had music blaring which got on each of our nerves.  Even after they turned off the annoying music, we still had to scream to be heard.  A few drilled holes in the perspex would improve this no end.
4. Whilst I love home-made puzzles, one in particular we managed to break (ie solve in a way that it was not intended to be solved).  However, this was just freakish luck actually.  They had a 3 digit lock on a puzzle and we managed to interpret the clue and guess the code.  Unfortunately, the particular lock is not supposed to be opened by players - it was merely how the game master resets the game.  The chances were 1 in 1000 that we would guess the code, which we did.  This meant that we could skip the whole puzzle (being a puzzle that we tried after the game ended and which took us ages to complete - this puzzle that requires a lot of skill and working as a team).  It can be really confusing to have additional locks in a room when they aren't part of the game - they need to make this clear.  It also confused us because once we had used the clues to "solve" this puzzle, we didn't consider the clues again (which were of course needed for a later puzzle).
5. And now for the biggest problem in this room for us - one of the high tech mechanisms did not work.  This really did ruin our experience.  It was the final mechanism - we flicked a switch and.....nothing happened.  We were later told that the flicking of that switch then opens the exit door, but that was not our experience.  The danger with all high tech rooms is that this kind of thing happens I suppose.  But it was a real shame.  They did let us record an exit time of when we flicked the switch though (44 minutes), which put our team at the second best time so far for this room.  But we were all left disappointed by the anti-climax.
6. Like the Indy room, there definitely aren't enough puzzles to fill out a full 60 minutes.  They need at least another puzzle or 2.  This room has significantly less puzzles than most other good escape rooms in the market, which was a downside for me in this room.

After having escaped from Indiana Jones an hour before, this room was a huge let down by comparison.  Even ignoring the mechanism failure, none of my team liked this room nearly as much as Indy (and it wasn't just that we preferred the Indy concept over a biohazard concept). 

 

We still have another 2 Groupon vouchers for Break the Code Plus, so we will be back soon.  I'm also trying out this place with my work in about a month, so hopefully they sort out some of these problems before then. 

Overall, this is a middle of the range room compared to others we have tried.

Where:                   Level 1, 741 George Street, Haymarket, NSW

Duration:                60 minutes

Themes:                 6 themes (which will apparently change often)

Cost:                       $180 (for a team of 4) (although we had a Groupon for $80)

Overall Rating:      3.5 out of 5 stars

More details:          http://www.breakthecode.com.au/ 

Review of Break the Code Plus - Indiana Jones Journey to the Secret Chamber [CLOSED]

My group of friends (4 adults) checked out Break the Code Plus' Indiana Jones - Journey to the Secret Chamber in October 2015, about a month or so after they opened.  This was our nineteenth escape room in Sydney (so far!).  In doing this room, my group had now tried at least one room at all 12 escape room outfits in Sydney!!!

We found the place very easily - they are hidden at the end of a short alley way (take a right before you come to the shop at the end of the alley way and go to level 1 in the lifts).  There is plenty of signage so you shouldn't have any problems.

They currently have 6 rooms (one of which is an outdoors escape).  We did a second room there straight after this room (see my separate review on their Mission Stealth room).  

First off, I'll say what I enjoyed most about the Indiana Jones room at Break the Code Plus:

1. Their front of house and online booking system were excellent.
2. The theming was great.  I love the Indiana Jones series (well, the first 3 anyway...).  Of all of their rooms, this was the theme that I was most looking forward to and it didn't disappoint.  The theming was up there with the best in Sydney.
3. All of their puzzles were hand-made and all worked perfectly.  Some of the puzzles required an element of skill (so you can't get through on your brain alone), but I really liked this aspect because it was quite different from most other escape rooms in Sydney.  That being said, it was certainly frustrating for my team at times and I can see how it could annoy a lot of players.  My tip here is to think outside the box...  
4. The room design is great - some of their mechanisms were unlike any we have seen in Sydney (and they brought a smile to each of our faces).  They definitely had the wow factor.
5. I think they had a really good mix of high tech and low tech puzzles.  They didn't rely too much on hunt and seek.
6. There is a heck of a lot of attention to detail in all of the puzzles and props.
7. We were handed a photo of our team after our escape - this is a nice touch and by memory, Mission Sydney is the only other room that hands out photos after the escape.
8. Overall, my team had a lot of fun, which is always the measure of a great room.

And now for what I think can be improved:

1. They need to provide more of a back story upon entering the room.  We were walked into the room, given a couple of directions and that was it.  I think a 30 second summary of the theme would have helped to set the scene.
2. They have a really bad communication system.  We were given a token with a button on it and were told that we only get 3 clues per room.  When you hit the button, the game master then enters the room and speaks with you in person.  This really ruins the immersion aspect and detracts from the flow of the game.
3. Whilst I love home-made puzzles, they need to tweak their home-made puzzles (as currently, you can break them).  And by break I don't mean destroy - I instead mean solve the puzzle in a way other than was intended by the game designer (I can't really say any more without spoilers).
4. Whilst I really liked this room, there definitely aren't enough puzzles to fill out a full 60 minutes.  They need at least 2 or 3 more puzzles (and preferably one more entire room within the Indy experience). We managed to escape in 33 minutes (which incidentally put us in first place on the hall of fame leader board, at least for now).  Apparently we took the top spot from one of the actors in Twilight who had been through recently.  In my view, if people are escaping from your room in half the allocated time, then there aren't enough puzzles in your room.  In fact, this room has significantly less puzzles than most other good escape rooms in the market, which was the major downside for me in this room.

After having read some "not so glowing" comments on this blog from others who had tried out Break the Code, I went into this room with pretty low expectations.  Those expectations were greatly exceeded - I REALLY enjoyed this room.  So much so that if they had 2 or 3 extra puzzles and fixed the other problems outlined above (which are very easy to fix), this room would be in my top 3 rooms in Sydney.  Unfortunately, the lack of puzzles puts it down the list a little further, but I still really enjoyed it.  I should say here that Andy (a frequent commenter here on my blog) had mentioned that the owners give a little too much by way of directions at the start, so I specifically asked for no information at the start - I think this helped a lot. 

I liked this room more than the rest of my team - but hey, I am a sucker for Indy.  Now if only someone would do a Goonies inspired room...

Where:                   Level 1, 741 George Street, Haymarket, NSW

Duration:                60 minutes

Themes:                 6 themes (which will apparently change often)

Cost:                       $180 (for a team of 4) (although we had a Groupon for $80)

Overall Rating:      4.25 out of 5 stars

More details:          http://www.breakthecode.com.au/