Beyond Escape
San Francisco, California
Trapped in the Circus: Scholomo was a circus clown who designed a room of puzzles and riddles for J. W. Kite's Circus. After Scholomo's untimely death, the circus decided to honor his memory by allowing guests like us to try our hand escaping his puzzle room. Pros: The storyline was very unique and had us amped up to take on the circus clown's challenge. The game master emerged in character and ready to escort us into the circus. We really enjoyed the enthusiastic opener. The puzzles in the room were relatively straightforward and all tied into the storyline and theme. The game master was in the room and provided necessary assistance throughout the game.
Cons: The game master provided too much assistance. Although she was well-intentioned in her desire to keep us on track and definitely helped us to identify which puzzles to solve first, the help was much more than we needed. If the concern is to ensure that everyone escapes on time, then we suggested they allow the normal 60 minute escape time rather than 40 minutes. Perhaps then the game moderator will feel less pressure to move people through the puzzles faster. The puzzles could also have been improved by a few modifications to help lead the players to a more logical conclusion and thus to solving the puzzle. This would also free the game master from feeling compelled to provide so many hints. The decorations and set-design were minimalist and really in need of some major improvements to add to the experience of the players. A few small changes to the decor could make a dramatic difference.
