Curio

Love ERC, their rooms are all great, but I think Curio, the last room I’ve done here, might be my favourite. It’s perhaps one of the most immersive rooms I’ve ever done, with amazing multi room puzzles, great effects, and a difficulty level that challenged enough that I never felt I needed a hint.

There are some amazing rooms in Canberra (including the other two rooms at ERC) but this one might just be my favourite. Just a superb concept executed to perfection. I loved the various phases of this room and how each offered a different look, decor, and types of puzzles — all while remaining true and consistent to the theme. Our family of 4 couldn't get enough of the clever puzzles, the seamless flow, and the cool surprises, and were actually a little disappointed that we smashed through (no clues) with about 25 minutes to spare.

9/10

holy shit we lost an entire audience. A pretty dope room, Curio definitely kept us challenged throughout with a couple of pretty difficult puzzles and moments, we had a great time. Incredibly impressive in terms of build with some really dope spaces and puzzles throughout. Some items like ferrofluid that I haven’t seen utilised in a room before, it’s always interesting to see something unique used to create a puzzle in a room. A super cool idea for a room beginning below a stage of a magic show, and moving into more of a steampunk sort of vibe. It was apparently planned to be a room able to be flipped into two different experiences which is cool in theory but the steampunk vibes did feel a little random in the second half prior to this explanation. Special shoutout to our GM Dean who talked some mad shop with us and made our experience a 10/10.

To preface this, magic-themed experiences are arguably my absolute favourite genre when it comes to escape rooms, so I had some pretty high expectations already but after playing Curio, it instantly took the #1 spot of best magic room I’ve ever played. Definitely the hardest of ERC’s three experiences, Curio makes you pay attention and take note of what’s really happening around you. From the word go there was a sense of urgency leading up to a magic show that was sure to end in catastrophe if not for our intervention. I had such a wonderful time transitioning from the front of house box office to back stage, watching in awe as the story unfolded in front of me. Incredibly unique puzzles and use of tech which leant itself to the theme wonderfully, every solve had us discovering something even more whimsical and impressive than the last, it was truly special. Shoutout to Dean who was awesome and happy to have a pretty in-depth chat with us post game!

One of the best rooms we have done. Theme-ing was on point. Puzzles were exceptionally well done. Loved the high tech aspect of it and not overly padlocked.

We completed the Curio with 4 people. It was a very magical room with a lot of fun mechanisms and unique puzzles, especially one near the end which was a surprise. The rooms themselves were a little small so sometimes felt a bit cramped when exploring, but that didn’t detract from the experience of solving the puzzles. Overall great room and would definitely recommend!

I enjoyed the magic theme which was consistent throughout the escape room. It had some cool interactive puzzles and some unique mechanisms, which were fun. The difficulty was fine for us and we solved it quite smoothly.

After finishing the masterpiece that is The Vault at Escape Rooms Canberra, our Gamesmaster kindly got us moving straight into our next and final room, Curio. Once again, Escape Rooms Canberra did not miss with Curio. We had the same Gamesmaster, so we knew we were in capable hands, as they were nothing short of friendly and courteous. Entering the room, you are instantly captivated by the beautiful set. The props, puzzles, and overall immersion make you genuinely feel like you are part of the show unfolding before your eyes. The immersive experience was enhanced by great lighting, sounds, and the quality of the build. The puzzles in Curio are linear in nature, but teamwork is essential to solve particular puzzles. The final stage of the game requires team members to be separated to complete the puzzle. There was a great variety of puzzles in this room, with a mix of high and low-tech elements and a nice use of magnets. Overall, Curio is a really good room and after escaping with about 18 minutes remaining, this room easily made it into my top rooms of all time.

Probably the most incredible room I've ever done. Mind blowing design.