Mantis
31 escape rooms
You're either going to love it or hate it. I loved it!! And it's interesting why you may hate it (2 reasons)...this escape room is quite different to what you'd normally do. It's less traditional "puzzle solving" and more "if I were actually in this situation, what would I do?" And that's why many escape room enthusiasts may feel stumped (and end up wasting time) because the solutions are often far simpler and "practical" rather than sophisticated decryption. The atmosphere is quite intense and they have done a great job on the design! You genuinely feel uneasy in there - which is the point. Big FYI: Pay attention to the instructions of your game master. This is the second reason: there is a mini-event during the game that may result in an immediate "game over" if you fail to attend to it in a timely manner...even if you have 30 mins of gametime remaining! This had stumped us the first time and we still hadn't realized what had happened. I had given feedback to the game masters to highlight the mini event slightly more because this totally catches people off-guard. Funnily, the game becomes so tense that - much like in the real world - you get caught in the chaos of wanting to escape and end up overlooking the basics. It's part of the game, makes it very engaging...but on the flipside, can be frustrating to some. I highly recommend this room. It's novel, it's exciting! Great option for a "scary" escape room...especially if you get the guy with the deep voice who goes above and beyond...and stays in character even when you exit and get in your car (!). I will be bringing friends here for them to experience this for themselves :D
Gameplay
Flows well as long as you think in terms of "real world" scenario
Atmosphere
Very tense.
Customer service
Courteous staff, involved GM's
Particularly interesting or different
Yes
Very unique. Scary. Different thought process required.
Story
Difficulty
Hard
While the puzzles themselves are not too difficult, the tense atmosphere can make you overlook simpler solutions. The biggest X-factor of this room is that it's not your typical puzzle. You need to think differently - treat it like an actual situation rather than breaking encryptions.
Game tech
Mechanical
Ideal number of players
4
4 makes the best use of initial positions. Any more could feel crowded too. Less than 4, is doable but if you go with 3 or 2, then you won't get a bang-for-your-buck start to the game.
Scary
Scary
Minimum age
16
Not for kids. Some graphic themes and props.
Was anything broken?
No
Live actors
Yes
The cannibal is a live actor.
Physically active
Somewhat
Requires some climbing and stretching.
Easy to find location
Yes
2nd floor.
Parking
Easy
