Belgrade, Mar 2020
Of PIN’s five games, Masonic Lodge was the one I’d noticed recommendations for, and having played it I believe that’s because it’s the one that strays most from the traditional escape room format – though in most respects it’s a normal game of finding codes and opening padlocks.
The obvious way in which it differs from more typical games could be considered a spoiler, although it’s clear from the point the briefing ends. It’s also something that’s not so unusual in some other countries. However, if you’re likely to play this game and don’t want any advance expectations, you might prefer to stop reading at this point and come back to this review after playing.
Still here? The difference is that it’s played with the gamemaster in the room, unspeaking but providing non-verbal hints where needed (or, where gestures are insufficient, hints in the form of laminated picture cards). He also very frequently indicated items and areas that we shouldn’t touch, I guess as an alternative to labelling them with stickers.
It’s curious how much more self-conscious I get playing with a gamemaster physically present (hardly logical, since the host is normally watching and listening whether they’re in the room or not). However, on this occasion we got comfortable with it quite quickly.
At the risk of sounding harsh, the highlights of Masonic Lodge were not its puzzles. Not that the puzzles were particularly flawed, although one largish one later on struck me as both confusing and confused; most were perfectly reasonable and decent. And the set design was likewise fine without being remarkable (and with a certain amount of visible wiring). Even so, it was an enjoyable and memorable game, primarily for a couple of things which I’ll avoid mentioning for spoiler reasons. That’s doubtless a pretty ambiguous way to recommend a room, and Masonic Lodge isn’t one you should approach with sky-high expectations; but I didn’t regret making the trek out from Belgrade centre to play it. 
