Games played by msilcox

The narrative thread running through the various puzzles is a bit thin, but in every other way this was a really nice experience.  There is a good diversity of puzzles, and a lot of cleverness about how to make the best of the medium.  As the first one of these I've done, I liked that you knew based on the symbols whether you had the right answer or not, and really appreciated the graded hint system.  All in all a very pleasant way to spend some time anticipating the holiday.

A cute game with a nice diversity of puzzles.  Most of the interfaces worked well, although in one case puzzle pieces were supposed to rotate and didn't.  Fortunately it was still possible to proceed without that one puzzle.  Would make a nice afternoon activity for a family during the holidays.

A few clever puzzles in this game.  But it had that very frustrating characteristic of Gen 1 rooms that you didn't know which lock each combination was for, so it was hard to know if your solution was wrong, or if it was the wrong lock, which was magnified in the online context.  I needed quite a few clues since the logic didn't really flow for me.

Beautiful animation and a smooth interface.  My only gripe was with the hint system.  If you're going to add a time penalty it would be nice if the hints were more useful!  I needed a hint on one puzzle, and had to go through 3 hints to get to a piece of information I didn't already know.  Otherwise a very pleasant entertainment.

Would be a fun holiday activity with kids.  The interface worked well, and there was a good diversity of puzzles.  Fairly easy, but good note-taking a must!

I really liked the atmospheric settings for the various chapters in this game.  The interface worked well, and most of the puzzles were fairly straightforward.  There was one I would never have solved without help (too much ambiguity in the instructions) and one that I'm still not sure how I solved.  But generally a pleasant afternoon's activity, and definitely doable by someone playing solo.

This game has a really cool immersive set, with some really dramatic elements.  It would probably work well with a larger group, since there are “essential” and “optional” puzzles.  On the down side, one essential puzzle was frustrating because it was only difficult because of the dim lighting.  And the final puzzle was just lame—not something that belongs in an escape room.

This is a very non-linear room.  We found the lack of any kind of sequencing a bit frustrating, especially since there was repetitive use of some motifs so it was hard to tell which elements went together.  Some clever and imaginative puzzles, but we tend to be more linear gals!

Such a cool set!  Imaginative use of tech, and some unique elements.  

Really wonderful game, with a good diversity of puzzles, and a very cool set. Liked the split start!

A large step up from most escape rooms.  Truly a multi-faceted, wonderfully immersive experience, with many unique elements.  Lives up to the hype!!

This was generally a fairly cool translation of a physical room into a digital format.  There was one clue that I never figured out how to see, and one element that was really impossible without the clue for a person playing alone.  But some clever elements, and a generally good interface.

Quite a lot to do for a player playing alone, but very manageable with a few little nudges!  The abbey location is really very cool--a wonderful idea to bring the rest of the world to Ireland.  If you enjoy things a bit scary, maybe try this with the lights off at night. 

Definitely on the easier end for an experienced player, even doing it alone.  But a very successful translation of a physical room to a digital experience.  I liked the little video cut scenes showing the locks being opened etc.--it made it seem more like an actual room.  A pleasant experience!

As with the other Remote Avatar games that we've done with The Escape Game company, this was a very well orchestrated experience.  We had the full attention of both the avatar, and a GM, and there was an excellent inventory system.  These rooms are expensive, but you can see why in light of the staffing and infrastructure involved.  I really wish I could have played this room in person, because the set was extraordinarily immersive, and some of the puzzles involved physical elements that didn't translate that well.  The puzzles were on the easier side, but the integration with the story was strong.  All in all a pleasant experience.

A hugely imaginative game, with a really clever set that created atmosphere with a relatively simple build and a lot of creative use of props.  We had a great time with the GM, who was very personable with a good sense of humour!  There was a lot to do, but it was very manageable within the 75 minutes allotted.  As a scientist I particularly enjoyed some of the science related puzzles.  They are apparently hoping to turn it into a point and click game--if so, it should work really well.  Recommended!!

An extremely immersive and very cleverly designed set that we were sorry not to get to experience in person.  The translation to online worked okay, although there was one section in the middle of the game when things got slightly mysterious because our avatar seemed to disappear.  Some very cool physical puzzles that we haven't seen before, and good integration with the theme.  There weren't any jump scares, but the set was certainly heavy on the skulls and effectively creepy. 

Our GM was very sweet, and it was a cool experience to do our first virtual game in the Philippines.  The puzzles were very basic and homegrown.  There was one legitimate jump-scare--otherwise there was just a minor sense of unease.  Glad to have done it, but not really a challenge to experiences escape gamers.

We really enjoyed this game.  It is a unique premise (searching for an iconic can of beer!) with some unique elements that we haven't seen before.  The host was very pleasant, and there were oodles of tie in with the beer/bar theme.  None of our group are heavy drinkers (indeed one doesn't drink at all), and yet we all had a really good time.  Recommended!

We are still a bit confused as to how the details of this room relate to the description we read.  But oh well!  A very pleasant host and some good puzzles.  Would have really benefited from using Telescape for some elements, although we did appreciate that they provided images of hard to see elements that we were allowed to screen-shot.  I personally found the pace a little frustrating, but I am an extremely impatient person.  If you do this, embrace Italian time!

It seems like the early bumps some players experienced have been worked out, so the game flowed very well, with successful integration of movie and computer elements.  The set is like literally this guy's apartment, so not fantastic, but there are some very clever puzzles, and the interaction with the host was really fun. 

Probably a super duper cool room to do in person, with an extremely immersive set.  In the live avatar version we struggled with the lighting--one puzzle was rendered nearly impossible because it was just too dark.  The telescape elements were very helpful, and we particularly appreciated that there were puzzles that team members could break off and do while the rest of the team were exploring.  A very pleasant host who definitely helped to make the game fun.  And with amazing green nails 😉

Among the best remote avatar games we've played.  The integration of cut scenes was absolutely seamless, and really elevated this into a cinematic experience.  The set was wonderfully spooky, and there was a good assortment of puzzles, with few traditional locks.  The usual mix of light-hearted and bloody-minded hosting that we experienced with these folks' other games.  Absolutely a "must do" for fans of online escape rooms.

As a fan of Shakespeare's plays I definitely enjoyed all the references to his work.  This was definitely on the easier end, but I think would be a great one to do with kids who are learning about Shakespeare in school.  Nicely done sets, and a couple of clever elements we haven't seen before.

Another charming experience from the folks in Lanzarote.  Helena's wonderfully upbeat hosting is a huge part of what makes playing games with them fun.  This is a room with a LOT to do.    We did technically escape even though we didn't complete all the tasks.  Probably would be more doable as an in person room, since players could split up to work on different tasks.  They have set it up so you get a lot of moments of positive reinforcement, though, and she very kindly took us through the puzzles we didn't get too.  All in all a lovely experience.

A Sherlock inspired room with a nice set and some clever puzzles.  We overthought one puzzle which ended up being a bit frustrating, and there was one puzzle where the connection between the clue and the lock was not very clear.  But otherwise a pretty straightforward, entertaining room.  Jess was a lovely host, who passed the critical "will she wear the prop hat" test with flying colours.  Worth a try!

We've really enjoyed all the remote avatar escape games we have done with Immersia.  We were apparently the first people to do this one in English, and apart from one clue that was a bit confusing, everything worked very well.  The premise is a neat one--basically you are traveling back in time to find anachronisms in different time periods (not going to give away too much by revealing which ones!).  As with all the Immersia games the sets were very immersive, and the puzzles straightforward, but varied and quite clever.  Recommended!

A Christmas re-brand of their Ghostly Galleon game--fortunately we had forgotten most of the details, so this came up fresh.  Some clever puzzles, and nice Christmas integration.  A piece of advice--you don't necessarily need to fill out the whole chart, and definitely shouldn't bother if you're pressed for time.

This must be an absolutely amazing game to do in person.  The set is remarkably immersive. All of the detail made the translation to online a bit difficult--there were a lot of elements that were purely set dressing that made finding those elements you could actually interact with a bit frustrating.  An enjoyable experience nonetheless, with a delightful absence of combination locks.  Totally playable by those without knowledge of Warhammer.

At this point I've done a lot of online Escape Games, and I have come to recognize that avatars have two responses to a team (like ours) that is pretty experienced and efficient.  Some avatars let us go with it, and don't worry if the game ends up taking a lot less than an hour, while some avatars feel it necessary to add "ambience" to the experience by spinning the game out so that we'll finish close to the allotted time.  My VERY strong preference is for the first kind of avatar.  I am totally fine if we smash the time record for a game--indeed being told we have done so adds to my enjoyment of the experience. 

The avatar in this game was very much of the second model.   I wanted to lunge through the screen and throttle him!  The ultimate moment came when he opened a book safe, and took several minutes to notice that the key was taped to the lid of the locked portion.  I mean really.

So whether you enjoy this game will very much depend on how you feel about these two avatar types.  The room itself is fine--there are some neat wine related clues, and one or two things that are fairly clever.  But if you are going to book, settle in with a glass of wine and accept that things are going to proceed SLOWLY.

This is the second game we've played from The Escape Game Online.  Although this one was ranked as a bit more difficult than the Gold Rush game, we actually finished it even more quickly.  As with this company generally the inventory system is excellent, and the hosting is strong, with both an in-room host, and a GM keeping an eye.  A generally enjoyable experience, but most of the puzzles were of types pretty familiar to escape room regulars.  We had a good time nonetheless, and felt a warm fuzzy sense of superiority that we finished so quickly 😉

This room was a bit easy for our team of fairly experienced players, but we had a very good time nonetheless.  Props to Host Bernadette and Prospector Harlen for infusing their enthusiasm in the experience.  A good range of puzzles with some elements I'm very sorry I didn't get to experience in person.  On the expensive side, particularly in light of how quickly we finished, but there were a lot of higher end finishes, like a very effective inventory system.

This is a perfectly fine first generation room with a good assortment of puzzles.  There is clear evidence of the experience these folks have gained in running remote rooms in the use of the inventory system.  In addition to the usual 360 views, there are several puzzles that can be manipulated in  Telescape, and a useful list of locks (there are a LOT of locks!).  I do have to admit that I missed Jayson--he was the avatar for the other Fuzzy Logic rooms we did, and he just made everything that much more fun.  The avatar we had was perfectly pleasant, but he lacked Jayson's magic.  My only complaint is that this was expensive for what it was--it seems they have put their prices up since they've gone back to offering remote rooms on the weekend.  Nonetheless, a very enjoyable hour.

A very solid remote avatar room, with a pleasant host.  A good assortment of puzzles that made good use of the strengths of all of our team members.  The camera work was a bit "swoopy" (i.e., nauseating), but improved once we asked him to stop with the swooping.  Rather a lot of codes to enter, but the inventory system did work well.

We really enjoyed this game.  It is a pretty basic room with quite a lot of traditional locks.  But the avatar is super pleasant, and kept the action moving along.  The puzzles are pretty traditional, but there was enough variety that they played to the strengths of all the members of our team.  Definitely on the easier end of things.  But after an ignominious defeat last weekend, we needed a fun, feel-good experience, and this definitely fit that bill.

There is a lot to like about this game.  It's very immersive, with puzzles that are clearly tied into the narrative.  The use of video cut scenes was imaginative, and there was a good variety of puzzles.  Having said that, it felt overthought to us, with too many elaborations and twists, which made it a bit bewildering.  We also found it quite frustrating that we didn't know how much time we actually had, since there were multiple clocks that appeared for different parts of the game, with no explanation attached to each. There were also several puzzles that felt like we didn't have enough information to get to the first step of an answer, making for a certain degree of frustration.  And clues that seemed to point to more than one puzzle, which meant we wasted a bunch of time doing things that seemed to make sense, but ultimately didn't help us get closer to the denouement.

I sure there are folks who will love this.  But we would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had been a bit more doable in the time.

Our interactions with the very pleasant host really made this experience.  There is a LOT to do, so make sure that you keep moving along in the game.  In particular, the last "act" had more to do than we expected, which is why we technically did not finish in time (the host very kindly less us finish up).  One nice aspect was that it was possible for team members to work independently on some of the puzzles, which is rare for a remote avatar game.  And it was very much necessary, or we would have been even more over time!  A good mix of puzzles, which made use of our group's various strengths.  Definitely recommended!!

A fairly standard set up, although the use of video cut scenes did add to the intensity of the game.  Our avatar was very game to do whatever we asked of her (including lying on a table at one point!) which we really appreciated.  I find it a bit frustrating when remote avatars pull the "oh no, I'm so scared, I will burn through some of your time while I hesitate to do this" thing, but perhaps I'm just overly impatient.  A solid basic room, with one puzzle at the denouement that I thought was quite clever and original.

This is really an experience like no other.  It is very important to suspend your cynicism and bemusement going in and just enjoy.  The amount of imagination and care taken to create the little world of the game really is quite extraordinary.  Definitely a must try!

We really enjoyed having a chance to explore this historical site.  A very pleasant host who was good at giving subtle nudges without giving too much away.  Nice tie between the puzzles and the setting (a brickworks museum).  My team-mates found the camera motion slightly nauseating--I think it worked better for me because I was on a bigger monitor.

We really enjoyed this game--more even than their more highly ranked Immersia Hotel game (although that one is also worth checking out).  One of the puzzles in particular made very good use of the strengths of our group, so we were very fast to finish.  A good, immersive set, with a very neat transition from one room to another, and one or two types of puzzles and locks we haven't seen before.  The "final act" was slightly creepy, but not to an extent that most kids would be scared (particularly over Zoom!).

We’ve done both of the remote rooms offered by this company.  They are a bit basic and bashed up, but the avatars in both cases were such nice folks that we couldn’t help but enjoy ourselves.  There were lots of fun food tie-ins with this one, and a couple of neat and very imaginative physical puzzles that I’m really sorry we didn’t get to play in person.  There was a good variety to the puzzles, so I felt the room played to everyone’s different strengths.  Quite a lot to do, but I think it would be a good one to do with kids so long as you didn’t get bogged down in any particular puzzle.

This must be a very cool game to play in person.  It occupies a large space with lots of creepy details.  They have done a solid job of translating it into a remote experience, although we struggled with the telescape interface for one puzzle.  We had a few frustrations with the GM because of a bit of mismatch of styles--her acting got in the way of our very systematic approach.  The overall premise is a bit weird--basically a serial killer is helping you escape his house.  It didn't make a lot of sense to us, and made it hard to trust that the things coming from the serial killer were honest clues!  Nonetheless a good experience, and recommended if you like things a bit scary.

An extensive and well-decorated set make this a very immersive experience--kind of sorry we didn't get to play it in person!  We found the game on the easier side of things, but to be fair we've done a lot of remote escapes at this point.  Extremely pleasant hosts who definitely added to the experience.  Recommended!

We really enjoyed the Brazilian content to this game--we learned some things!  And appreciated the very pleasant GM, who was patient with our terrible Portuguese pronunciation.  A fairly basic game, but still a very enjoyable hour.

The high point of this room was the very personable GM, who agreed to wear not one, not two, but three hats!  The decor is basic and the big denouement very “homegrown”.  But quite a few clever puzzles.  Lots to do, so manage your time carefully.

This was one of my favourite Escape Room experiences of all time.  The games at Casa Loma all combine a really immersive atmosphere with great interaction with the actors.  And they are tough!  I played this one with my lab--we had some experience doing games together, so we were actually doing really well until the last puzzle. And then we just got totally stuck!  Fortunately one of the other folks playing with us figured it out.  A truly triumphant moment! 

For visitors to Toronto, this is a great opportunity to see a more interesting side to one of the standard tourist attractions.

Some nice dinosaur tie-ins that I appreciated as a paleontologist.  The room was a bit limited by the space, so that a lot of our job was to just notice things that needed to be interacted with.  Nonetheless an enjoyable experience, with some good cross-over humour between Jurassic Park and Back to the Future.  There are 2 possible endings, which is kind of cool.

A game definitely elevated by a very enthusiastic and engaged GM.  Matthew even did a little jig when we successfully escaped!  The conversion to online was a bit clunky, and there was 1 piece of equipment that apparently had been broken that day.  But we enjoyed it nonetheless.  A good choice if interaction with the avatar is a big part of the fun for you (as it is for us).