Barcelona, Jan 2025
One of the three highest ranked rooms in Europe on the TERPECA list, created by a collaboration between two Spanish companies who each have their own record of building award-winning games, La Taberna is a giant in a city full of remarkable rooms. Everyone’s tastes are different, and too much hype can spoil an experience, but we were confident of an impressive room and it did not disappoint. (Do note though that it’s not in Barcelona as such, but in Terrassa on the north side of the metropolitan area.)
“The Tavern” is an unassuming name for this story, a pirate tale that starts in its namesake location and proceeds from there. It takes advantage of its two hour game time to start gradually and build up – which works to build the setting, and probably also helps make it more accessible to beginner groups. Even if you’ve played a lot, I think it shows good design to ensure players get into the swing of things immediately – it can be disheartening to get stuck before you’ve solved the very first puzzle.
In La Taberna you’re often not on your own, in any case. This game uses actors throughout in various ways, not to scare or startle you but to advance the story, to provide interaction-based challenges, and simply to create a richer world. That also meant they had a very natural way to give hints where needed, without breaking immersion.
This game takes you on a journey through more than half a dozen different scenes, each more striking than the last, each with its own set of puzzles and challenges. I particularly enjoyed some of the actor-led moments earlier on in the game, but really, there were so many points that were clever or pretty or surprising that I imagine different players will be split on what stuck in their minds.
This includes plenty of ideas that will be familiar to experienced teams – La Taberna isn’t particularly trying to be novel and groundbreaking in its play style, except perhaps in the extent of their actor involvement. What makes it an outstanding room is the sheer scale and verve with which it does it – the different elements are executed beautifully and come together to create a huge and rich pirate adventure that romps from strength to strength, through to a suitably spectacular climax. You should, of course, go play it. 
