Having played lots of escape rooms across the UK, and a few in Europe, the City Adventurers were keen to try an escape room across the pond in Canada. We were surprised to discover that most escape rooms in Toronto only cater for large groups and struggled to find one that took teams of 2 players.
Eventually we spotted Enigma Room. This venue offers a number of “Traditional” escape rooms, ranging from themed spaces with puzzle adventures to “dark and thrilling” escape rooms for horror enthusiasts. It also boasts Escape Cubes, which we had never heard of before (see below)
The Lost Treasure plot
You will sail to the Caribbean for a thrilling heist in this escape room. Outsmart rivals, find the hidden objects and claim the ruby skull treasure within 60 minutes. Arrr, adventure awaits, mateys!
Review
We arrived at the venue, on the 3rd floor of a building on Dundas Street West, in Downtown Toronto and were asked to deposit our bags, coats and phones into lockers. We were offered use of the facilities before being led straight to our room without any welcome speech. There were no questions asked about if we knew what an escape room was and also no preamble on the storyline nor introduction to the game itself. Strange.
Instead, once we were inside the Escape Room itself, we were told we would need to find coins and a ruby skull to win the treasure and escape. We discovered the game contains a mix of traditional locks, technology, and other physical puzzles. It is is well themed for a pirate adventure.
Setting the clock going the GM left the room and we began searching. Luckily we found a journal that told us the back story of why we were there and what we needed to find first. Grateful for this pointer on where to begin, we started to solve the puzzles.
The journal gave a linear plan for solving the room, so we followed that from task to task. With only 2 of us this worked well but for a larger group, I can see people feeling bored, with nothing to do but watch their team members.
Pretty early on we hit a snag. We had found what we needed to solve a puzzle but the solution did not make sense nor move us forward in the game. Maybe we were just being thick but we decided to ask for help. Hitting the “hint” button brought the GM back into the room to explain that we had solved the clues correctly. She had to inform us how to use that information to solve the puzzle and move on. (poor design?)
We must have been having an off day, as this happened again later in the game. Yes, we did have to get the GM back a second time to explain how to use the info we got from solving the clues to solve another puzzle.
We worked well together (save the hiccups already mentioned) until the last 4 minutes. We felt we’d solved the final clue/puzzle, but did not get the expected outcome. This time when the GM entered the room they had to confirm what we had already completed. It felt like they hadn’t been watching us or they would have known we were about to finish the game.
With a quick tweak of our answer, we managed to find the treasure and the skull and complete the game within our allotted time.
Hurrah!
At the end of the game, the GM came back to collect us and we were shown back to the waiting area to collect our belongings. There was no debrief on how we did during the game. There was also no offer of a team photo by the venue although they did agree to take a couple on our camera.
On the plus side
- There were a lot of tactile puzzles which we love.
- We were able to play as a team of 2 players
- The game is linear (some may find this a negative point)
On the minus side
- the experience lacked a welcome at the start and a debrief at the end.
- we experienced some frustration with some of the puzzles
- the experience was not as immersive as other escape rooms we have played
So, on balance, did we enjoy the experience? Well, we had fun but it was not one of our better escape rooms. With problems finding a suitable game for 2 players, this one was OK, however it lacked something in terms of ambiance.
Enigma Room’s The Lost Treasure can be booked at www.enigmaroom.ca/pirate/
Escape Cubes
A new concept for the City Adventurers.
We assumed these puzzles cubes were a table top idea but we were wrong. The Games Masters at Enigma Rooms let us see inside one of their specially designed Escape Cube rooms. These are a single space containing an extremely large cube. Think of it as a puzzle box that is the size of a person or a large cupboard/sideboard.
Each cube is different, but all are filled with exciting puzzles to solve as teams work their way through opening the box.
Just because they are one room with one cube games, does not make them easy. The venue give these cubes a difficulty rating of 5 star for the 3 player cube and 4 to 5 star for the cube that takes up to 7 players. However some reviewers have likened the experience to a board game, rather than an immersive room experience.
Book your escape room cube experience at https://www.enigmaroom.ca/book/
Escape Rooms for Large Number of Players
We had difficulty finding Escape Rooms in Toronto that catered for teams of 2 players. Most said they needed a minimum of four players. However we noticed there were more rooms available that catered for larger groups. For example, Escape The Tower at Casa Loma could accommodate up to 12 players. During our sightseeing visit to Casa Loma, part of the tour took you through an area used for the escape adventure. This was a big area, with tactile puzzle equipment that would be great for 12 players. However, it also looked far too big to be played by 2 players.
Escape the Tower by Secret City Adventures at Casa Loma is set in 1941 and involves finding U-boat locations within a research center. As it takes place in the castle tower, it involves 6 flights of stairs. Suitable for up to 12 players, it also includes live actors.
Plot
Attention all personnel, listen up! The Anti-Submarine Detection Research Centre has detected an advance of those dastardly U-boats and submarines on our base. We need your assistance in finding their precise locations to alert the allies. Rendezvous at the undercover lab to get started. Carry out your duty with pride, and let’s put an end to those undersea threats once and for all!
Escape Casa Loma: Escape From The Tower can be booked at https://www.secretcityadventures.com/in-person-games/tower
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City Adventurers Membership includes invitations to adventures and travel mainly in the UK.
