the waygabounds

Get locked up!

They are everywhere right now: room escape games. There’s no bigger town or city that hasn’t a few places where you can play them. So far I’ve tried a few ones in Vienna; here’s my review of Mystoria.For all who don’t know what room escape games are: Basically you and your friends get locked in a room, of which to escape the goal of the game is. You have one hour to do so; of course not by breaking open the door, but by solving different puzzles and riddles, find keys, clues and hints and open different locks. Usually it’s not only some clues but more like a whole story – the puzzles are connected to it. In general: room escapes are a fun way to do some team-building or spend time with friends or family. The more room escapes you do (or try to do, cause very often people fail at their first room escape ever), the more familiar you get with the concept and the more easier it gets to find the clues. And don’t worry if you don’t make it out: The nice people outside will (hopefully) let you out as soon as your hour is over. And to make it more fun there’s usually a way to communicate with them to get clues. It would be too boring if you get stuck without solving anything.

Let the game begin!

So the first room escape I did with Mystoria (not the first ever, just the first ever there) was amazing. We were a group of five friends and had chosen to do “Mafia”. We got a really  good introduction to the concept of room escapes by the lady who worked there. That was important, as I was the only one of our group who had done it before. There was also a great story provided; we were members of a Mafia clan and had to find out who killed one of our men. The game area was huge! We had all in all four rooms to get through and what I loved was the fact that we had to move stuff, for example walls (not saying more about that, cause where’s the fun for you then, huh?). The whole location was awesome decorated, with props, posters, furniture and all. It included audio and video hints, keys we had to find and even things we had to wear. It was great fun, I’d recommend that one for all of you. It’s easier if you’re more than two or three people though.

While playing “Mafia”.

The second one I did there was “Lost in Space”. I did that one with Pablo; unfortunatelly this time a guy took us through the explanations. His English wasn’t that bad, but he seemed very uncomfortable speaking it, so we got a very brief introduction to the game and the story we had to play this time. Which sucked, because that one is a very challenging one. The story was basically that you’re in a space capsule, more or less trapped. You have to find your way out – but other than in the other games I did so far, you play that one in total darkness. That and the fact that you’re locked (apart from each other) in a very small space underneath a staircase makes the game only enjoyable for those who don’t suffer from anxiety. We didn’t, but were very lost indeed. We didn’t manage to get out of the capsule and therefore are now lost in space. Of course someone put a lot of effort into that one as well, but it’s the explanation and introduction you get that makes a real difference.

That one’s not from me – it’s from the website (to give you a teaser!)

Long story short: I loved “Mafia”, “Lost in Space” is a challenging one but we could have gotten a bit closer to getting out if we would have had a better introduction. I think we still wouldn’t have made it out 🙂 Important sidenote: All of the room escapes at Mystoria (and more or less at all of the other places) are playable in English and German, it’s really no biggie if you don’t speak German. General advice: Come in comfy clothes, show up at the location at least 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment (to have time for a good explanation), ask for hints from outside without letting too much time fly by and enjoy!

Further Information:
Mystoria
Kliebergasse 1
1050 Vienna
www.mystoria.at

Games from about 70 Euros per track (4 to 2 people).

Public transport that stop only a few meters away are the trams 1, 18, 62 stopping in Kliebergasse (just across the street)  and U1 Südtiroler Platz (you’ll have to walk like 10 minutes there).

#roomescape #vienna #mystoria #mafia #fun #thingstodo

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