The Cipher Room: The Cabin

Date: 29/09/2024

Company Name: The Cipher Room

Room: The Cabin

Cost: $62 per person (Team of 6)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://www.cipherroom.com.au/ourgames

Location: 640 King St, Newtown NSW 2042

Best Parking: Street Parking is best/Parking lot - 2-6 Princes Hwy, Alexandria NSW 2015

Succeeded: Yes, with about 2-3 minutes remaining

Room Description: 

You're a detective who's been investigating a serial killer case. One day your team gets a promising lead about someone acting suspiciously. They have been visiting an abandoned old cabin and strange noises have been heard coming from it. You obtain a search warrant and you and your team go in to investigate.

What is inside the mysterious old cabin? Have you finally found the killer? Can you discover their identity?

Comments:

Heading back to what might just be my all-time favorite escape room venue, The Cipher Room, we had a little shake-up in our team. With six of us on a mission—not only to tackle an amazing escape room but also to find parking in a jam-packed Newtown on a Saturday night—we somehow managed to snag a spot nearby. Small victories!

We kicked off the evening with a great meal and a few drinks at Buddy's Bar before heading towards the beautiful establishment that is The Cipher Room.

Luke and I were particularly excited for this one, as it marked our fifth and final badge (at the time of writing) from The Cipher Room. And let me tell you, the theming in The Cabin is next level once again. As self-proclaimed escape room enthusiasts, I couldn’t help but take a moment to wander around and soak in the ambiance. Every inch of the room is brimming with intricate details that draw you in. From the moment we stepped inside, we were transported from the busy streets of King Street in Newtown to a remote cabin in the woods. The immersive combination of sounds, lighting, and expertly crafted props transformed the space into something truly special. It’s clear that a ton of thought and artistry went into every single aspect of the design.

When it comes to puzzles, The Cabin delivers a fantastic variety. What really stood out were the handmade puzzles—many of which we hadn’t encountered before, even after completing close to 50 rooms! That’s a rare find for seasoned escape room players. There’s an impressive balance of low-tech and high-tech puzzles, with some really clever mechanisms woven throughout.

It’s worth noting that this is not your typical family-friendly room. The Cabin leans towards the eerie and creepy, but rest assured, there are no jump scares. It’s more about building a sense of suspense and atmosphere.

I’d rate this room as quite challenging. Our team did end up utilising a few hints to make it through within the 60-minute time limit. As always, the game masters at The Cipher Room are always ready to offer guidance and aid in any way possible.

I sincerely can't wait for what the future lies for The Cipher Room and genuinely look forward to any future rooms that may or may not be on the horizon. 

Update

Hey guys,

This is Kyle here today. I'd just like to take the opportunity to address the absence we've had in posting over the nearly 3 months. Without going into too much personal detail, we've undergone a little bit of a change to the team and unfortunately aren't all going to be out and about tackling rooms together - at least for the near future.

That said, you can probably see the blog has undergone a fresh lick of paint, I've spent a bit of time re doing it, fixing up the links, and most importantly, undergoing a name change. 

For the most part, I'll be running this blog and the spreadsheet as a sole operator. Only posting my own adventures with whoever I end up going out with. I will also be steering away from the dedicated ranking system and more so focusing on detailing my experience as best I can without giving away spoilers to the room!

As always, my main goal is to have a point of reference for all the rooms I've done, and if it's something anyone out there enjoys reading, all the more better. 

I do appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this, and I'll be sure to get some new content out there soon!

Kyle
Escape Artist Reviews

[187] Elude Escape Rooms: Torquay

Date: 13/07/2024

Company Name: Elude Escape Rooms

Room: Torquay

Cost: $55 per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://eludegames.com.au/escape-rooms/

Location: 11e Mid Dural Rd, Galston NSW 2159

Best Parking: On-site parking available

Succeeded: No (Yes with bonus time)

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 10
• Room Quality: 9
• Immersion: 9
• Puzzle Design: 8
• Fun Factor: 9

Overall: 9.00/10

Room Description: 

Travel to the English Riviera to help Emma find her grandfather’s fortune. The eccentric Major Gowen used to take his granddaughter to Torquay beach, he has set up a treasure hunt for her to find the gold bar. The only clue you have is a photo of Major Gowen taken at the beachside location of Torquay.

Comments:

Fresh off Perpetual Motion, we sat eagerly in the lobby, ready to head to Torquay. I must mention the exceptional hospitality provided at Elude, which definitely added to the overall experience—something you don't often encounter.

Given the heads-up from both Darren and Julia, we knew that to succeed in this room, we needed to average about three minutes per puzzle. We tried to pump ourselves up for the challenge.

Walking into Torquay, I couldn't help but mutter, "Wow." This room is absolutely beautiful, and without giving anything away, you must play this room to truly appreciate its gorgeous aesthetics. The colours and overall design are stunning, making us almost forget how cold it was outside.

After taking a moment to admire our surroundings and watching our mission brief, we (attempted to) hit the ground running. Torquay has a significant amount of content, even more than Perpetual Motion. The puzzles were challenging, unique, varied, and fun. More than once, we encountered puzzle elements we had not seen used anywhere else, which is rare these days. Thanks to subtle signposting, we were able to focus more on solving the numerous puzzles rather than figuring out which combination or answer went where.

Elude implements a hint system similar to what we encountered at Riddle Room in Canberra: you talk to the walls for any questions, and the monitor used for your time and mission brief provides a helpful push in the right direction. I quite liked this approach as it minimized miscommunication. However, the only drawback is that in a multi-room escape, you have to return to the first room to see the monitor.

With a bit of bonus time added—something we greatly appreciated as it allowed us to savour our sense of accomplishment—we managed to get through this beautiful room. Julia met us afterward and spent a lot of time with us in our debrief, discussing the room, their future plans, and escape rooms in general. We loved this and will definitely be back for the remaining two rooms.

[187] Elude Escape Rooms: Perpetual Motion

Date: 13/07/2024

Company Name: Elude Escape Rooms

Room: Perpetual Motion

Cost: $55 per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://eludegames.com.au/escape-rooms/

Location: 11e Mid Dural Rd, Galston NSW 2159

Best Parking: On-site parking available

Succeeded: No (Yes with bonus time)

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 8
• Immersion: 8
• Puzzle Design: 8 
• Fun Factor: 8

Overall: 8.20/10

Room Description: 

A revolutionary breakthrough is set to change the course of history as a local engineer claims to have invented a Capacitor which enables cars to run on tap water.  Following the sudden disappearance of the engineer, police received a ransom note from kidnappers. The only chance of saving him is to recover the Capacitor before time runs out.

Comments:

Our inaugural visit to Elude saw us heading out on a Saturday night to tackle two of their rooms, following the suggested order on their website. Traveling to Galston was a refreshing change from our usual escape room experiences in the city's CBD, and with a similar travel time, we enjoyed the trip. Elude's ample signage and on-site parking were a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the CBD.

Situated on a decent-sized acreage, Elude's pre-game lobby is as beautifully set up as their escape rooms. We were greeted warmly by Julia, and later Darren took over to prep us for our first room of the night.

Elude implements a hint system similar to what we encountered at Riddle Room in Canberra: you talk to the walls for any questions, and the monitor used for your time and mission brief provides a helpful push in the right direction. I quite liked this approach as it minimized miscommunication. However, the only drawback is that in a multi-room escape, you have to return to the first room to see the monitor.

Perpetual Motion was a linear escape experience that truly tested our team. The layout, props, and setting were absolutely amazing and looked fantastic. The room is well-designed and features puzzles that are as clever and challenging as any of the best escape rooms in the city. Although Perpetual Motion is more of a low-tech experience, this suits the room and its spaces perfectly. The flow of the room is well considered, with several puzzles unlike anything we have seen in other Sydney rooms.

The service provided by Darren and Julia was exceptional. After we escaped, with a bit of bonus time added, Darren spent time with us in the debrief, going over puzzles, explaining different aspects, and discussing areas where we got a bit caught up. Their passion for escape rooms is evident and greatly appreciated.

[187] Riddle Room: The Mine

Date: 09/06/2024

Company Name: Riddle Room

Room: The Mine

Cost: $45 per person - Riddle Room were kind enough to offer us $10 off per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://riddleroom.com.au/canberra/#rooms

Location: 8/160 Lysaght St, Mitchell ACT 2911

Best Parking: Street parking right outside the establishment or there is a complex out the back which has ample parking available

Succeeded: Yes. in 59 Minutes, 59 Seconds

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 10
• Immersion: 8
• Puzzle Design: 8 
• Fun Factor: 9

Overall: 8.80/10

Room Description: 

You meet your friends at the old abandoned Rutherford Mine. As you descend into the depths you find that you might not be the only ones... or things down there.

Comments:

After leaving Escape Rooms Canberra on the back of completing The Vault and Curio—both of which were absolutely astounding—our morale was high. Knowing this was our last room before heading home, we were all keen to make the absolute most of it. This was the team's 38th room overall, the 8th room in Canberra, and the last, but certainly not least, at Riddle Room. Once again, we were met with top-quality staff who were nothing short of friendly and accommodating.

As mentioned previously, Riddle Room uses a unique method of communication for Gamesmastering, utilising a version of the "Voice of God" system. Responses to our questions are displayed on a monitor that also keeps track of our time. I quite liked this approach as it minimised miscommunication. However, the only drawback is that in a multi-room escape, you have to make your way back to the first room to see the monitor.

That said, you can tell The Mine is one of the newer rooms around. The set design feels fresh and new, and the aesthetics are beautiful. At points, you can definitely feel like you're stuck in an abandoned mine. The attention to detail in the theming was impressive, from the realistic props to the atmospheric sounds that enhanced the feeling of being deep underground.

True to the majority of Riddle Room’s other rooms, The Mine sticks with their linear approach. While linear escape rooms usually aren't our strong suit as a team, the depth of the puzzles meant that our team of four all had plenty to do while working on the same challenges. The puzzles were strong, made sense in the space, and there were plenty of them in what was essentially a 2-3 room escape.

Luckily, we managed to scrape through with only a second to spare. As with all the other rooms at Riddle Room, your Gamesmaster provides your team with a breakdown of your times at certain intervals, which is a nice touch I haven't seen implemented almost anywhere unless we asked. Overall, I would rate The Mine as my favourite from Riddle Room, with The Hotel following very closely behind. The team had a lot of fun, and we will be eager to return if/when any more rooms open up!

[187] Escape Rooms Canberra: Curio

Date: 09/06/2024

Company Name: Escape Rooms Canberra

Room: Curio

Cost: $40 per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://www.escaperoomscanberra.com/curio

Location: 2/24 Dundas Ct, Phillip ACT 2606

Best Parking: On site parking

Succeeded: Yes, in 42 Minutes, 22 Seconds

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 10
• Immersion: 9
• Puzzle Design: 8 
• Fun Factor: 8

Overall: 8.80/10

Room Description: 

The Enigma Theatre has had many lives, but none as spectacular or peculiar as the home of world-renowned magician Madame Rose and her resident act, the Disappearing Woman. She has performed the act hundreds of times, but still, there are skeptics, and Madame Rose plans to silence them for good. Tonight is the night that Madame Rose debuts her new act, The Disappearing Audience!

You are Madame Rose's assistant, and as the show begins, you are locked under the stage with C.U.R.I.O., the machine that Madame Rose uses to power her illusions. You tried to warn her that the machine can't cope with an illusion of this magnitude, that if she goes through with the act, 2,000 audience members will disappear and not come back. She wouldn't listen, and now you must race against the clock to fix C.U.R.I.O. and make sure that The Disappearing Audience reappears.

Comments:

After finishing the masterpiece that is The Vault at Escape Rooms Canberra, our Gamesmaster kindly got us moving swiftly into our next and final room, Curio. The seamless transition and attentive service from our Gamesmaster ensured that our momentum stayed high, and we were excited to dive into another adventure.

Once again, Escape Rooms Canberra did not miss. Having the same Gamesmaster gave us an added level of comfort and confidence—they were nothing short of friendly and courteous throughout the entire experience, providing helpful hints and maintaining a warm and engaging demeanour.

Entering the room, we were instantly captivated by the beautiful set. The attention to detail was immediately apparent, with the props, puzzles, and overall design creating an atmosphere that made us feel like we were genuinely part of the unfolding show. The immersive experience was further enhanced by excellent lighting and sound effects, as well as the high quality of the room's construction.

The puzzles in Curio are linear in nature. However, teamwork is essential to solve particular puzzles, making communication and collaboration crucial. The final stage of the game requires team members to be separated to complete the puzzle, adding an extra layer of complexity and excitement.

There was a great variety of puzzles in this room, featuring a mix of high-tech and low-tech elements that kept the experience fresh and engaging. The clever use of magnets and other unique mechanisms added a touch of innovation which is evidence of a new and exciting room.

Overall, Curio is a fantastic room that showcases the creativity and expertise of Escape Rooms Canberra. After escaping with about 18 minutes remaining, we were thrilled with our performance and couldn't stop discussing the highlights of the experience. This room easily made it into my (Kyle) top rooms of all time, not only for its challenging and enjoyable puzzles but also for its exceptional theming and immersive atmosphere.

If you’re ever in Canberra, Curio is a must-visit for both seasoned escape room enthusiasts and newcomers alike. 

[187] Escape Rooms Canberra: The Vault

Date: 09/06/2024

Company Name: Escape Rooms Canberra

Room: The Vault

Cost: $40 per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://www.escaperoomscanberra.com/the-vault

Location: 2/24 Dundas Ct, Phillip ACT 2606

Best Parking: On site parking

Succeeded: Yes, in 51 Minutes, 26 Seconds.

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 10
• Immersion: 9
• Puzzle Design: 8 
• Fun Factor: 9

Overall: 9.00/10

Room Description: 

The world has already ended. You won't be saving it.

The promise of mutually assured destruction wasn't enough to stop the superpowers of yesteryear from flipping the doomsday switch. Now there is only desolation and waste, but where there is life, there is hope. Small bands of survivors have emerged into the wasteland; the human race hangs on by a thread, yet there are those who would see it cut for good.

In the wasteland, a cult has emerged that believes the human race to be a disease, crawling over the world and leaving decay and ruin in its wake. They believe that the only way to save the world is to finish what our predecessors had begun and wipe humanity from the face of the earth.

The cult has gathered into an army and has taken control of the vault containing the last of humanity's great weapons and has set them to blow.

This is where you come in. You are part of a small band of survivors that have infiltrated the vault, and it is up to you to stop the launch and cancel the apocalypse.

Can you get inside the vault within 60 minutes? Can you escape with an army closing in? You won't be saving the old world, but you might just save the new one.

Comments:

The boys had a great day at Riddle Room on Saturday, but Sunday was the day to return and finish what we had started on Friday with Escape Rooms Canberra. Fresh off a good night's sleep, we packed up the car and headed out to ERC.

Expecting nothing but the best at ERC, given the high standards set by House on the Hill and the exceptional staff, I'm happy to report that The Vault did not disappoint. The production value, theming, story, and immersion were all top-notch. Without a doubt, this was my favorite room, not just from this outfit but over the whole weekend.

Teamwork is key to getting through this escape room at a good pace. While the puzzles are linear, there are a few layered puzzles where working together really helps. The diversity of puzzles is impressive, ranging from mechanical, physical, and high-tech to association, pattern-matching, and sensory puzzles. There was even a puzzle that required the use of an everyday item—you'll know it when you see it! Additionally, one puzzle required someone to have a bit of flexibility.

I cannot say enough good things about this room and recommend it to anyone looking for an experience that not many outfits can offer. We really enjoyed the experience, escaping with about 9 minutes on the clock. We were stoked to get another win on the board.

[187] Riddle Room: The Hotel

Date: 08/06/2024

Company Name: Riddle Room

Room: The Hotel

Cost: $45 per person - Riddle Room were kind enough to offer us $10 off per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://riddleroom.com.au/canberra/#rooms

Location: 8/160 Lysaght St, Mitchell ACT 2911

Best Parking: Street parking right outside the establishment or there is a complex out the back which has ample parking available

Succeeded: Yes, with approximately 5 minutes remaining.

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 9
• Immersion: 9 
• Puzzle Design: 8
• Fun Factor: 8

Overall: 8.60/10

Room Description: 

In an old abandoned Hotel lies a treasured stone. Tasked with the job of retrieving it, you enter the Hotel, but soon find that you might be an unwelcomed guest.

Comments:

There was a fire lit in our bellies, and we wanted nothing more than to redeem ourselves after unfortunately not being good enough to beat The Hideaway within the allocated time. Our team takes a loss quite hard—this was only our 5th unsuccessful outing out of 38 rooms.

As usual, the professionalism and hospitality at Riddle Room were exceptional. Coming out of The Hideaway, the place was buzzing with people—perks of having such a large establishment with 5+ rooms on offer at any given time. We sat humbly waiting, being checked on multiple times and given updates on when we'd get into The Hotel. Most of the staff had seen us popping our heads in and out throughout the day.

As mentioned in previous entries, Riddle Room uses a unique method of communication for Gamesmastering, utilizing a version of the "Voice of God" system. Responses to our questions are displayed on a monitor that also keeps track of our time. I quite liked this approach as it minimized miscommunication. However, the only drawback is that in a multi-room escape, you have to make your way back to the first room to see the monitor.

Hotel was our fourth room at Riddle Room and the teams 35th overall. The atmosphere in Hotel is both thematically intense and dimly lit, creating an eerie experience. There are a couple of jump scares, but they are pretty tame and only add to the overall ambiance. The room boasts a plethora of puzzles, encompassing a brilliant variety of both tech and more traditional observation puzzles.

The quality of the theming in Hotel is exceptional, reminiscent of the high standards seen in Cipher Room. We all felt like we had been transported to another place and time. The props all made sense in the space, and the sounds and lighting were perfect, as were the wall and floor treatments.

The room design and backstory are fantastic, continuing seamlessly throughout the experience. The puzzles all link to the backstory flawlessly, and all the spaces in the experience are well considered and well designed.

Overall, Hotel is a fantastic room. It is an escape room enthusiast’s dream, ticking all the boxes that enthusiasts look for—off-the-charts theming and immersion, a strong storyline, and unique puzzles. We were thrilled to manage an escape and redemption with about 5 minutes remaining.

[187] Riddle Room: The Hideaway

Date: 08/06/2024

Company Name: Riddle Room

Room: The Hideaway

Cost: $45 per person - Riddle Room were kind enough to offer us $10 off per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://riddleroom.com.au/canberra/#rooms

Location: 8/160 Lysaght St, Mitchell ACT 2911

Best Parking: Street parking right outside the establishment or there is a complex out the back which has ample parking available

Succeeded: No, running about 4-6 minutes over time

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 8
• Immersion: 7
• Puzzle Design: 7 
• Fun Factor: 6

Overall: 7.40/10

Room Description: 

While investigating an elusive criminal, a police detective has gone missing without a trace. We need your help to find her before it's too late.

Comments:

After completing The Dungeon, we had a couple hours to kill. The staff were friendly enough to give us some recommendations and as such, off to Villain Burger we went. With our bellies full and the accommodation a stones throw away from Riddle Room, we went back for a little kip and came back refreshed for our final two rooms for the Saturday.

The first one being The Hideaway, which was our third room at Riddle Room and my 38th room completed overall. Spending the entire day tackling four out of five of Riddle Room's escapes, we consistently encountered the same friendly and exceptional staff. They were very welcoming, highly attentive, and spot-on as our Gamesmasters. Riddle Room uses a unique method of communication for Gamesmastering, utilizing a version of the "Voice of God" system. Responses to our questions are displayed on a monitor that also keeps track of our time. I quite liked this approach as it minimized miscommunication. However, the only drawback is that in a multi-room escape, you have to make your way back to the first room to see the monitor.

The Hideaway is a reasonably sized escape room with lots of puzzles to solve, offering varying levels of difficulty. *Fun Fact*: We were told that it has the same number of puzzles to complete as The Dungeon. Unfortunately for us, we weren't met with the same outcome, as we failed to escape within the allotted 60 minutes, taking about 65 minutes to escape from memory.

Hideaway is really well-themed. It's clear that a lot of hard work has gone into the presentation of the room and the props. There is also a strong storyline that continues throughout the experience. Unlike some other rooms, there are no dark areas or scary elements in Hideaway at all, making it a more accessible and less intimidating experience. My team found Hideaway to be probably the most challenging of all the rooms we played at Riddle Room. This was due to our inability to see what was right in front of us and partly because some of the puzzles were quite challenging.

[187] Riddle Room: The Dungeon

Date: 08/06/2024

Company Name: Riddle Room

Room: The Dungeon

Cost: $45 per person - Riddle Room were kind enough to offer us $10 off per person (Team of 4)

Time Allowed: 60 Minutes

Website Link: https://riddleroom.com.au/canberra/#rooms

Location: 8/160 Lysaght St, Mitchell ACT 2911

Best Parking: Street parking right outside the establishment or there is a complex out the back which has ample parking available

Succeeded: Yes in 45 Minutes, 38 Seconds

Rating: 

• Hospitality/Gamesmaster: 9
• Room Quality: 8
• Immersion: 8
• Puzzle Design: 8 
• Fun Factor: 8

Overall: 8.20/10

Room Description: 

Gone mad with power, the old King decided he only wants the greatest minds to dwell within his kingdom. Will you pass his tests, or will you be banished forever?

Comments:

After finishing The Nightmare, we took a brief intermission before heading back into the beautiful establishment that is The Riddle Room.

The staff at Riddle Room were, as always, exceptional. With their welcoming smiles, they were highly attentive, and spot-on as our Gamesmasters. They use a unique method of communication for Gamesmastering, utilizing a version of the "Voice of God" system. Responses to our questions are displayed on a monitor that also keeps track of our time. I quite liked this approach as it minimized miscommunication. However, the only drawback is that in a multi-room escape, you have to make your way back to the first room to see the monitor. Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue with The Dungeon, which is almost exclusively a single-room escape.

The Dungeon features a dimly lit space, with one area that is nearly pitch-black. However, don't let that deter you if you’re not a fan of scary or spooky rooms, as there wasn’t a single jump scare. The room flow and design in The Dungeon are really interesting and unlike any other room we’ve experienced. The room is designed with two paths that players must take. Each path is linear, but both can be progressed simultaneously, making it multi-linear rather than non-linear. The design is well thought out. To assist players in understanding the order, the game includes iconography on a wall that signposts each step along the way for both paths, with a convergence point towards the end. We hadn’t seen this done before.

The puzzles in The Dungeon are truly varied, incorporating spatial awareness, pattern recognition, and more. It was a great room for enthusiasts, as our team really enjoyed the diversity of challenging puzzles. As far as theming goes, all the props were high-quality and made sense in the space. There was also a strong storyline that continued throughout the experience and brought everything together nicely.

Another excellent service that Riddle Room provided during the debrief was the Gamesmaster running through all the stats, showing where our team was at certain puzzle intervals compared to the average. This was a great little touch that we haven't seen offered as "the norm."

We had a fantastic time in The Dungeon, escaping with about 15 minutes to spare.