Yeah, I guess. The short version is that I'm a big fan of those, and I wanted to keep a list of each one I've played. Then, I thought of adding some notes about each room. And gee whiz, if I'm going to put notes in writing, why not post them in a blog?
"But you're not giving them grades?"
Nah. I don't consider my opinion to be that relevant, and besides two playthroughs of the exact same room can end up being such different experiences that it seems pointless to rate a room as being "20% better" than another.
Besides, I'm of the "easy to please, hard to impress" type, so pretty much all my grades would rank from B- to A-. 😛 I do have a natural tendency to be more finicky towards rooms that aim at being better than most, though. Anyway, even though I know that there are crappy rooms out there, those are fairly rare near where I live.
"Well good day to you, sir! I happen to own an escape room business and would love for you to visit..."
Obviously, if I could go everywhere, I would. But we all know this is an expensive hobby, especially when practice by several members of the same family. I often end up favoring venues which offer special deals, whether public ones (like Groupons) or personal ones. You can also reach me if you'd like to have a new room beta-tested.
"I do NOT say good day to you at all, you chump! I happen to read this blog and I'm appalled to see you trading discounts for..."
No. I have absolutely no intention of granting any special favors in exchange for any amount of rebate. In fact I do explicitly state every time I got an "irregular discount" for a room, even when said discount really had nothing to do with this blog. Still, I maintain said blog primarily for my own enjoyment, and in the hope of my observations being helpful to some. And like I already stated, I make no claim of being truly objective. I try my best, and that's about it.
A few details & clarifications
- All of my notes are available in both French and English. I typically start off in the room's language or (if bilingual) the language in which I played it.
- Multi-room means that the adventure is known, right from the start, to be made of several rooms that players will gradually gain access to. That includes rooms with another door in plain sight, as well as games where players are explicitly warned that there are many rooms. If a game seems to only have one room, I give you the option of clicking a button to learn if that's really the case. (Some players prefer knowing these details, while others would rather keep the surprise effect.) I'm the one ultimately deciding whether or not a secret space is really "another room" or merely "a side crawlway".
- Constraints is a purposedly vague term to indicate that the players (or a few of them) might have to explore in the dark, or be tied down, or have to climb / crawl a lot. If you absolutely want to know the specifics, you can, once again, click on the button.
- Tallies are counted like this:
- A Lock is a device blocking physical access to a room or a part of it. For instance: a padlock, a safe, a keypad, a deadbolt, etc.
- A Deduction is a logical (though not obvious) conclusion that must be drawn in order to proceed. For instance: figuring how to obtain a lock's combination, understanding what a clue is about, find a hidden message inside some text, figure how to open a secret doorway, and so on.
- A Task is any kind of physical, intellectual or manual progress that is required to be performed. A task is often linked to a Deduction (it's the very difference between "figuring out we need to scan every book with the barcode reader, then add up every price shown, to get the code for the cash register lock", and actually doing all these things), but either can also exist without the other. More examples: solve a jigsaw puzzle, figure your way out of a maze, complete a crossword puzzle, operate a computer, resolve a clearly-defined logical puzzle, crank a handle, etc.
- To conclude, here are a few examples of things which do not count as deductions nor tasks: searching a room, digging through a container, reading notes, opening a padlock, opening a door, finding a button, pressing a button..
- The Lessons Learned section lists something I learned (or was reminded) while playing that room. It's important to note that it can either be something the room did well (👍) or something it happened to lack (👎). Keep in mind that the thumb does NOT reflect overall appreciation of the room. In both cases, your own future gaming experience can be affected, hence the use of a Spoilers button.
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