Score
– Overall
– Immersion
– Puzzles
– Hints
– Fun
– Scenario
Summary
– 60 minutes
– 2-10 players (we suggest 2-3)
– La clef de l’énigme
– Saint-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
Played on May 21st 2024 by: 
Excalibur was the fourth room we did that day at La Clef de l’Énigme in St-Bruno. In this scenario, we were transported back to the world of knights and the legend of Excalibur. Our mission was to use all our skills and strategies to retrieve the legendary sword. This magical weapon had once been offered to a king who proved unworthy—leaving it trapped in stone forever. Only a pure-hearted knight could free it. We liked the scenario for its clear objective and detailed storytelling, though we felt it lacked a unique twist to set it apart.
The décor was impressive, with massive rooms and high ceilings. We appreciated the attention to detail and how new and well-maintained everything looked. The space was so large that we felt it could have supported even more content or additional room divisions to enhance immersion—but that’s a small critique. Each area served a clear purpose and aligned well with the story, and the background music added to the experience.
The puzzles were fun and well-integrated with the theme, mostly relying on traditional locks with a few automatic mechanisms. There was a lot of puzzles to solve but the room was linear which means that we could only work on one thing at a time. Many puzzles required sharp observation skills, though we found that some clues were quite subtle or small, which could lead players to depend too heavily on hints. We were not sure if it was a problem of flow and clarity with the clues or if it was just us that weren’t observing well. The game master did confirm that many teams needs hints for each puzzles. Hints were delivered via walkie-talkie by the game master.
Overall, we enjoyed this room for its beautiful set design and entertaining puzzles. However, we felt the puzzle flow could be smoother to improve the overall experience. It’s a family-friendly room, best suited for groups of four players. While we did escape in time, we weren’t entirely happy with our performance—we needed four hints! Still, we liked it and we escaped!
: Yes
Andrea