Score
– Overall
– Immersion
– Puzzles
– Hints
– Fun
– Scenario
Summary
– 60 minutes
– 2-4 players (we suggest 2-3)
– Maître du jeu
– Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Played on May 11th 2024 by: 
Starry Night was the second room we played at Le Maître du Jeu in Gatineau. In this scenario, the Starry Night exhibition featuring Van Gogh’s works is under police surveillance. The museum curator has alerted us to a possible conspiracy by activists, but our spies uncovered that the curator himself actually stole a piece from the collection. An unedited version of Starry Night was even sold for 20 million on the dark web. We have 60 minutes to recover the painting before the guards return and it disappears forever. The scenario is unique, though the explanation on the website feels unclear and overloaded with unnecessary details. However, before starting the game, we watched a long video that clarified the story and explained it well.
The décor was well done, and we found the second room particularly beautiful. The spaces were small, but the design made good use of the area. One detail we didn’t love is that there are no lockers for personal belongings, so we had to leave our things on the floor in the room with us. It would have been more immersive to have a locker or a subtle way to store items. That said, we enjoyed the music playing during the game, which enhanced the atmosphere.
The puzzles were fun, but we felt there weren’t enough of them, and they were on the simple side. Since this is their easiest room, we expected a lower difficulty, but a few more puzzles would have been welcome. All were connected to the theme and story, with a couple of very original ideas. The game was entirely linear, meaning we could only work on one puzzle at a time, and everything relied on automatic mechanisms. Hints were given through an iPad or by the game master via walkie-talkie.
Overall, we liked the room for its beautiful décor and fun scenario, but we wished for more puzzles to solve. It’s a family-friendly room, best suited for small groups of 2–3 people. We were happy with our performance, as we completed the room quickly with only one hint. We liked it, and we escaped!
: Yes
Andrea