RATING: 3 Keys RESULT: Loss REMAINING: X:XX
What do snake oil, cocaine gum, and an entire town’s stockpile of gold have in common?
The year is 1865 and you’re in the height of the Railroad Boom. The big tycoon and well known snake oil salesman, Thomas “Doc” Durant, has just come through your small town promising everyone vast riches and the cure to all their woes.
Not only does Doc Durant scam the locals out of their hard earned money through selling bogus medical miracles such as cocaine gum and magical elixirs, he manages to pilfer what isn’t voluntarily handed over to him.
A group of vigilantes has reason to believe the townspeople’s riches are hidden on Doc’s personal train. With Mr. Durant busy trying to get even more cash out of the local poker game, there is time to sneak aboard and attempt to return the gold to its rightful owners.
The Great Train Heist is one of the newer games at Amazing Escape Room, and as such it is a step forward in the scenic department compared to their older offerings.
Like every other game at each of their locations, the entrance to the space is decorated with a themed mural. These paintings are nice but don’t truly sell the scenic in a way that convinces players they are boarding a train. Once inside the locomotive, there are plenty of thematic nods to a late 1800’s railroad vehicle.
Train tickets, luggage storage, railway maps, and old paintings of other rail cars all help build the scenic. However, the space itself does not truly resemble a real steam engine in any way and there are aspects of the set that detract from the realism and immersion.
One such scenic misstep, which is the admittedly common at many venues, is the use of a TV screen for the game timer and clues. We would have loved to see a more creative implementation such as an analog train station clock counting down the time until Doc returns and the train departs. In addition there are several instances of visible tech, such as many colorful buttons that would not be found on a train in 1865. Aside from in game scenic distractions, there was also a modern day upright fan used to keep the space at a comfortable temperature. While being cool is a plus, the fan paired with visible 21st century technology eliminates any immersion that there otherwise would be.
The Great Train Heist has many tasks to be completed, most of which are the “place items in the correct location to unlock something” style of puzzling. While this can work well if done right, unfortunately here it felt lackluster. A poor puzzle flow paired with leaps in logic made several of the tasks more frustrating than rewarding.
Ambiguous design… derailed the enjoyment of certain puzzles, including part of the ending sequence. Even with the help of very direct hints we struggled to connect with what the designers had in mind. Upon completing one puzzle, again with the help of a much needed hint, it was still unclear how our team of vigilantes was supposed to arrive at the solution.
It should be noted that there is a math problem that needs to be solved. It is simple addition of multiple numbers ranging from one to four digits, but a team made entirely of math averse players may struggle with it.
Lastly, there is one puzzle that we unintentionally completed incorrectly. It is designed in a way that it may inadvertently work if done out of sequence, but this caused confusion as we didn’t even realize we had actually completed that task.
There are some fun challenges in this game, but many of the puzzles left us slightly frustrated and confused. Multiple times we found ourselves needing hints only to be left saying “how are we supposed to have known that?” once the answer was revealed.
The Great Train Heist is certainly a step in the right direction for the Amazing Escape Room brand. It advances their level of scenic quality and utilizes significantly more tech than some of their older games. While this is a promising start, there still is plenty of room for improvement. Better in-game clueing, less ambiguous puzzles, and continued advancements in set design will help bring the offerings here to the next level.
In speaking with the Regional Manager, James, we were informed that Amazing Escape Room customers can expect to see this newer tier of escape games rolled out at their other venues as the older generation offerings are being phased out. With continued development and adaptation, The Great Train Heist is hopefully a sign of even better games to come!
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Venue: Amazing Escape Room
Location: Princeton, NJ
Number of Games: 5
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 8 people
Group Type: Public / You may be paired with strangers.
Cost: $30 per person
We thank Amazing Escape Room for inviting us to play this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, that in no way impacts the opinion included within this review.