Matthew Lui
- Nov 20, 2021
- 3 min read

Hourglass Games - "Deck the Halls"

Updated: Mar 14

LOCATION:  Stony Plain, AB, Canada

Photo above is property of Hourglass Games

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Deck The Halls
📅 DATE PLAYED: November 20, 2021
🎬 GENRE: Christmas
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 Adults, 2 Kids): 5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-8 PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 45 Mins.
💰 PRICE: CAD $24.99/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: YES

📖 THE STORY

Your Grinch of a family has decided not to get into the festive season this year and has locked away all the decorations. You are determined to get them into the holiday mood and spread some Christmas cheer. You need to find all the decorations and get them set before they get home to help warm their hearts for the holiday season!

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

We were fully immersed into the story from the second we stood outside the door into the room. The doorway in and the surrounding area looked like the outside of a house. There was also Christmas music playing in the background as we played the room to keep us in the holiday mood.
The puzzles were not overly complicated which made this room very family friendly. The kids loved to help solve the puzzles, open the locks, and then decorate with what we found.
The transformation of the room was extremely satisfying from walking into a near empty room to having all the decorations out and set up at the end of the game. No way our family would continue to be scrooges walking into this!
There were some nice surprises delivered to us in the middle of the game that completely added to the immersion and put a smile on our face.
This was an all combination and pad lock room but all the boxes and locks that we needed to open were decorated in a holiday theme. There were a lot of small details throughout the game that they added that really made a big difference to the experience.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

We had a great time in this room which was a solid experience. If we had to get nit-picky, there were a few locks that did require a little more strength than we were used to.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

We were looking for something to kick off the festive season and this was it! This was a great family friendly room that everyone was able to participate in. One tip for this room is to ensure you are organized and moving stuff out of the way that have already been solved. We were fumbling a few times wondering if certain items and clues had already been used. We would recommend 4 to 5 people in this room as this was a tight living room. (There are comfy sofas though for some people to sit on). The room has a mix of linear and non-linear puzzles and there is so much to do for everyone that you will feel the holiday rush. Put on your ugliest Christmas sweater and definitely give this room a try over the holiday season!