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Writer's pictureKrista Jones

Improbable Escapes - "Legend of the Mayan Temple"

Updated: Mar 14


LOCATION:  Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Photo above is property of Improbable Escapes

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers


📝  ETR DECODER

  • 🔑 GAME: Legend of The Mayan Temple

  • 📅 DATE PLAYED: March 12, 2023

  • 🎬 GENRE: Archaeological Expedition

  • 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 Players): 7/10

  • 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 3-14 PPL (Recommend 2-6PPL)

  • 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.

  • 💰 PRICE: CAD $29.95

  • ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private

  • 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: YES

📖 THE STORY

You are part of an archaeological team and have been tasked with recovering the Lost Cup of the King from a Mayan Temple. You and your intrepid colleagues must figure out how to access the temple and find this coveted artifact, which has not been seen in thousands of years. The only way in or out of this remote location is by helicopter, and yours will be leaving in just 60 minutes!

Video above is property of Improbable Escapes


🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

  • We were really impressed with the use of space for this room! The overall square footage isn’t super high (and we don’t think you’d ever want 14 players in there, though it’s the listed max), but they absolutely maximize every square inch. Yet, it doesn’t feel overcrowded - and the ways that they do so actually contribute to some of the adventure-y feel of the game!

  • And this is one of the ways the game shines - you will definitely feel like you are an explorer off on an adventure in the jungle. It starts the moment you walk in and are greeted with an incredible jungle canopy and the intriguing (but sealed) temple entrance. You will crawl, slide, poke, and peer in your expedition! However, they also keep things accessible - the crawling, sliding, and stair elements can be accomplished by a single player or bypassed entirely if they don’t work for the group.

  • Some of the puzzles felt very fresh, and we had a few delightful a-has! There was one in particular that facilitated cooperation in a very clever fashion, and overall the puzzles were rewarding, fair, and felt well-integrated within the storyline.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

  • This was a great game, without any major misses, so our comments here are rather nitpicky…in the mission brief, it wasn’t clear why the helicopter had to leave in 60 minutes (and why we were doing our expedition just now, if so). Just another line or two to the story (is there a big storm coming? A rival archaeological team just behind us?) to flesh things out would make it a bit more robust.

  • There were two puzzles where we generally knew what to do, but had some difficulty implementing, such as needing to distinguish images that were more similar to one another than they needed to be.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

"The Legend of the Mayan Temple" is one of the oldest rooms at Improbable Escapes. However, it had a recent facelift with the integration of some new tech, and we would not have guessed it was an older game! It is considered one of their most difficult rooms (they offer unlimited hints), and we really appreciated their ability to craft creative and challenging puzzles that had clear solutions (once we figured out what to do). It includes almost every aspect and feature of an ancient temple you can imagine, all in a very natural and organic way. Whether you are a Jumanji-loving family, or a group of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft wannabes, you can find the South American adventure of your dreams in Kingston Ontario at Improbable Escapes.


🔎 HINT

Search thoroughly everywhere you go!


ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

This game is located at Improbable Escapes’ Headquarters. The lobby is quite spartan, with minimal decor and no seating. There are lockers for your valuables, a coat rack, and a bathroom two flights up accessible by stairs or elevator. They do have a number of tabletop and escape games available for purchase (discounted when you purchase in conjunction with a room). Parking is paid, on-street (HONK mobile app) or in nearby lots, and was readily available on the Sunday afternoon we were there. Staff is very friendly and welcoming!

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

 

Check out our visit to Improbable Escapes, sneak peek of the rooms and our exclusive interview with the co-owner/co-founder to understand more on the development side of the game:

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers



(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)


Disclosure: We thank Improbable Escapes for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

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