I’m going to start off my post on CU Adventures in Time and Space with a bet – Forest of Fables will be in the TERPECA top 20 this year. I’m confident enough in this that I’d put money on it, so if you want to take me up on it, send me a note and we’ll check in next year.
More on that later, though- first I need to rewind. I wanted to do something special for my 700th room, so after hitting my 699th room, I called up a few others to make a trip down to Champaign Urbana to do a few of the highly regarded rooms at CU Adventures in Time and Space. Christina and I had played one game there before, Wizard’s Curse, and it was fantastic. This time, we targeted the four rooms that require 4+ players, which would be harder to plan for.
The four rooms we played were Forest of Fables, Rise of the Icarus, Calling All Villains, and Game Night. Forest of Fables is new, and the other three usually get a good amount of recognition in the escape room rewards season. Each room deserves a lengthy writeup of its own, but I’ll focus on the overall experience here.
Our first room was Forest of Fables, and as I mentioned in my opening, it’s a lock to win a coveted TERPECA award. It hits every mark I can think of for every type of escape room enthusiast. For my rankings, I tend to place the greatest emphasis on puzzle design and creative use of space. I know many other voters tend to gravitate toward theatrics, storytelling, and unique interactions. This room has all of it. It’s top tier from all perspectives.
The premise of the game is that players are following a storykeeper into a fairytale book to help bring her back to the real world. The way the game unfolds is clever and memorable- I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
After the game I had a great conversation with Chris, one of the owners, and Sarah, our game master and one of the designers, and they articulated a great point of design philosophy that I really appreciated – unlocking new areas in the game expands the game – it’s not about progressing from one space to the next, but interacting with all your environments in new ways. I love this philosophy – keeping the whole space relevant leads to so many little aha moments and big twists, which I wont spoil.
I should also add that CU Adventures worked with Christina for a few surprises for my 700th room, and both blew me away. Christina brought special cookies to celebrate and CU Adventures found a way to integrate them into the game space, and, in the best twist of all, CU Adventures fabricated a special prop to integrate into the game to celebrate my #700 room. It was truly a special experience.
The next game we played was Rise of the Icarus – a spaceship-themed game with many unique twists of its own. A few elements in particular that stood out to me were a sequence at the end requiring full team cooperation and a puzzle involving the clever use of a room half submerged in a ball pit.
One thing I appreciated about Icarus was how tactile it was – spaceship-themed escape rooms are often button-heavy, but I loved the amount of gadgetry and props we had to interact with. I had heard rave reviews about the room, and it lived up to the hype.
After a break for lunch, we came back and played Calling All Villains. It was a fun game, exploring a decrepit alleyway, UN facility, and secret lair, and like the other games, it had a remarkable amount of space and puzzles for our group of five to divide and conquer. There was one really neat trick that stood out as particularly memorable, dealing with a trap set by the game’s villain. I also thought it was neat that the game offered additional puzzles after victory for teams that finished with time remaining- it’s a great way to reward strong teams, and I always enjoy this type of opportunity.
Our last game of the day was Game Night – a Dungeons & Dragons inspired game that starts in a retro-themed living room and builds from there. The game used actors in unexpected ways, and it ends with a showstopping battle against a dragon that caps off the game with a bang. The game is also packed with Easter eggs for fans of games and movies.
Every one of these games has earned quite a few accolades, and they’re well-deserved. I saw that there’s a tour set up to bring groups from around the world to play these games, and they’re in for a great time. Even the lobby at CU Adventures has unexpected wrinkles and twists. CU crafts other puzzle-related projects like Solve Our Shirts and Murder on the Ornament Express, and there’s a really cool Tetris challenge for players up for a challenge.
CU Adventures in Time and Space really made my 700th (through 703rd) escape rooms special. I’d like to give a special shoutout to Sarah for playing a variety of roles within our games, including game master. I’m glad I still have two more rooms to play at CU Adventures so I can plan a return trip soon, and I look forward to my next visit.
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