The Fortune Teller

The venue we visited for The Fortune Teller is a favorite of mine. In fact, it is one of the few venues to already have two reviews on this blog: The Asylum: Playtime and The Asylum: The Doctor’s Secret. So when my birthday (March 27, for any fans that are interested) came up, and of course, I decided to play a game, they won out. The only escape game of theirs we had not played was The Fortune Teller.

Now The Fortune Teller is described on their website as a mix between an escape room and an immersive theater experience. I would say that description is fairly apt, but I would describe it more as a play with puzzles or a carnival with a play. Instead of the player setting the pace of the game, the actor set it by stopping us at pre-arranged times and having us move on to the next part of the game. While we had plenty of time to solve the puzzles that we could solve, it was definitely a different way of playing a game.

I have to say a bit about the actor as well. He was amazing! I’m pretty sure he played the 3 different parts, (Well one part was a different version of himself kinda, but …..spoilers….). And he did very very well. He was relatable, as it was immersive, and he rolled well with all the random stuff we threw at him (mostly by accident…) as well as keeping to his own script and pacing. It was new and interesting giving our answers to him instead of the usual escape room method. This seems to be a good time to tell you, my Readers: this game has one lock, and it goes to the front door!

But, my readers, I have gone on enough. Onto the review.

Props & Decor:

The setting was simple but well decorated. Everything from the wall hangings to the fairy lights on the trellis outside the front door made you feel like you were walking into the shop of a quirky fortune teller.

The props were mostly parts of the puzzles themselves, with a few that were set up for just the story. But all of them were kept up well and used effectively. Many of them were kept in the storyteller’s possession until they were needed, but they were in plain view, which made it even more mysterious. What do you need a crown for? What is in that tiny chest? It was a unique system and it worked.

A lot of the decor was revealed at the appropriate time by the lighting changes, which, accompanied by appropriate music and sound effects, did seem a bit like magic.

Dragon: I have to admit that the lighting up to show which puzzles were active is a really cool concept. That said, there were a few times we both struggled to figure out which ones were active due to the ambient lighting affecting the focus lighting at times.

They lent a bit of an evil carnival-type feeling as the puzzles looked a bit like carnival games at first glance, but for me that just added to the appeal. The entire room cried mysterious, but fun all at once.

Puzzles:

There were puzzles of all different types, with a variety of different ways to answer them. It was interesting to depart from the normal code-goes-here variety. I’ve never been in a game where I had to make noises or do specific actions to complete a puzzle, or where you had to communicate all of your answers to a person, but I liked it. It is a nice step away from the norm for aficionados and just fun for everyone.

Another unique part of this room…you do not have to complete all of the puzzles to win! For the first portion of the game, I was getting a bit worried that this would be our first loss! We did not have the coordination to complete one puzzle, and another one entirely baffled both of us. But we realized that the variety of puzzles and the way they are chosen allows everyone in the group to find the kind of puzzle they are good at and to feel good about solving it! Amazing!

Theme:

This room stuck to its storyline and the telling of the story throughout the entire experience. The music, lighting, props, and especially the actor did a marvelous job of keeping us in the mood the entire game. As usual for an escape room, if you think about it too closely, you find yourself wondering “would there really be a bunch of puzzles in this situation?” and a lot of the time the answer is no. And I do have to admit that credulity was stretched a bit thin as to why random puzzles were being revealed here. But suspending disbelief is one of the necessities of escaping reality, and if you do that, The Fortune Teller will completely pull you into its world.

The beginning of the story is a bit rough for the players. We were asked why we were there, and I admit, we were entirely unprepared to answer that query. This happens a couple of times throughout the experience, and I admit, it somewhat breaks the mood. But that break does not last. I will not reveal the ending, my Readers, but the last part of the storyline is the most fun. There is a climactic reveal and a villain to defeat, and once that part begins, you forget there is even an outside world. So I would say the theme is achieved.

Overall:

The Fortune Teller was one of the most unique escape room experiences the Daring Damsels have played to date, and I, The Bat, loved it! Lost Games definitely doesn’t disappoint, ever. I would recommend their venue, their actors, and their sets to anyone looking for a fun escape room experience!

Also, they remodeled their lobby. And look! Tiny Skeletons!