Very strange things are happening, paranormal phenomena and spectral apparitions. The desperate owners called the Ghostbusters but since they entered the hotel, no one heard about them.
Caza fantasmas the mysterious room – Secret Box
The guns we are holding shoot lasers. Need I say more? Scroll down for the video.
A good introduction, into an okay hotel reception that will have you do a lot of searching. Prepare to search. And search again. And then check where your friends checked because probably they forgot something. Not all the searching is strictly necessary, but you will want to do it if you are a completionist like me.
Fortunately, the game transitions into a better-looking area and it breaks the mold when you realize you have to be going back and forth non-stop.
I witnessed a special effect that is short-lived but one could consider it a signature trick, and I had never seen it before. It fit the ghostbuster theme very well. The ending is fast-paced, full of action and the GM does an excellent job at accentuating those traits. Remember, also part of the Movie Route.
After the gruesome events in the Freeman family’s home, the building drags the haunted legend. Now, an eccentric millionaire has just purchased it and will be rewarding players with a financial reward by staying up one night in the building.
Until Dawn
This was my favorite room of our 15 room trip in December 2019. If you go play and you are greeted by a long-haired house keeper you are in for a treat. This specific GM outdid himself, to the point where I was worried about whether he’d ever break out of character even at the end! Such a fitting character for the actor, and what a way to carry out a live face-to-face performance. All this making for my favorite escape room intro ever.
The use of the light is cinematographic in this escape room. Beginning with an early warning of how important it will be, to seeing how the light smoothly serves as a horror dial and as the main controller of the flow of the game. One of the highlights is a horror effect that, although some could consider a horror trope, I found it to be perfectly executed, absolutely unexpected and masterfully timed. And it’s not a one-trick pony room, just my personal highlight.
If you are a fan of the eponymous videogame, do not expect a replica nor any encounter with a Wendigo. The only similarity, is that you are meant to survive in the house⊠until dawn. Enjoy it for what it is.
Additional to the escape room, there are 7 extremely well hidden medallions that you can optionally find to unlock an additional riddle that, if solved, will grant you access to an accumulated booty of 100Eur. For reference, we found 0/7 medallions :). If you want to find all of them, you will need to start searching from the very start. 1% of groups have been able to find it, and the GM mentioned that includes people who openly re-played the room exclusively looking for the medallions.
The alchemists claimed to be able to achieve the transformation of metals into gold, although their goal was focused on a greater challenge, obtaining the alchemical stone. This object is attributed magical properties, including immortality.
Catacumbas Golden Pop – En Busca de la piedra AlquĂmica
I heard this room is not what it used to be. Some maintenance and props replacements give some parts an uncomfortable cheap feel. The torch I was holding flopped like a molten ice cream or a flaccid phallus in such a comedic way. And this may be the most overproduced room in the whole trip. If I had to guess, it was also likely the most expensive to create. Some enthusiasts rate it one of the top 3 rooms they played, among 1500 rooms.
The two friends in the picture played 8 rooms during the Barcelona December 2019 escape trip and thought it was on positions 7 and 5 out of 8. I liked it much more.
In the venue you can take all-you-can-eat popcorn while you wait for the cinema usher to come pick you up. You are brought into a humble 3-rows cinema and the movie begins. But before you know it, you are inside the movie.
They adapted the room so itâs playable with 3, and added a very visible hack so itâs even playable with 2 players â but really this is a 4-player room. 3 works fine, except for two specific riddles where you feel like cheating the system a little bit.
I loved the decoration. I loved the special effects. I loved the lighting. I loved the music and sound effects. I loved the riddles. And I loved both the beginning and the ending.
In the next few days, the first Purge experiment will take place in our city. In order to study the benefit of violent behavior without fear of consequences and to release the lowest instincts through this social Katharsis. For an hour the laws will be abolished and everything will be allowed.
Katharsis la hora de las bestias
Having played most of my rooms outside of Barcelona, I always wondered what in hell do they always mean by âTensiĂłnâ. Itâs a term that I see more and more in room descriptions in the area. Sure, thereâs always tension in a room. Katharsis â La Hora de las bestias taught me what this new meta is all about by executing tension flawlessly.
The tension you will feel is not the tension of having a digit wrong in a padlock. It is the constant feeling of being chased by a group of ravenous killers that want to slash you for entertainment. It’s the tension of âwe messed up, what do we do now!?â followed by some Hollywood scenes that will make you feel like the movie hero. If you are worried about this being scary: You may be mildly jump-scared but rather due to a strong narrative execution than flat horrific fear of a monster. Remember, the GM and designers want you to have a great experience.
This room is a must, but strongly falters when it comes to riddles. Looking for numbers on the walls to input on way-to-many padlocks both at the beginning and half-way through the game is a mood-killer.
Is it playable in English? It’s not bookable in English. But technically it’d be playable. The game has an intro video in Spanish but has no language dependency, except a bit of actor interaction where you, as a player, are totally passive – so worst case you don’t understand it and just move along.
In the escape room of the ‘Cerveseria’ (Brewery) you will discover, learn and enjoy with the tasting of Estrella Damm beers. Ingredients, flavors, textures, smells âŠ
La Cerveseria Estrella Damm
This room is one of those games that just recently launched and I could not wait to play. How can it have risen in rankings so fast? Well, we played it the day after the terpeca results had been announced and⊠did it deliver?
Pre-game: You start by being able to choose the language: Catalan, Spanish or English. Before the game, each of the players is given a NFC bracelet, which you will register before entering the room. The registering process is a bit tedious, since it needs to be done one by one. On the other hand, it makes you feel special, since each of you is given one (or more) specialist roles. Will you be the boiling expert, the fermentation adept, the hops connoisseur�
You start in a bar, and the start fits the theme so well that for the first seconds I couldnât see any way to move forward. Youâll start being shown the story of an old man, Josep Damm, master brewer, who left some hints for you to discover and help him brew the 5-pointed star beer. No locks, no codes, no inputs. For a second the following thought crossed my mind: Maybe they.. forgot to give us something? I embraced it, and just chilled and enjoyed it. Beautiful.
Mild spoiler incoming: Youâll see more than that. Without saying too much, youâll end up performing fictitious steps on a very real looking brewery. The expertise assigned to each of the players will play a key role.
I can imagine people liking this room way more than a 9/10 (although I think itâs really high). But an overloaded way-too-loud ending combined with the headache I had, had me leaving with mixed feelings. That is, until we drank the result of our hard work: A freezing-cold Estrella. (see picture).
Is it playable in English? Yes, absolutely. 100%. You can book in English. It even made it to #33 on Terpeca 2019.
Mission: NW6 Bunker: Dr. Betsy Smith has been researching unlimited energy sources within her secret and impenetrable Bunker for years. Your mission will be to recover the NW6 before it is too late. You will let yourself be captured. Once inside, you will need to work as a team using your ingenuity to get out.
NW6 Bunker
It is unfortunate that I played this room at the end of 2019. Was I to play this room 2 years ago, it would have blown my mind. Itâs not that itâs old, nor broken, but it just feels like itâs not up to par with the latest innovations. If you are playing La Cerveceria and have some spare time, sure, play the Bunker because itâs in the same location; but donât go out of your way or stop playing another game for it.
Youâll start split in two teams – which I used to love. And still, if done well it can work. Itâs fine in this case, because itâs short and a start that quickly forces you to cooperate. There will be enough puzzles for your group to split and one of those I particularly liked. It was about communicating directions while still being split through the mirrored version of what the other person sees. If you struggle with lefts and rights, this will be a nightmare. To me, it gave me a feeling of accomplishment. Overall, a solid classic-style game.
Is it playable in English? Yea, 100% playable. You can book in English.
A young woman has appeared at the police facilities in Granollers pleading guilty to several crimes. To prove the truth of her words, she has detailed to the police one of the murders and the place where the body is located.
Seven the game
The GM for this game was outstanding. What otherwise would have been an ok game with old furniture and a few surprises became amazing. Was it the perfect high budget modern room? I donât know. I donât care. It stamped a memory on us that I wonât easily be forgotten. One of the players jokingly complained about it being too scary, and the GM prepared a funny (really, not a scare) surprise for him. For all the scared ones out there, take one of these đ§».
Seven will have you go through the seven cardinal sins:
Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride
You will have to solve different riddles, or cases, for each one. There is an easy way to visualize your progress but do not panic if half-way through the game you have solved only a couple of sins. Progressions quickly ramps up at the end. The plot does a good job at tying the 7 sins to a single case where you will keep discovering new hidden sub-plots that try to make you feel the negative side of each corresponding sin. I particularly liked the execution of Gluttony (gula) and Pride (soberbia), and thought they could have done a better job with Lust (lujuria).
Is it playable in English? It is not bookable in English. You need to understand the 7 capital sins, but it may be playable with some GM help, worth asking them. Worst case, you could play it if at least one player understands Spanish at moderate level.
In 1888, in a famous London neighborhood called Whitechapel, a series of murders committed by Jack the Ripper took place. Now, 130 years later, a murderer is paying tribute and causing chaos following the footsteps of Jack himself. In this escape room we will challenge you to decipher a series of enigmas that will challenge your intelligence, imagination and cooperation in addition to testing your fears. Wit, collaboration, perspective ⊠All the senses must be alert, any small detail can be essential to overcome the challenge.
Whitechapel
So far, I had played very few scary rooms due to the theme not being a big hit on our group. I had not played any of the tension or horror rooms that involve actors, apart from the Catacombs in Amsterdam. When I told some veterans that I’d like to get started with Whitechapel, and that we’d be just two players, they said: Well, that’s going all in. Either you’ll love it or hate it! They were right.
Whitechapel is a piece of art. The introduction is a 10/10 and may very well be the best intro I have ever experienced. You are greeted by an in-character GM from the first moment while a blind character Sam with a very specific speech signature warns you of how dangerous the neighbors of Whitechapel are. His blindness is an excellent tie-in to why it is no problem that it’s so dark in this first room. It is so dangerous in fact, that Sam will give you a safe phrase. A safe phrase you will not want to use, trust me.
All in all, it’s a very hands-on experience. You’ll need to react to what is happening around you and the room will throw the best bravery test I have ever seen at you. It’s a very clever idea, and it is even better executed. It is important to notice thought that despite all the horror and fright, the room always uses safe scares, and they respect the time the players need to solve riddles.
Horror analysis (mild spoilers): Some great horror tricks include: Perfect timing with lights on and off. Something approaching, and nothing you can do about it. Fear of the unknown. Retreating back to where you had to escape from at an earlier stage. On the downside, a few of the core riddles are on the easier and weaker side in retrospect – but perfectly understandable given players won’t be able to give their 100% while scared.
Another genius use of horror tricks that shows that the creators of the room are masters of horror: Tension cannot be held indefinitely, so a pinch of hilarity provides a respite while giving horror a chance to sneak up on you and catch you off guard. Finally, fully surrounding effects that not even 7.1 audio systems achieve made me feel like there were not two but 15 actors.
What some may consider spoiler but I believe to not reveal a lot of the room, but rather a warning for the scared: There will be physical contact. You’ll need to save your friends. Or perhaps they’ll need to save you. Do not worry: It’s gentle non-painful contact. If you are worried about all this, the game also offers a Mystery mode, a lighter version of the game.
Is it playable in English? Not really, unfortunately. They mentioned they could run a customized session if you request in advance. Some international enthusiasts managed to reach out to some well-known local enthusiasts that re-played the game with them and acted as translators. It’s key for the intro, one scene that requires role playing interaction and necessary for two of the riddles.
The Addams Family are possessors of a great fortune and to put it safe, they have decided to install a high security system. To test this system, they are looking for groups of experts that are capable of solving all kinds of tests and riddles, and thus check if their system is completely safe. Do you dare to enter the Addams Mansion and go in search of that fortune?
La Fortuna de los Addams
This was the first room I played during this trip with Santiago. We met thanks to a common friend, Heiner, from escaperoomers.de, who put us in contact when he learned that I was going to Barcelona. And this was our first room together.
I also had the good fortune of meeting Lara and Tomas from Tu Mejor Room Escape (spanish). The three of us went to the same university, and it’s Lara’s fault that we got hooked when we travelled to Barcelona in June 2018. We had only played 14 rooms by then! Additionally, at the time of this 2019 trip I had never played with any of the other 3 players before and was worried about not having chemistry or flow – but it was never a problem. Now, back to the room:
Addams House starts with an average intro set in an old house (see photo). Fortunately, that’s not what you will remember, it quickly ramps up once you get in front of their main gate, right by their front door entrance – with excellent decoration. The things that stand out are the props and lighting, the flow was great, it has both logical, hands-on and even one dexterity puzzle.
The room requires a bit of outside knowledge, although I hope you all have at least once heard of the theme. The ending felt a bit forced and artificial making you solve a riddle that is more tedious than fun under artificial high pressure. Otherwise, a highly enjoyable room. With a more polished intro and ending, it has great potential.
At the end the GM mentioned that there was a Movie Route, and we could collect a bracelet from them.
Is it playable in English? It’s only bookable in Spanish, and apart from an initial intro that is not relevant for the puzzles, you won’t need to be able to speak Spanish.
We were one of the first people to play Boda Borg in ZĂŒrich as part of a testing on November 2019. And we went back a couple of weeks later, to play more.
What is Boda Borg?
Questing: the “DIY” version of movies, books, and video games! Gather your team of 3-5 people and move through the real-life experience we call Questing. You will face a variety of mental and physical challenges at Boda Borg locations, where success in the first challenge means entry into the next. If you fail you have to start all over again or choose another Quest.
They mention you can master 1-3 quests in your first 2h. I think that’s probably right for a family setting or a group who wants a light experience. For reference, we did pretty average (many repetitions!) and got 5 greens and 1 red stamp on our first 2h session.
Time: 2hr (or more!) recommended. A successful run = 10min.
Players: 3-5, but if you are more you can split, and merge.
Ages: 7-70
Languages: English or German. We tested in English.
Price:30chf/person for 2 hours. 42chf/p for a full day.
Opening: Monday-Thursday until 10pm. Friday-Sat until 11pm Sunday until 6pm.
Location: Oberglatterstrasse 35, 8153 RĂŒmlang
How it works
A successful run lasts about 10min. You are expected to get it wrong, and try again. After a mistake you have to leave the quest and restart from the beginning. Even if you know how it works, all riddles are parameterized so the solution will be different each time, but the method the same. You’ll know what to do, but you’ll need to do it again.
All rooms auto-reset in a matter of seconds once you are out. If it’s crowded and another group wants to try, then you’ll have to wait. We always went during the week on the evening and it was mostly empty and never had to wait. Once you succeed, in the end, you get a stamp (green, red, black). If you get all of them in 4 hours you become a Quest Master. I doubt anyone can do it in their first 4h, but once you know how they work you could come back another day and replay it. Some are still challenging (physical ones mostly).
Modes
Green (6 quests): mostly puzzles and mental challenges. Technically one quest (quiz) can be played 3 times.
Red (7 quests): a mix of puzzles and physical challenges.
Black (5 quests): which are dexterity/physical challenges. In general, if it was compared to an “escape room” it would be on the easier side. But the physical ones make you tired. Especially because after a small mistake… you have to try again!
Final thoughts
The decoration is very good. Puzzles are easy but you need to understand them. In the context of an escape room they’d be frustrating because sometimes you don’t know what to do next, but in this keep-replaying context it works very well. Overall, I would strongly recommend it. Going with the right mindset is key. Do not expect escape rooms, go with an open mind and enjoy what they offer.
Secret tips
Come in comfortable clothes: Gym clothes, or at least gym pants are highly recommended. Unless you intend to stick to exclusively green quests, you’ll need sports shoes too. Like in other countries’ Boda Borg, the ones in Zurich also rent knee-pads. May sound like a joke, but kneeling and crawling is quite their signature. If you have knee problems, don’t be ashamed to bring knee-pads.
Drink often: It’s very easy to play non-stop for 2hr, especially when you “almost got it”. And it’s also very easy to forget to hydrate. Take breaks, go for a drink and come back. You are not competing, the heroes who solved everything needed to re-play all rooms multiple times. Especially important if you are focusing on reds and blacks.
Don’t get frustrated: Repeatedly dying in a videogame can get annoying (unless you are a Dark Souls veteran). Questing is similar: be patient and enjoy the game. It’s more worth to have fun with your group and get fewer stamps than to get one more stamp and end in bad humor. If something gets tricky, is hard to perfect or keeps getting you… change! There are 18 games, go play something else! Sometimes stopping for 5 minutes and discussing possible approaches is better than getting one more random fail.
Our progress so far…
We played (but not beat) all of their 18 games multiple times each. In total we succeeded in 12/18. Can’t wait to go back again, perhaps when they add new quests? An employee that helped build this location mentioned they were working on 4 new ones!
Every time you complete a quest, you get a stamp. Our progress 12/18
I don’t think I have to say much about this room. Not least of all since we already reviewed it at length here.
Suffice to say this: This room is leagues ahead of any other room in this country. It is hard to explain why without giving away any spoilers – which is partly the reason why so few photos exist of this room. But it is what I’d call a perfect combination of beautiful and extravagant decoration and very well done and tricky puzzles.
If you are even remotely in the region of this room (which is Geneva), definitely schedule in a stop. You won’t regret it.
Nr 2: Beutezug 1847 (Baden)
This is a room where you truly feel that the owners are enthusiasts themselves. Not only does the story make sense, the puzzles are also nicely embedded and all kept in theme with the time this story is set in. The love to detail they put into building a replica of an actually old fashioned train is exceptionally noteworthy.
The company, Time Maze, is one of those few companies that we completely trust to never make a bad room – and they did not disappoint with their second room which in our opinion is totally up to par with the first one.
Nr 3: The Pirates of the Blacktrap (Martigny)
If there is any room that truly makes you feel like you’ve left the building that you entered and were transported into a completely different time and space – this is it. They built a whole pirate ship – no, not just the cabine or the deck, they built the whole ship. The ship is surrounded by huge screens that show the ocean and the changing weather that comes with it so that you truly feel like you are in deep waters. The cherry on top are strong fans that emulate the heavy winds on deck combined with an appropriate soundtrack.
This is how immersion is done to perfection. Also the riddles are very well implemented and fit the theme. Have you ever dreamt of becoming a pirate? Then don’t hesitate, this room will make you feel right in the middle of a big pirate treasure hunt!
Nr 4: The Forbidden City (Baden)
I’ve already teased it in Nr 2. This is the second game by the company Time Maze and it is just as good as the first one. One defining detail about their rooms: Both of them are very well integrated into the history of Baden, the city where the room is located. The background stories are always in depth and well thought through.
Here, you can kill two birds with one stone: Where else can you play two top-5-rooms in one location? Time Maze is the place!
Nr 5: Kontinuum (Winterthur)
If you know Technorama, the place where Kontinuum is located, you know that this is not your average shopping mall or industrial area where usually escape rooms are to be found. No, the Technorama is a big science museum which clearly had an influence on how this room was built.
We had played the Kontinuum around our 200th rooms and for the first time in a long time, we were able to say that we had encountered more than one completely unique and new thing inside the room. This is how technology is supposed to be used! Simply mindblowing.
A room may end up in the middle when some members liked a room a lot but some others disliked it. A room may be low due to not all 4 of us having played it. Looking for the best escape rooms in Switzerland?
Auf Sherlocks Spuren (Sherlock Holmes) – Geheimgang 188
The brotherhood of the Stone – Trip Trap Escape
Game of Thrones – Der Winter naht! – Mission: Escape
Der Kunstraub – Snary Mary Adventures
Awards
đ„Best escape room in Switzerland: Aunt Hildaâs Room, by Trip Trap Escape.
đ„Best escape room in German-speaking Switzerland: Beutezug 1847 / The Heist 1847 by Time Maze.
đ„Best escape room in French-speaking Switzerland: Aunt Hildaâs Room, already awarded “Best escape room in Switzerland”. Followed by The Pirates of the Blacktrap, by Trapgame.
đ„Best escape room in ZĂŒrich: House of Ghosts, by ROOM Escape Room.
Last updated: 4th of February 2020. 134 Swiss rooms played. 250 worldwide.
More escape rooms
Find the complete ranking with 134 rooms (coming soon…)
Methodology
Create the matrix A where A_i,j is how many times room i was rated above j.
Find the largest real eigenvalue, λ.
Find the corresponding eigenvector v so that Av = λv
This vector is the “score”. The rooms are sorted.
We did minor manual modifications when we thought the ranking was skewed due to fewer than 4 players having played a room, aka hidden gems.
Record time acquired by the 3 sharpest minds of Team Black Rose! (by Enric, the missing one)
Why you will like it: It was a bit of luck that we found ourselves in Houdini’s Quest today but what good fortune it was! We played the rooms The Library and Houdini and had a lot of fun with both. The stories were very immersive and all the puzzles made thematic sense. What we liked especially was the hint giving mechanics and the audio or visual responses you got that let you know when you’ve solved the puzzles. Very well executed, great love to detail and with lots of passion! Definitely one of the best companies in the area.
Why you might not like it: There’s really only one reason why you might not have a good time at Houdini’s Quest: You need to be able to understand German well. Otherwise some of the puzzles are not solvable. But if you are a German speaking group, you cannot miss out on this one!
Second play review (Jan 2020)
Same as in Houdini’s footsteps, Dominique joined us purely for translations and watched us play, although this time much closer to 30 than 60min.
“It was the first time I watched other people play a room I had previously played and it was a very interesting experience. On top of that, it had been quite a long time since I played the room ( about 1.5 years ago) and I did not remember all of the riddles perfectly or at all. If you ever get the chance to watch your friends play, I’d highly recommend it. I could clearly see strengths and weaknesses that I might not have noticed had I been a part of the group. Also, I realized that sitting quietly and watching the events unfold often led me to make connections and see things I probably would not have seen had I been actively trying to solve the riddles. What I take from this experience is that sometimes it might be worth to take a step back and look at what’s in front of you calmly, simply observing what your teammates are doing.”
-Dominique
Fun fact: At one point, Team Black Rose was #1 in the ranking (D+C+K) but that score was beaten by escaperoomers.de and later dethroned by Team Squared (S2+the guys). It’s great to see that more experienced international groups come to play in Switzerland!
