Houdini's Secrets

This is a modified review I left for Houdini’s Secret in New Smyrna. Room played on 05/28/23. “As an enthusiast and puzzle contractor, the room was not up to the standards I had hoped it would be. The GM was not very personable, I was uncomfortable with their presence in the room and wished that they had added more to the game as an in room guide than just awkwardly watching me and triggering lights. They expressed to me that things don’t always work as they should and that they would have to help me do certain things because of that. They also gave me so many directions about what was in play, not in play, might possibly be in play, what to take down from a wall, what not to put back up, etc. that by the end of the intro, I was already exhausted. There was not a lot of indication on the direction that I was supposed to go in the room. I was told beforehand that it is linear and makes sense the entire way through. I convinced myself in the game that I had played too many games and was overthinking every puzzle and that’s why I struggled. The truth is that I was not overthinking and the puzzles and game play just underperformed. The GM could not even open the (redacted) after I struggled with it for several attempts and then handed it over with a wand. Apparently vital information and potentially a trigger were in that and I feel that I missed a part of the game and lost time because of this. On the topic of the wand, I was actually shocked that I was only allowed each clue after I found the wands in the game. Truthfully, I was so lost most of the time that I could have used three in a row after the first puzzle and still have been confused. When I accidentally solved things out of order, the GM would just tell me in an exasperated and crass tone that “I wasn’t supposed to do that yet” but not suggest that I go back to that puzzle when it was in the line of progression. Out of all of the puzzles in the room, maybe half of them made “logical sense” but that is because they only technically made sense. I was not “wowed” by any of them. Truthfully, the (redacted) matching the riddle at the very beginning was the only aspect I could have said I enjoyed of the whole game. The overall decor, puzzles, and set design were not conducive to the development of the storyline or even tied in to what I believed to be the initial plot line. Overall, I was underwhelmed and very confused throughout and all the way through the game. I would highly recommend that the owners/staff take constructive feedback from this and other similar reviews I have uncovered on local and national enthusiasts groups and Morty (sadly, I didn’t even look as it was a last minute booking and it was too late to cancel by the time I did my due and read the reviews that mention similar issues that have happened over a handful of years). I did not even want my photo taken at the end which is a very rare occurrence because I did not want anyone that I may come in contact with in my own businesses or my enthusiast hobby to see that I played the room and believe that I was recommending it. I hope that this review does not fall on deaf ears and is received well. The room seems to have a potential to become a better game but it will take a joint effort between ownership and staff to enhance the experience.”

The entire game takes place in one small room that is poorly decorated. Props and puzzles all poorly constructed. Game master stands at a podium in the room the whole time and tells you to ignore them and the podium as they are “out of play.” Then when you solve a puzzle, they flick the lights off and on and hang the key you just earned on the podium. When you fail to find the key because you’re not looking on the podium that’s “out of play”, game master sighs heavily and says “Did you check the podium?” Closest I’ve come to throttling someone.

This was a very cute room. It had some unique twists I hadn’t seen in a room before. We had fun and beat it!