Rooms in MindMaze (Balbínova 32, Praha 2)

Galactic Pioneers (review below)

Nautilus (review below)

Escape room review of Galactic Pioneers

Warning: This is going to be a long post. You'd understand why.

I always took the time to answer the question "What is your favorite escape room?". Having done more than 135 (at the time of writing) escape rooms, I have had many favorites along the way but nothing that was "the one". Until we played the Galactic Pioneers! We have been chased by murderers, locked in prisons, been in catacombs, found treasures, and whatnot, but this game made me live my nerdy fantasy of being an astronaut. And it was great in every possible way. From pew-pew shooting with a rail gun to yelling "All thrusters go!", it was a truly immersive experience for me rather than an escape game.

It will be very difficult for me to write this review without spoiling anything but I will try my best.

Again, spoilers ahead!

After a warm welcome by András and the kind lady (sorry we forgot the name) we went to the briefing room for Galactic Pioneers. This room had its own spaceship hanger feeling and a colonel explained to us the whole situation. The video was funny and put us in a good mood. After wearing the astronaut vests, we headed down to the actual room.

After the lights of the spaceship turned out, we could see the well-made decor. I jumped in excitement when I saw creatures hibernating in a cryosleep capsule. Coming back to senses and solving the first puzzles, we got the aforementioned pew-pew guns! I shot them in style and we were in the next room - The main chamber.

The riddles were so well executed. This was a mix of non-linear and linear puzzles — with a central piece, the spaceship's command screen. All the puzzles were fun but one of the last took the crown. We had to find a planet where we'd take the spaceship, and it was such a well-constructed multi-puzzle task. It was very well connected to the story and we saw the reason behind why we are doing that puzzle. It was not like we found a random number of the wall and somehow this is a code to a random lock on the other side of the room.

Soon we were in the spaceship bridge! This technically had no puzzle but for me, it was the best part of the game. We had to get the ship up & running and it had a 20-so step procedure! For the next 2 minutes, you could have heard Indhuja shouting commands at me from the captain's deck. Front engine 50% – Cryopods on – Left rudder 90º – Rear engine 50% – all rudders 180º. And I was running around following my captain's order. After 2-3 minutes of running around pressing the right buttons, finally, we both shouted, "All thrusters go!" and we were on our way. It was so exhilarating, I can do that part all over again. Soon we were escaping the black hole and landing on a habitable planet.

During all this time we didn't have time to think about the time. The game was so immersive and so well connected that we didn't even have to take a hint. And we still managed to complete the room well within time.

I know this is a long post but I can assure it deserves nothing less. You need to try it!

Review of Nautilus

Background: We escaped the Galactic Pioneers' room successfully and after being amazed at something like that, it'd be pretty difficult to impress us fanatics with a magical adventure-themed room. Or at least we thought so. This room also stuck with us and made us awe at its diverse room progression. More on this coming right up.

The game was supposed to be about a mad scientist who wants you to go on an adventure that involves sea monsters and submarines. You will enter his cabin and his brain will be your guide, in discovering the many tools and going on this adventure.

The escape room is a collection of 3 different rooms and that is what blew our minds. The magic is not in the quantity, but in the sheer quality of the decor and the puzzles in all the 3 rooms.

The first room, the professor's cabin, comes across as a regular deserted cabin, and you'd expect to be bored of this, but the quality of the puzzles in here will elevate your spirits! The quirky professor's brain only adds to the fun.

From the cabin, you will discover the submarine and enter it. The door of the submarine must then be vacuum shut, and this level of detail is something that we adore in escape rooms, as it adds depth and meaning to the entire experience. The puzzles in the submarine were partly on fixing it and partly on navigating a course while tackling sea monsters on the way. It fits exactly in the storyline and kept us engaged and even better- engrossed!

The submarine takes you to an enchanted island which consists of its own series of puzzles and some rhythmic drumming for you to solve and, of course, enjoy. The decor was super nice and even though we had played a bunch of islands/medieval rooms, this one had better puzzles and fit nicely into the story.

We escaped well in time and the after-taste was pure awe. It felt like we played 3 escape rooms and not just one, because all the 3 rooms in Nautilus were totally different and equally immersive, which made it a truly wholesome experience.