Gold Rush
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Mysterious Minds are a relatively new company that can be found downtown near Spadina and Bloor. The outdoor signage isn’t the most obvious, but as long as you look up the address ahead of time it’s not too hard to find the place. The lobby is somewhat spartan, but does provide a couch and a chalk wall where you can leave a pithy saying for the next guests to come along. They also have a decent sized games room which was deserted and felt a bit sterile when we visited but one day might provide a nice space to hang out and play a few games before or after doing a room.
Gold Rush takes place during the gold medal hockey game between Canada and the USA at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Apparently it is tradition for the Canadian team to hide a ‘lucky loonie’ beneath center ice of the hockey rink. However, the story goes that the American team have dug up the loonie and hidden it in the Canadian team’s dressing room so it’s up to you to find it and return it to the team before the end of the game.
Obviously, this room will be of great appeal to anyone who loves hockey (and as far as we know, it’s the first hockey-themed escape room in the GTA), but even for this sports-agnostic it was a compelling experience. The room itself is small but nicely decorated and instantly evokes the ambience of a dressing room. The construction is solid and the room is full of very authentic props. Everything was interactive and there was a pleasing lack of ‘do not touch’ stickers. Overall the room quality was quite decent with the caveat that it’s a smaller room and not ideal for larger groups (we would recommend 2-4 players with around 3 being ideal).
Likewise, the immersion was quite good. The puzzles were all strongly tied to the theme and made use of real hockey equipment and even tied in some legendary past hockey games (don’t worry, you don’t need any hockey knowledge before you start the room). If you really want to get into the spirit of things, they even provide hockey jerseys you can put on before you do the room. Nothing like a little dress-up to really get you immersed. The one weakness was that we felt the room could have benefited from a better soundtrack, but the owner told us he’s working on that and hopes to have it in place in the near future.
The puzzles in the room were decent. As mentioned, they were well-integrated with the theme and made use of actual hockey equipment and facts. They mostly consisted of unlocking various types of locks, but the clues and approaches were varied enough that it didn’t feel repetitive or lead to lock-box fatigue. Overall they were solid, nothing too memorable but nothing too disappointing either.
As for fun, our team of reviewers quite enjoyed ourselves. One thing we really liked was the way they integrated genuine hockey facts and history. Obviously the owner is a big hockey fan and deserves congratulations for following through on that and making a room that reflects his enthusiasm. That infectious passion really shines through and as a result we too had a fun, hockey-riffic time. Definitely recommended.
Final Verdict:
6.7/10
