The Secret of Station House No. 4

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Murdoch Mysteries Escape Game: The Secret of Station House No. 4 is the newest addition to the Escape Casa Loma Series. It should however be noted that the room was previously housed at another location. The game, which was formerly stationed at the historic George Brown House, has now been relocated to the Stable Coachman’s House on the beautiful Casa Loma grounds. That being said, if you have played this game at the previous location, this current rendition is essentially the same except for a couple new puzzles.

Parking at the castle is free after 5pm and there is ample street parking available as well. One may think that an escape room located at Casa Loma might be easy to find, but this unfortunately was not the case here. Once parked, most members of our team had a very difficult time finding out exactly where we needed to be as there is very little signage and any Casa Loma staff that we talked to seemed just as confused as us. Keep in mind this room was just recently re-opened at its new location so we are sure these minor deficiencies can be fixed over time. Head to the Stable Coachman’s House (located across the street) upon arrival and you will find the room and while we would recommend leaving a little extra time to locate the room, the doors are locked until 15 minutes prior to your time slot.

In terms of the pre-room experience, we felt there were definitely some areas in which improvements could be made. Upon arrival, the staff greeted us in character and guided us upstairs to a very basic waiting room. Some of our members would have liked to have seen the waiting room resemble a police station to make the experience immersive right from the get go. The room contained a few benches to sit on and a cabinet to store your personal belongings. Unfortunately, there weren’t any snacks or light refreshments to enjoy while you wait. Our pre-room experience concluded with an introduction to the room provided by the live actor and while it was a decent way to start our experience, many of us felt that a video introduction might have been more effective.

Although the waiting room showed little resemblance to the suggested theme, the actual room itself was quite good thematically. The props used inside the room were solid and time period appropriate, there were no noticeable “do not touch” signs, and there were very few laminated papers which is always a plus when a room takes place during the turn of the century. While the room can accommodate up to 12 people we felt it to be quite crowded with only 10. Unfortunately, this is not an issue that you as the player can really control as it is not a private booking and other players might be added to group sizes less than 12.

The Casa Loma Escape Series has produced immersive rooms in the past and The Secret of Station House No. 4 is no exception. The theming, props, and soundtrack were all fairly consistent to the time period in which Murdoch Mysteries takes place and the performances by the live actors certainly helped. Their roles lent to the overall immersive experience and were critical to the story’s progression. One of our favourite parts of the room was the interactions we had with the actors as it encourages the player to join in the theatrics and really become a part of the story line. On a side note, we would recommend booking a time slot that is sometime in the evening if possible. There are windows within the room facing the street outside so the sight of cars and exterior lighting might hinder the immersive experience.

Within the room, you will find a fair amount of puzzles of differing varieties that accompany the progression of the story quite well and very few locks. Make sure to search thoroughly for clues and be ready to work with your fellow officers as a good majority of the puzzles are collaborative and require a couple players to solve. At one point we did run into a newly added puzzle that was quite finicky but when we mentioned it to the staff, they seemed very keen to resolve the issue immediately. We would recommend having a good mix of experienced and new players to complete this room as seasoned escapers could overthink some parts of the room and the final puzzle is very hard!

So without further ado, was this room fun? It was most definitely fun though we felt it did not have the same particular wow factor as other Casa Loma rooms. Also, keep in mind that your experience may vary depending on the size and experience levels in your group. Even if you are unfamiliar with Murdoch Mysteries, the Secret of Station House No. 4 is an enjoyable story driven ride with a great reveal, a good assortment of puzzles, and great interactions with the live actors that stands as a great new (albeit relocated) addition to the Casa Loma Escape Series!