Those Meddling Kids

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A visit to Hamilton is never complete without a stop to see our friends at The Crux. So when we found ourselves in Hamilton on a recent weekend, we just had to drop in and check out the newest room at their Upper James location, Those Meddling Kids.

As always, The Crux does a good job with the pre-room experience. There’s a nice big sign outside, reserved parking, and tables and chairs set up in the lobby where you can choose from a selection of board games to play if you’re early (or if you just want to make a day of it and hang around afterwards). Plus, as a special bonus, you can play the puzzle which won second place in the ERA Ultimate Puzzle Competition! Add in friendly staff and a selection of refreshments to choose from and they’ve got all the bases covered. The backstory and rules are mostly given verbally, but there is a very brief intro video which helps to set the scene.

The story behind Those Meddling Kids is that a local house has been empty for some time, but rumours abound of it being haunted. A realtor wants to buy the house and fix it up, so he’s hired you to investigate and see what’s really going on. The room has a haunted house theme, but the scary elements are fairly tame and it should be fine for kids. We found the room quality to be generally decent, with solid construction. Overall it’s a bit of a smaller room, which is fine given that it’s only intended for 2-5 players, but it lacks some of the wow factor of exploring a larger space. The props were mostly solid and authentic, but there were one or two places where we felt the quality could have been improved. The inside felt like a bit of a pastiche, as though parts of different rooms had been taken and jumbled together in one place.

The immersion was passable. There wasn’t much development of the story, although some puzzle elements found in the room did help flesh out the backstory somewhat. The atmosphere was ok, but there were just a few too many white walls that reminded you that you were in an escape room and the “haunted house” elements were pretty tame. On the plus side, the ending was well done and made for a good conclusion to the game.

The puzzles were also decently well done, including one that we hadn’t yet seen anywhere else in all the rooms we’ve done, so kudos to them for that one. The room did feature a lot of combo locks, so mostly the puzzles consisted of the traditional “solve the puzzle to get the digits for the lock”. Our team of four finished the room with plenty of time to spare, so veteran escapers might find it a little on the easy side, while beginners might find it a better fit.

Overall, we enjoyed this room. There weren’t any big “wow” moments like you might find in a more slickly produced room, but the quality of the set and puzzles was good. We enjoyed the fast pacing and while veterans might find it a little on the easy side, it should be a good fit for beginners. Definitely give it a shot if you’re in Hamilton and looking for an enjoyable way to fill your evening.