In early October, Gateway Escape Rooms launched their latest room Art Gallery Heist. Like previous escape room designs Murder in the Man Cave and Out of the Box, the puzzles and fixtures in Art Gallery Heist was designed by the staff and management of Gateway Escape Rooms.
“Art gallery escape rooms are something of a cliche, so it seems.” said Mr. GER, a nom de plume by the owner and principal developer of the puzzles. “Nevertheless, the first escape room I ever played was an art gallery, and I was struck by how much fun it was, even though I saw lots of room for improvement.”
Improvements found in this Art Gallery escape room include the use of original works of art purpose-built for the room. Visual, audio and tactile clues abound. The room is full of artifacts and fixtures that look like sculpture but yield clues. In this room players can expect to find a few fun surprises, too.
Part of the process of completing a new escape room is extensive testing. Gateway Escape Rooms will run nearly a dozen test sessions to assure quality. Since all the artifacts and fixtures are fabricated on-site or at nearby TechShop, tweaks to improve the engagement of users can be made quickly. This process assures that the game is both challenging and yet can be solved if players engage and communicate.
Mr. GER explains. “This is key – it is not much of a feat to make an escape room nobody can solve, or one anybody can solve. I want to make clues that make the player smack their head once they see the solution, or feel clever if they figure it out.”
Here is a review from a player who enjoyed Art Gallery Heist as one of the last beta testers:
“If you are in the St Louis area, and even remotely considering an escape room adventure… stop looking. Gateway Escape Rooms is where it’s at! Seriously. In today’s world where a bevy of choices exists in this niche market, almost all of them give you the same pedestrian service with rooms and puzzles that feel like unoriginal infringement on someone else’s intellectual property. Not so at Gateway Escape rooms. “
The puzzlemasters and management staff at Gateway Escape Rooms are proud of our 5 star ratings. Art Gallery Heist is shaping up to be another great addition to our family of games.
