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Improbable Escapes presents...
"SEVEN DWARFS: MINING MISSION" (Remote)
✧ Played In Jun 2020 • Team of 4 Players • Success! ✧
► VENUE & GAME FACT SHEET ◄
🏢 COMPANY: Improbable Escapes
💻 WEBSITE: Company
🏘️ ADDRESS: 303 Bagot Street, Kingston, ON, K7K | Google Map
🗾 COUNTRY: Canada
🕒 TIME ZONE: To Check Time Zone
🕹️ GAME: Seven Dwarfs: Mining Mission (Remote)
💻 WEBSITE: Game Info | To Book This Game
⏲️ TIME LIMIT: 60 Minutes 💬 DIFFICULTY: N/A (Official) | Easy-ish To Medium (Mattster)
👨👩👧👦 CAPACITY: 2-5 Players (Recommended), 14 Players (Maximum)
🔐 GAME TYPE: Private
💰 PRICING: $74.99 (CAD) for 1-5 Players, $10 Per Each Additional Player
► PREMISE & OBJECTIVES ◄
Official Premise (from Improbable Escapes): One year has passed since the seven dwarfs helped Snow White defeat the evil queen, and now they’ve retired to a quiet cottage deep in the forest. But happily ever after is never that easy, and evil is rising once again! The evil queen’s followers plan to use the poison apple to bring about her malevolent return. Snow White has tasked you to destroy the devious fruit once and for all, and rumour has it that the only way to rid the world of its evil is to cast it into the very centre of the earth.
► "GAME AT A GLANCE" SUMMARY ◄
📚 NARRATIVE: The untold sequel of "Snow White", just alluring enough to attract
👀 VISUAL: I haven't seen all of Canada, but I'm pretty sure they're one of the best
🧩 PUZZLE: Nothing was ever that difficult, but all were well designed and enjoyable
🧠 IMMERSION: Mostly reliant on the incredible set--but hey, IT WORKED VERY WELL!
🎮 REMOTE INTERFACE: Beautifully crafted and worked seamlessly with Zoom video
💁♂️ STAFF: Masterfully trained, my first company to offer quick scan of room by default
💭 OVERALL: 7 OUT OF 5 STARS! One star for each of the dwarfs and beyond!
🎟️ BEST FIT FOR: Disney fam, obvi; also fans of family friendly games & great production
🎫 IDEAL TEAM SIZE: The company's right! 2 (experienced) to 5 (novice) is perfect
gave a "heigh-ho!" and mined all the way to h*ll and back!
"Seven Dwarfs: Mining Mission" officially joins the "MUST DO!!!" rank!
► A DISNEY SEQUEL THAT
I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED ◄
"Seven Dwarfs: Mining Mission" is one of those games that I had little doubt walking in that I knew I was gonna love, for two big reasons:
1) Literally everyone I knew who played this remote room recommend it to the highest degree. It's very rare for a game to have unanimously glowing reviews without actually being something of substance.
2) Improbable Escapes's official website spoke volume. Not only was the website itself well polished, the publicity photos for "Seven Dwarfs" revealed impeccable production value.
Hmmm, how so very fitting, Disneyland level of sets and props for a Disney popularized fairy tale inspired escape game. Looking good.
So yeah, I had GREAT feelings about this.
And I wasn't wrong! 😉
Before the game started, we were instructed to watch the trailer video one more time, to ensure everyone's on the same page.
The game's plot was a creative take on what happened after "happily ever after".
As it turned out, both the queen and the infamous toxin laced apple survived to present day, and if those two ever reunite, dire consequences follow!
We the dwarfs must transport the poisonous fruit all the way to "earth's molten core" and destroy it once and for all!
...Snicker. I love the way they tiptoed around actually saying "h*ll".
Yes yes, I know, this is a wholesome, family friendly game, moving on.
Once our lovely avatar Liz led us into the Seven Dwarf's cottage, we immediately sprang into action... WAIT. NOPE.
This is where Improbable Escapes did differently than all other companies I've worked with so far, and I loved them for this.
Our avatar, upon entering any/every new room, would first complete 2 mandatory tasks:
First, she would circle the room with her camera quickly and concisely, briefly but effectively showing us what's around, and what may be of importance. During this period, you're asked to kindly refrain from solving puzzles, and to focus on acquainting yourself with your setting.
This is often something I prefer to do anyway in a remote play, and I am glad this was done without my having to request the avatar to do so, or sometimes, having to talk over my teammates to achieve the same result.
Second, a password would be provided for your inventory webpage. Inputting the pass code would reveal pictures galore. You'll see everything in the set, a fairy tale book style drawing of the room map (nice touch), and other puzzle pertinent images.
Not only was this one of the best inventory system I'd seen, the photographs again showcased just how dazzlingly attractive this room was.
Without exaggeration, this was, by a far margin, the closest I'd felt to actually being on location. The live video feed, the avatar led room scan, and the exceptional inventory system all worked synergistically to yield an extremely user friendly experience, even for first timers.
And the game's only getting started.
After this quick tour, we got to work! Fast! (We were told we had a lot to do in 60 minutes!) And fortunately for us, the apple's sitting RIGHT THERE on the dinner table. How convenient!
Now we just gotta mine to the center of the earth and destroy the cursed fruit. How?!
Surely, a series of well themed puzzles stood in our way, but thankfully, all were very intuitive.
The very first puzzle made use of shapes and patterns, and that set the tone for the rest of the hour more or less accurately. Majority of challenges that followed were similar in terms of difficulty, rendering them suitable for any adult beginner or even teenage participant.
Additionally, though the set was positively decked out with movie set quality decorations, red herring was absent, and it was very easy for us seasoned players to connect each clue to its corresponding solution. Hence, we -sped through- the first room like champs.
As our journey advanced, some action based tasks were skillfully performed by our avatar via our instructions, and I bet they would've been loads of fun to perform and witness live irl.
Throughout the hour, there was a very balanced and nice mixture of locks and tech puzzles, occasionally furthermore embellished by special or video effects.
Our mining effort eventually took us deeper into the earth, where challenges became just a smidgen harder. But one thing didn't change--from start to finish, every puzzle was tightly fitted with "Snow White" in mind, and every minute of game play was oh so delightful.
If you like Disney films, theme park rides, puzzles, escape rooms, and just all that mashed into one fantastic glob masterpiece together, PLAY THIS!
And what a glorious glob this is. Some may even say, "it's the fairest of them all."
Of note, "Seven Dwarfs: Mining Mission" is a remote escape room converted from an existing physical room that Improbable Escapes was already running regularly. Therefore, every puzzle presented was already in place.
As such, there were some challenges, eg those with audio clues or action involvement, that would not digitally translate well online, and axed from the live video version. Quite sad, really, as I knew I would've loved blasting red hot lava at subterranean monsters.
If only I was physically in Kingston, Ontario, Canada!
"Seven Dwarfs" is an incredibly produced escape room that's a pleasure to play for both remotely and in person (presumptively), and the only semi-critique that I can come up with is, perhaps it may be a tad too easy for experts. We claimed victory after only 47 minutes.
I am also neutral on the avatar's duty of "just being an avatar", so to speak, instead of being in character, fulfilling the role of a mining dwarf. I felt this rather conscious choice worked well for this experience, though some may argue otherwise to maintain absolute immersion.
And even then, I had way too much fun to nitpick.
Who am I kidding?! This is perfection! (This may even rival one certain other mining attraction!) Improbable Escapes, thank you for setting such a high industry standard.
You know what's next? Neverland, "Here we goooooooooooooo!"
Signing off,
Escape Mattster
► DISCLAIMERS ◄
We at "Escape Mattster" appreciate this company's hospitality and the opportunity to publish an honest review. Though game access was complimentary, we aim to provide *only* genuine & unbiased opinions.
All official media are provided by or credited to respective contents owners, and are used with proper permission for the purpose of this post.