Family-friendly escape games
The reviewed escape game is created by Trap As Mamas, the team behind two friends Lucka and Lenka. Both of them were so enthusiastic about escape games that they decided to create their own. They didn't stop at dreaming, they have so far produced 2 games in Prague, Jungle and Ogre, which the whole family will enjoy. The games are designed so that children can handle them, but adults won't get bored either.
Together with Zuzka (and my husband Jonáš) we set out to explore the wild jungle, as we found it more suitable for adults. The neighbouring Zlobr is really ideal for little ones too - no reading or counting required. The Jungle's small calculations included, and most importantly, the plot is accompanied by verse. So the ability to read and count definitely comes in handy here.
Jungle in the centre of Prague
The game room is located in Prague, specifically Karlín, and is easily accessible by public transport and by car. On the weekend, parking is free, right on the street, and during the week you can pay at a parking meter or through the app. We were supposed to be at the signs five minutes before the start time, so we could get a jump on things and, more importantly, listen to the story that precedes the play.
We were taken care of by game master Ivča, who clearly enjoys her work. She started to tell us the story, explained that instead of radios we would be communicating with a lethal chorosh, and that everything we needed for the game would be found in the level, where the children would be able to see. Jamila confirmed that we understood each other, let us into the game, and time got underway.
Welcome to the jungle or Jumanji for an hour
The scenery and gameplay elements are inspired by the cult film Jumanji. In it, the main characters set out to play a board game that has only one catch - every move in the game launches various wild animals, dangerous traps and other fantastical elements into the real world straight from the game world. The only way to get back to normal is to complete the game successfully.
Zuzka and Jonáš know the film, and although Zuzka had a few gaps in this respect, it didn't matter and she summed up the game as follows. I liked the idea and the theme. I have played a lot of escape games and I would recommend this one to families with children. There is nothing downright scary going on here, yet there is no shortage of adventure. The authentic music and the novel gameplay elements are great. I think a player count of 3 is just right. It would be fine to play with two people."
Here we go
Zuzka is adept at escape games, and Jonáš and I have played a few of them. Maybe that's why we were a bit clueless for a while, because we made it unnecessarily complicated. We always had to remind ourselves that it's meant for kids too and try a slightly different approach. However, a few questions on chorosh also came up. Fortunately, he only gave hints to make us realise why we were stuck. So despite the hint, we felt like we had figured it out on our own.
Of course I won't give anything away from the challenges so as not to take you by surprise, but I can say that the scenery looked very nice and when we did something right, it was always confirmed by a sound or light effect or something would open on its own. So the game mechanics were thought out very nicely.
Overall impressions
Jungle is primarily a family escape game, so a bunch of retirees well into their thirties, all of whom were plagued by a blocked back that day, may have seemed a little odd here. But we enjoyed playing it anyway. For myself, I would recommend this escape game for 3 people at most (adults can easily manage with two, a larger number of players would probably be fine with kids), the spaces are quite small and there are not so many challenges that it can't be done with smaller numbers.
We got stuck for a while because we didn't read the instructions enough and wondered why nothing kept happening when we got it right. By the time we finished the chorosh, a good number of minutes had passed. Well, that's exactly how long we missed the one-hour time limit. Fortunately, we were able to finish it in peace and got an honorary diploma anyway. :)
There was also a final photo shoot with decent headgear, which all the adventurers who escaped have at their disposal.
So, are you going to do it too?
