DaVinci Challenge

It was ok. The clues being said in the speakers in the room on a recording was not ideal and one of the puzzles was either so hard it was almost impossible to get or it was broken because we didn’t solve it but the drawer opened and then after we got out the operator tried to show us and he said it was super like specific but it barely worked. To me that means broken

This company/location has the themes of their 2 most popular rooms carry over into the check-in area. This is super fun for immersion but does mean that there is no central neutral waiting area where you can hang out without accidentally being exposed to spoilers when other groups finish. So just an FYI that if you arrive early, you might be recommended to wait totally outside the establishment. For this specific room, there was a LOT to do with one especially hard puzzle and a bajillion straightforward or medium difficulty puzzles. I think the hardest part was knowing what to focus on next. For example, there is a split start and my group of 2 wasted a bunch of time trying to solve a puzzle we could both interact with rather than realizing we each needed to solve a specific puzzle in our separate rooms. Like their other room, some very finicky mechanics (eg we would do a puzzle correctly but the mechanism wouldn't trigger) and one entirely broken puzzle that we wasted time solving. The GM even told us at the end the puzzle is just there for fun now. I really think they should fix it or take it out entirely! Great use of audio clues and very involved GM who kept my team on track. In small groups especially, it's very easy to lose sight of what to work on and end up losing a bunch of time!

What an absolute gem of a game. Every prop and every piece of decor is substantial and a delight to interact with. It's a lot to look at, and even more to accomplish. Solving the puzzles will make you feel exceptionally clever and you'll at times wonder if you aren't the next daVinci. You aren't, but this games designer/creator might be. Our group of two struggled at times with the sheer amount of puzzles, and several times we stopped to talk about what we had and had not used/finished already, which helped keep us on track. The light can be dim in areas, especially for older eyes like ours.

The look and feel of the room was not enough to make up for the lack of understanding of the goal we felt throughout the entire experience. We were not even sure what we did to trigger the end. Other rooms at Lara's Labyrinth have been more fun for our group.

The game itself was good, but the background audio was too loud to hear any audio cues. We ended up spending over 30 minutes overthinking and redoing puzzles we already figured out because we couldn't tell something happened. There was one puzzle in particular that wasn't reset properly, and we spent a lot of time trying to figure it out and asking for hints. We even asked if the puzzle had already done what it was supposed to do with no response, just to find out it was open from the beginning. It was a good concept and there were puzzles I really liked, and our GM was really nice, but it was a very frustrating experience.

This was one of my top rooms I have played! It was also one of the more difficult rooms I have played. It requires a lot of logically thinking and deductive reasoning. But it is a beautiful set with some innovative puzzles! I will be back to do the rest of the rooms at this location.

Our GM John was great! Helpful hints when we needed them - especially helpful when the puzzles themselves were a but sticky in operation. The puzzle types were really fun and varied. We had trouble getting started but our GM helped us get unstuck. One puzzle was so finicky that, even though we knew how to solve it, we couldn’t get the sensors to fire. There were issues with lighting: certain lights that should’ve been lit weren’t and a couple puzzles were so dimly lit that the darkness was more the issue than the puzzle itself. Still, definitely worth a play! We’ve done two games now at Lara’s Labyrinth and will definitely be back!

An incredible room and set. Loved the start. Completed with 2 people with lots of puzzles for us both. Highly recommend this game, the staff, and this overall location!

We originally were going to be doing the Sheepshank room, and when we show up (party of three) our original GM had us waiting 20 minutes in the lobby while he “got the room ready.” A new GM came in and convinced us to swap to DaVinci. This GM was great. Stayed in Character, was very friendly, and extremely helpful. They gave us hints unprompted, which I generally dislike, but our GM was hilarious, so I didn’t complain. The puzzles were very interesting, but several mechanisms were broken. Leading to the GM telling us to manually open secret compartments, and overriding locks. Three was the perfect number of people. The decor was great but the ambiance music shut off in the middle of the room. Overall, this is my least favorite of Lara Labyrinth’s rooms. It was a bummer, because the other rooms are some of the best I’ve ever done. And bottom line, I think this room wasn’t worth the $60 price tag.

Really fun room, innovative puzzles.