The Collector

So begins the review of the 2025 New Orleans tour! This was the first (of six) game we played at 13th Gate. The Collector was interesting. It's an older game both in concept and puzzles. The "kidnapped by a serial killer & escape from his lair in sixty minutes before he returns to kill you" is probably the most overused escape room theme ever. However, few companies have ever done a room to this size and scope. You start out thrown into a deep well. And it looks REAL!! Compared to any other company, I would’ve said that this set was amazing. It was a nightmare of a killer’s house straight out of a horror movie. However, I was spoiled by the sets of all the other games that we played, so I can't gush about this one as much. The Collector has one big issue that ALL of 13th Gate's games have. These are 60 minute rooms that really need to be 75 minute rooms. There's a LOT of puzzling to be done. The flow was a little off. We spent a lot of time in the beginning trying to find things. Once we got going, there were great puzzles and things moved right along in a linear fashion. Then closer to the end, there was something that drove me nuts: a mechanical puzzle that takes a physical act to accomplish. You can't move forward until it's done. Only one or two people can engage with it and all the clues in the world won't help. You just have to "do" it. That killed the momentum and ate up our remaining time and as it turns out, we still had a number of puzzles to go. Small wonder we ended up as worm food for the Collector! I may sound like I disked this room, but I didn't. Of all the ones we did here, yes, this was my least favorite, but still a cut (see what I did there?) above most other serial killer games at other companies. Come for pretty much any and all of the games here. It's worth the 90 minute drive from New Orleans. But if you are coming out, plan to spend the whole day and do all of them.

We technically went over time a little, but we were so close they let us finish anyway! All in all, I think this room was just okay. The concept of being trapped at the bottom of the well was innovative and they certainly had the space to do so. But nothing really stood out to us in this room even though there was a lot to do. Very linear room!

Very well designed room. Excellent ambiance and props.

My group decided to do all of 13th Gate’s escape rooms in the span of two days. I will say this. All eight of their escape rooms here have the most impressive set design. However, I’m only liking and not loving any of the rooms because as another reviewer put it, the puzzles were just difficult enough that it could feel like a waste of time rather than a satisfying problem solve. The Collector has some puzzles that may not be intuitive for their “Beginning” ranking but there was one part that you just “slide” into and that was fun. I also liked the logic puzzles. Our game master was sweet and she set the tone for us, because this was the first room we did. They seem to listen to feedback, and our game master did share that there used to be QR codes everywhere. They don’t have that anymore so you could stay immersed the whole time! Things to note - this room is horror-themed and the flashlights don’t always work. Just be ready to shake that flashlight a couple of times or you may not see a clue!

The Collector was my second game to ever play at 13th Gate and this game was a very satisfying wrap to our day. There was a moment where we thought we had pulled of the Win only to realize we had even more to do was such an adrenaline rush for us all.

enjoyed this one also! but again, large group made the room go fast

The rest of the group I was with liked this room more than I did, not that I didn't like it, but it felt kinda average outside of 13th Gates commitment to amazing sets. It's age shows, but its worth doing. QR codes and GMs on the speakers pulled me out of the immersion for this one, my flashlight died almost immediately, and a couple things felt like the designers of the room felt really clever.

Very linear and QR code for hint system. Not a huge fan of the hint system as it pulls you out of the experience and limits what you’re given as a hint. Half the time my group knew what we’re looking for and I’d rather a GM helped nudged me towards what we need vs a clue that only gives you one set hint then solves. The room had great elements that saves this review to a “like”.

This room is perfect for everyone. Highly recommend. Horror themed though.

Hello QR codes. Nothing pulls you out of immersion like a dozen QR codes everywhere. I wonder why the owner couldn’t create a better hint system.