The Dollhouse
- Morty score
- 5.0/5 (201 ratings)
- Difficulty
- Variable
2-8
60 mins
80 years ago, the old Victorian on Main, known to all as Ravensgate, was the beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, their daughter Agatha, and son Bartholomew. Ravensgate was a home full of love and joy until tragedies struck one after another. At a sorrowfully young age, little Bartholomew was diagnosed with an illness of the mind and soon after died. Only a few years later, an unexplained fire took the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, leaving Agatha the last of her family. The town just knew Agatha had started that fire and killed her parents yet, though she was brought to trial, they could never prove her guilt. So she was left to live out her days alone in that huge Victorian mansion on Main. While she slowly wasted away in the house, speaking to no one, hiding away, the house itself crumbled as if trying to end the malevolence inside. As the years went by Agatha began to look like an old hag with her hair hanging in wild tangles around her face. Eventually, Ravensgate became the haunted house on Main where all the young boys would dare each other to knock on the door and run or to throw rocks at the windows. When they did catch a glimpse of Agatha through the grungy windows, they said she would be playing with her dolls as if she hadn't aged a day. But she would hiss like a rabid animal at anyone she saw to scare them away. After her death in that house that became her coffin, Agatha became a legend along with her haunted old home. The house was sold several times to hopeful young families wishing to restore it to its former beauty but, strangely, they never stayed more than a month. The house sat empty for years, falling into disrepair until the city decided to demolish the old ramshackle ruin. You and your friends have heard the legend of Ravensgate and tonight, before the secrets of Ravensgate are lost forever, you sneak in to find out what stories the house on Main still has to tell after all these years...
“The best game in Virginia Beach! If you don't have ADHD before this game, you may have it after this game... So. Many. Dolls. Our two-playear two needed a few clues to push us along on advanced - there's a lot to take in. (I blame the dolls.) Advanced would've been easier with 3, but I'd encourage groups to take on advanced - my favorite puzzles were additions only to the advanced mode. Most of what's here is not only fun, it's unique, with some very dynamic puzzling. Well-executed and and well-themed. A nice story to boot which (no spoilers) doesn't fall into some of the tropes of other "creepy doll" rooms I've played. The GM did come in the room at the beginning (usually an immersion breaker), but she played acted briefly at the end of her spiel, so it worked OK. But this is the only chance I see for improvement on the game - having the GM play a character from the beginning of the rules ... maybe as a demolition/construction worker, a real estate agent or a Paranormal Investigator rep? This is the only escape company I can recall having intro videos which are actually a BONUS to the game, rather than a detraction. They come in the form of pre-game animated films which lay out the stories and provide a bit of whimsy before the games begin. Bravo.”
V
VeganGameGuy
608 escape rooms
