MindMaze: Magic Mirrors (Prague)

Mirror, Mirror on the wall…

Enter the world of magic and wonder to test your magic skills!

You must help a powerful sorceress known as the Archmage to reunite the pieces of a broken magical amulet. This artefact once held immense power but it broke into halves during the rivalry of two mages. The Archmage uses her half to search for knowledge and enlightenment but the other half is used for black magic and dark deeds.

Now, you must use your wits and determination to find the missing half and put the amulet back together to restore its power. Join the adventure that will test your skills and challenge your mind! Solve puzzles, find clues, and work together to complete the mission.

Due to a series of decisions and changes in plans, Gord and I found ourselves in Prague for the Prague Escaping Summit following our trip around Poland. And due to a further series of changes to our plans, I found myself on my own for a morning in Prague, after waving Gordon off to the airport for his 9am flight home. Thankfully I had made a new friend, and found a few old friends, at PES to join me for a couple of extra games to fill the time before my flight.

MindMaze had seriously impressed both of us with Galactic Pioneers and Nautilus when we first arrived in Prague, so I jumped at the chance to join Ken (of the blog The Logic Escapes Me) and James and Charlie for Alchemist’s Legacy and Magic Mirrors the day after the summit.

The morning started with the absolutely delightful Alchemist’s Legacy in Battle Mode: Me & Ken vs. Charlie & James. After the battle, however, we took the time to sit and enjoy the stunning reception area in MindMaze to have a chat, rehydrate, and prepare for the next game: Magic Mirrors. When we were ready, our host led us to the start of Magic Mirrors, where she gave us both some important information regarding our mission, as well as a few critical things to help us accomplish it, before departing, and leaving us to find more from the Archmage herself.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I couldn’t have imagined anything more perfect as the opening space to a game entitled Magic Mirrors, and it quickly became apparent that there were many secrets to be discovered throughout our journey. The game rapidly opened up, presenting a beautifully designed space, and while the narrative is not the driving force behind Magic Mirrors, it is present, melding each task with the story to immerse players in the adventure, rather than simply feeling as though they are solving puzzles. And that’s in part because the tasks are magic.

Magic is in the name of the game, and magic does feel as though it really happens. The use of clever, hidden tech, further pulls players into the world, as it feels as though we were causing things to happen. The sound and lighting design only served to further the immersion. Magic Mirrors flowed well, keeping up the pace, and building towards an impressive and surprising finale.

PUZZLES

MindMaze games are not only pleasing to look at, they’re pleasing to play. Magic Mirrors had plenty of satisfactory puzzles to really get involved with, and although it was a fairly linear game, it was easy to split the team, with some of us figuring out the mechanics of the next puzzle whilst the others were solving the preceding one.

The puzzles felt multi-layered, and complex, but still fair and achievable. Logic, a bit of searching, observation – all of these were skills that we used to some degree throughout the game as we discovered that some puzzles were perhaps a bit more complex than they appeared at first.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

As with every other game we played at MindMaze, teams can request clues in a manner which is clever, and unique to the room. In this case, we’re dealing with sorceresses and magic, so of course, our request method integrated with the theme perfectly. And when your room is called “Magic Mirrors,” it means that the classic clue delivery method of a screen in the room actually helps add to the immersion, rather than break it.

I didn’t catch our host’s name, but as we found with everyone we interacted with at MindMaze, she was friendly, and attentive. We never actually needed a clue, thanks to the excellent puzzle design, but once when we accidentally triggered the request system, the response, “Do you need help?” was immediate. And the thought to ask if we actually needed help, rather than just offering it means she was paying close enough attention to our progress to wonder why we’d be asking for a clue.

ANYTHING ELSE

Magic Mirrors was a charming little game, with a very clever finale. Although not my favourite at MindMaze, it was still a joy to play, with some delightful moments, that almost felt like real magic. If you find yourself in Prague, you can’t go wrong with any of the games at MindMaze.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 4 Players

Address: Opatovická 4, 110 00 Nové Město, Czechia

Website: http://www.mindmaze.cz/