MindMaze: Galactic Pioneers (Prague)

Ohhhh…now we understand

Join the interstellar mission and travel aboard Galactic Pioneer spacecraft to colonize another planet.

Travel aboard Galactic Pioneer spacecraft to colonize another planet. You volunteered for an interstellar mission but something unexpected happened along the journey – the entire mission is in danger! Join the interstellar adventure to save the mission and the future of humanity!

For years we’ve been hearing about how great Galactic Pioneers is, and that we had to make a plan to play it. The planets finally aligned and we were due in Prague to attend an escape room conference, so Galactic Pioneers was the first game we booked, naturally.

Although it was the first game we booked, it was actually the third game we had played since arriving in Prague after travelling down from an escape room trip in Poland. First was Nautilus, then Safe, but the game we were most looking forward to was always Galactic Pioneers (GP).

We returned to MindMaze and were once again greeted by the lovely owners (we were fortunate to meet them because of the conference), and our GM for GP. Our stuff was already locked in the lockers, so we got straight down to business.

We followed our host down the corridor to a special GP themed briefing area and it was here that we received the health and safety briefing from our host, then the mission briefing from our commander via a video message.

With the video complete, we had the opportunity to don suitable space-like body armour (we declined as we were a bit toasty already) and then our host returned to take us down to hypersleep.

This game takes place in a basement, so there are steps to get to it, and there are a few steps in the game – although if you can get down the steps to the room, you should be ok.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Galactic Pioneers has been visible in the TERPECAs for a number of years and actually peaked in 2019 at position 46. It’s since dropped out of the numbered positions but does seem to still be getting nominations each year. Pretty impressive for a game that is clearly at least seven years old!

If you like space themed games, then you’re sure to love Galactic Pioneers. The set was beautiful and the adventure we went on made sense in terms of the areas we encountered. It doesn’t have the grandiosity that some more modern games have, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in substance.

We played as a team of two, and I’ve read a few reviews saying that this game is particularly hard and has a lot to get through – and that’s true, but if you’re an experienced team or just really good at working independently, then you’ll be fine.

One thing that I noticed from just the two games that we played together at MindMaze (Liz played a couple without me too) is that they clearly look after their games. For a game that opened at least seven years ago, I can’t think of a single bit of damage or wear and tear anywhere – it looked like a new game!

From speaking with the owners afterwards, they’re constantly looking for ways to improve and enhance the game. We didn’t notice anything that felt wrong, out of place, or clunky, but they’re still planning to change a few things to improve it. That says a lot about the standards that this venue sets for themselves.

PUZZLES

I love it when you play a game and the puzzles feel completely diegetic to the story, and not an after thought. It would have been weird to be in space, trying to colonise another planet and all of a sudden we need to complete a tangram or some other traditional escape room puzzle that wouldn’t belong in space.

I can see why our friends rank Galactic Pioneers as one of their top games of all time, it’s really good fun and was clearly ahead of its time when it was first opened – and can still give the latest games a run for their money. Put this game in the UK and I would imagine it would be VERY well received.

Despite having a clear mission, the game had moments of both linearity and non-linearity, and you could decide how much you wanted to split up or stay together. Our advice would be to divide and conquer.

Some of the puzzles utilised colour, but never in such a way that it became overly challenging for our resident colour-blindian. That’s not to say colours didn’t play a part in the game in a big way, because at times they really did, but we still got through with no issues.

Other than colours; observation, logic, following instructions, communication, teamwork, and once again outside of the box thinking all make an appearance. The ‘outside of the box’ thinking seems to be a thing with MindMaze, and it’s great – I just wish we could have done that particular thing more!

This was a very high-tech room and there were no traditional padlocks at all. There were of course other input methods, but nothing that felt out of place.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

We didn’t have our quickest time ever in this game, but we didn’t care. The entire time we spent in GP was a joy and it’s a game to savour and take in the little details.

MindMaze once again created an integrated clue system that was omnipresent and we could ask for help at any time from the ship’s AI. We’re not fans of asking for help, but we know when we’re stuck, and we’re not too proud to ask. Our GM wasn’t at all trigger happy and fortunately left us to puzzle our way out of any holes we got ourselves into.

If help had been needed, it would have likely been an auditory clue.

ANYTHING ELSE

Ok, now we understand the fuss about Galactic Pioneers! This game has a beautiful set and puzzles that feel like an intrinsic part of the experience. It’s fun, manic, and fair. If you’re in Prague, it’s a must play – if you’re not in Prague, then perhaps plan a visit?

Sadly the industry has moved on and ‘recency bias’ is a thing so it will probably be harder for Galactic Pioneers to climb the TERPECA rankings again, but I’d like to think it’s got a chance as I would say it’s still better than some of the games in the current Top 100.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 2 Players

Address: Opatovická 4, 110 00 Nové Město, Czechia

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