MindMaze: Alchemist’s Legacy (Prague)

Beautiful

Uncover a centuries-old mystery!

Legend has it that in 16th century Prague, where alchemy thrived in hidden chambers, a brilliant alchemist created his greatest work — the Homunculus, a living being made of clay. This creature was meant to hold the knowledge of the universe and help humanity. However, to stay alive, it requires the Elixir of Life, which can only be made using the Philosopher’s Stone. The alchemist died too soon, leaving the Homunculus incomplete. The Philosopher’s Stone remains hidden in his secret chamber, guarded by ancient secrets and mysterious objects.

Now the Alchemist’s legacy is in your hands, find the stone, unlock its power, and save the Homunculus before it’s too late. But beware! The alchemist’s riddles are many, and the path to the stone is fraught with mystery…

Prague is a place that Gordon and I have often thrown around as a potential city break to fill with Escape Rooms, but it wasn’t until the Prague Escaping Summit was announced that we actually decided to make the time to do it. In fact, we could have played so many more games than we did. In fact, due to the summit our time was somewhat limited, and our initial plan only included five games (Granted, one of them was five hours long, but that’s beside the point.)

But then the plans changed, sending Gordon to the airport roughly five hours before me, so what’s a girl to do alone in Prague? Well, find some new (and some old) friends from PES and fit in some extra escaping, that’s what!

When we played Nautilus and Galactic Pioneers on our first day in Prague, we spent a bit of time chatting with the owners of MindMaze, and after hearing how proud they were of the changes to Alchemist’s Legacy, I was a bit sad to be missing it. Lucky for me, others were in the same boat, and I decided to band together with Ken (of The Logic Escapes Me), and James and Charlie (of Deadlocked fame), to squeeze in a game (or two) before it was time to head home.

Bright and early on a Sunday morning, I waved Gordon off in his taxi and made my way through the streets of Prague towards MindMaze’s New Town location to meet my team at 9 am, stopping off for a cinnamon bun along the way, of course.

MindMaze’s New Town venue is not only convenient, but also beautiful. The reception area speaks to my weird little soul, painted a deep green with quirky art adorning the walls. After admiring the decor and settling our belongings in the chest, however, it was time to get down to the serious business of escaping. But first, a decision: To play as a team, or in “Battle Mode”.

You see, MindMaze have created two identical copies of Alchemist’s Legacy, to allow players to race against not only the clock, but also each other. Being the people we are, we of course opted for Battle Mode: Ken & Liz  vs. James & Charlie. With that decision made, our hosts led through the building and down the stairs. At this point Ken and I were led through to a completely darkened room, where we waited until our opponents were situated. Then, a gentle music began, a flickering light appeared and the race was on.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Alchemist’s Legacy is a masterclass in creating an amazing experience in a small space. Once the lights were fully up, the main room revealed itself to be spacious, and beautifully decorated. The set, lighting, and sound design all contributed to an atmosphere that I can only describe as cosy. In fact, it was so cosy, I actually forgot that we were in “Battle Mode,” not only racing against the clock, but also another team. I wanted to take my time and savour the experience.

The structure of the game flowed effortlessly from puzzle to puzzle, and a gentle bonging kept us apprised of the opposing team’s progress. But honestly, that all melted away as we were absorbed by the tasks in front of us, fully immersed in our surroundings. Nothing felt out of place, and everything had a purpose. Our purpose was clear, and the satisfying feedback we received with the creation of each element only spurred us on. The finale was a sight to behold, as beautiful as it was satisfying.

PUZZLES

The puzzles in Alchemist’s Legacy were equally as beautiful as the set. Looking back at it, they were neither simple, nor overly complex, but they were layered and interesting, while also being perfectly telegraphed. Each task fit perfectly within the narrative. Clever mechanisms replaced traditional padlocks, and of course, this being a room about Alchemy, there were even some moments that felt like magic.

The puzzle design was so intuitive, that each step of the puzzle simply felt like a natural progression of the task, and rarely were we left wondering what might be next. One observation failure could have caused us to falter, but as we left no stone unturned, we were able to simply solve. Alchemist’s Legacy tested all of our senses, and challenged our minds. Logic, pattern recognition, observation, team work, and communication all came into play, with so many puzzles resulting in thoroughly satisfying “Ah-Ha!” moments.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

I’m a sucker for an integrated clue system, and Alchemist’s Legacy did not disappoint. The Homunculus was stunning, providing not only clues, but little bits of story along the way. As a team we had to decide to request clues, and it was only possible to do so by actioning it together. In reality, we found the puzzles so intuitive that we didn’t actually need to request clues, and only actually had a nudge or two when we were making life much more difficult for ourselves.

The owners of MindMaze are lovely people, and their staff are equally lovely. I didn’t catch our GM’s name, but she was friendly, chatty, and clearly very good at her job, keeping a close eye on our progress, and making sure we didn’t do anything too stupid, and greeting us as soon as we finished to give a thorough debrief while we waited for our opposing team to finish.

ANYTHING ELSE

Alchemist’s Legacy is a beautiful game, with a touching story, incredible visuals, and some truly magnificent ‘Wow’ moments, not to mention the clever puzzles. It goes under the radar when compared to some of MindMaze’s other games, but it is a little gem that is well worth finding the time to experience.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 5 Players

Address: Opatovická 4, 110 00 Nové Město, Czechia

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