Lost and Found (Game duration 80 minutes)
Fury team: Veronika Mancheva, Miroslav Manchev, Mihail Petrov and Nadezhda Danabasheva
Date: March 30, 2024
Our time: 83:00 minutes
It was long overdue to visit Kamer 237. They had been on my radar for a couple of years, being TERPECA ranked and all with their game Kamer 237, but somehow it was never in the cards to visit them. For this trip, when Veronika was creating the schedule, I made sure we had time for this and that we played both games.
Lost and Found started with a bit of role-playing (which we always enjoy). We are in trouble because Miro has lost his red suitcase, and we are now in a pickle trying to find it. I have no idea why, but we have to find it in an old hotel with a peculiar history. The story starts with a lot of luggage but ends up darker and more grimmer than one expected from a story about lost luggage. This is a good thing, as unexpected twists and turns always add to the experience.
If you are used to easier rooms with, as we call them, tasks, you will need your time here. Tasks are generally easy and familiar puzzles that you know how to solve at a glance, you know what you are missing, and when the time is right, you just do it. Lost and Found has very few tasks and a ton—and I mean a ton—of puzzles. Each solution requires multiple components, communication, and thinking on several different layers. Even though we think of ourselves as an experienced team, this room took all the time we had. We had to split into two groups and work simultaneously on different solutions. Otherwise, I don’t think we would have successfully escaped.
Most of the puzzles I had never seen before. Of course, the general mechanics are familiar, but how they are represented in the game and how they are “dressed” matters. The game has stages, and the timing is good, so you don’t feel overwhelmed or bored. You aren’t just running through it, nor are you just sitting in a room while someone else solves the puzzle.
Visually, the room is stunning, as appropriate for any top 50 TERPECA room. Everything is exactly as it is supposed to be according to the story, setting the right mood. The music adds the exact amount of tension to the game, and everything is perfect until the last moment. The final puzzle was frustrating. The placement and the premises felt random. Keep in mind, these are only my thoughts, but I love exiting a room on a high note, with a feeling of victory, with a bang if you like. Here, I lacked that feeling. For almost 80 minutes, I had fun, admired the details, the design, and the thought someone put into it, but the last 5 minutes disappointed me.
Don’t get me wrong, I would still highly recommend this game to any enthusiast planning to visit the Netherlands. Not to mention, there is another room at this location also deserving of your attention.
Our game masters were great, polite, and helpful, suggesting rooms we had to visit and explaining details we had questions about. So far in the Netherlands, I haven’t met one crappy game master. Do you have some secret organization of the best GMs in the world that no one has figured out yet?
