The Greatest Caper - "Beat the Banker"

LOCATION:  Montpelier, Vermont, USA

Above photos is property of The Greatest Caper

📝  ETR DECODER

• 🔑 GAME: Beat The Banker

• 📅 DATE PLAYED: August 17, 2021

• 🎬 GENRE: Fun

• 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 ppl): 7/10

• 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 1-10 PPL (Recommend 4-8PPL)

• 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins

• 💰 PRICE: $25/PP

• ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private

• 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

The Greatest Caper is a family-run business, and in their free time they love to play board games, particularly Monopoly. One day when they were playing not so long ago, the twin sons disappeared in the middle of the game! Several days later, they came walking back in the door with an extraordinary tale! They had been magically whisked away to Board Game Land, and The Banker challenged them to a series of games to earn their way back to our world. Thankfully, they made it out, and they crafted a series of journal entries to help any future folks who are similarly absconded to find their own way out...Will they be enough to help you escape Board Game Land?

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

• This room is very uniquely themed and also has an original approach to an escape room, where you track answers from a series of puzzles (how much money you earn playing each) then use the total amount you earned to crack a metapuzzle. This approach meant that, while this is a low-tech room, there were only four locks involved. There is no independent verification for each smaller puzzle, but the GM will help confirm which puzzles you might need to revisit if your meta-answer doesn’t pan out...

• This set is SO fun, incorporating so many of those classic board games you probably played as a kid (or with your kids)! It made us super nostalgic and brought out our inner kid. The way that scale is played with in some pieces is really endearing, and you can tell that the whole thing was a real labor of love.

• There is lots to do here for bigger groups, with many different individual puzzles that worked well. There are also a variety of puzzle types, including communication, logic, spatial, decryption, and minimal searching.

• There is a fun, unexpected character interaction in the middle.

• Your team gets a personalized memento after playing, which is a really sweet touch and a fun keepsake.
  

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

• We loved the personal and original backstory to the room, but there is room for some story progression and clarification of how you have the journal entries. There would also be fun ways to incorporate the hint system into the story itself.

• When it comes to puzzles, there was one where we felt like the connection between two components could have been a bit clearer (and a potential red herring/distractor). There were also a few where you might be at a bit of a disadvantage if you were unfamiliar with the games. However, in many cases rules were explained or knowledge of gameplay was unnecessary, and I am sure that the GM would be happy to help out if needed.

• The theme and decor of the room would be very appealing to younger kids, and there are a couple of puzzles directed towards younger players (as well as some toys they could play with). However, despite the playful atmosphere, the difficulty level of many of the puzzles are more appropriate for older kids and adults. So this is potentially a miss more from a marketing perspective, but the owner does try to steer inexperienced groups or those with younger kids to their other room.
  

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

This is a great room for anyone who is a big kid at heart, loves classic board games, or just wants to check out a room with really unique theming and approach! This is a more difficult room with less linear flow than the other room The Greatest Caper currently offers. So, newbies or small groups might be better off starting with "Mona Lisa Is Missing". We recommend groups of 4-8 players from about age 11 and up. We had a lot of fun playing and embracing our childhood fantasies of ending up in Board Game Land!

🔎 HINT

You’ll be in good shape if you start the game on a roll!

Additional Info

• Street parking available

• Parking lot in front of "Pho Capitol"

• Located on 2nd floor (stairs)

• Table Games available

• Private Restroom from each escape room

Photos above are properties of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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BOOK NOW

We don't want to go into detail and ruin any surprises for you, but if you'd like more information on the room, feel free to email us.

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank The Greatest Caper for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

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