I'm going to start with the middle of our three -- it's the one we had possibly the most questions about going in, and it's also the one on a timetable (for any of my readers who might be curious themselves). The Last Defender is being presented through someone you wouldn't think of when you think "escape room," the Denver Center Theater Company. Originally presented in Chicago, the experience has been brought here to Denver to run through late July.
The description of the event on the Denver Center web site makes it clear that the story of The Last Defender involves being in a missile bunker during a doomsday scenario set in the 1980s. You know, WarGames. It's also clear there will be puzzles to solve and games to play. It sure sounds like an escape room -- and indeed, neither the first nor the last escape room I've done using this theme for its setting. (There's your hint about my third escape room experience this weekend.) What wasn't clear is just how much this might be like a piece of theater. How much story would there be? Would there be actors?
If you want to go in with as many unanswered questions as we had, then here's your nutshell review: it was great! Go book it now. Do it!
For those sticking around for a little more info, here's what we learned in doing it: The Last Defender isn't really theater at all. It's a full-fledged escape room. What's more, it's the largest one I've ever done, supporting more players than any other room I've encountered, and built with great materials and production values.
The Last Defender supports 16 players at one time. Indeed, it requires at least 8 for them to run it. And this isn't one of those rooms that say they'll take a large number but is ultimately so narrow and linear that people wind up standing around watching other people. A constant stream of non-linear puzzles really makes it possible for everyone to be active -- working solo, in pairs, or in small or large groups to solve puzzles all throughout a large space.
As all the best escape rooms do, there are puzzles requiring a variety of skills -- physical, deductive, mathematical, pattern-matching, and more. Communication is required; you have to be willing to yell out what you're thinking to the whole group. You have to divide and conquer, throw in and help where you can, and be very active.
There are two small nods to this being more "theater" than escape room. One is a series of videos triggered throughout the experience, projected on a large screen to advance the plot. (Your countdown clock pauses while the videos play, so watching them doesn't count against you.) The theatrical element is in the way clues are delivered. There are "actors" in the space with you, dressed unobtrusively and never speaking. But through pantomime, they guide players who get stuck, and provide moments of encouragement.
The unique strength of The Last Defender is also its only real weakness, in my book: because it takes up to 16 players, you can't have it all to yourself. My group of friends always likes to plan together to book a room, to try to avoid being thrown in with strangers. Most of us just aren't social that way. But unless you can come up with 15 friends who all want to do an escape room together, you won't have The Last Defender to yourself. Depending on how you are with strangers, and what random people you're thrown in with, that might be a bummer.
On the other hand, The Last Defender is so sprawling, with so many puzzles contained inside, that you could easily do it more than once. When I played, I felt like I only got to personally experience around a third of the "content" in the room. Also.... sadly.... we did not save the day. We literally had one puzzle left to solve when our time expired. And they did not tell us afterward what we were missing. Come back and do it again, they encouraged.
The Last Defender was a grade A, top-notch escape room. Maybe a "minus" tacked on for me wishing I could have just had it to me and my friends alone. (But hey, that's maybe on me and not the room.) If you're a fan of escape rooms, you should absolutely go do this one. And you have until July 28 to do so.
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