Mad Mansion – El Templo Del Dios Chaak – Escape Room Pamplona
El Templo Del Dios Chaak / Pamplona (Spain) / 2-5 Players / Price: 22 – 35 EURO per Person / Rating: 7.5
Location: C/ Monasterio de Fitero, 1 bajo 31011 Pamplona –Navarra
Date of Play: 05.10.2022
Team Size: 4
★★★
Spanish Escape Room provider Mad Mansion was voted the best provider in the world at the Top Escape Room Enthusiast Awards 2021 (TERPECA). One reason for this was that a large number of their rooms had made it to the final round. So we wanted to see for ourselves the quality of the rooms. On our Escape Room trip through northern Spain, we first stopped at the Mad Mansion room El Templo Del Dios Chaak (The Temple of the God Chaak). Read here how we liked it.
El Templo Del Dios Chaak, like many of the Mad Mansion rooms, is inspired by a well-known brand. That Lara Croft or Tomb Raider served as the model here is no big secret with one look at the poster.
It is true that El Templo Del Dios Chaak is also offered in English. However, it is best to request this from the provider a month in advance. Even then, an English-language game is not guaranteed. We were in contact with the provider via WhatsApp for several weeks until we received confirmation that we could play El Templo Del Dios Chaak in English only about a week before our arrival.
Like many Escape Rooms we visited in northern Spain, the Escape Room was located in the basement of an apartment building. Normally, the rooms are quite inconspicuous from the outside. There is plenty of parking near the location. One of the biggest differences to German Escape Rooms is that in Spain you are usually not allowed to enter the location until the game starts. You should definitely have visited a restroom beforehand, because the game starts as soon as you enter the provider’s premises.
When the door to El Templo Del Dios Chaak opened, we stepped into a foggy room. In the semi-darkness, a woman dressed in military fatigues and carrying a rifle stepped out of the fog and ordered us to put our belongings in a box. Then we were introduced to the actual story via video with English subtitles. When we agreed to accept the assignment, she handed us lamps and opened the entrance to the temple behind a wall covered with vines.
El Templo Del Dios Chaak
In El Templo Del Dios Chaak you’ll take on the role of a group of adventurers whose objective is to explore an ancient and dangerous Mayan temple and find the most famous treasure of all. Rewrite the story of King Thases! Be the protagonists of an exciting adventure full of traps, dangers and puzzles, where brute force will not help you. But beware! The temple of the god Chaak is haunted by a curse that will wipe out all adventurers who have previously tried to find the treasure. It will not be an easy task to find it.
Self translated
The room
Upon entering the temple, we were first greeted by a corridor shrouded in a light mist. Plants hung down from the walls and on the other side we could already catch a glimpse of the stone temple room. The environment was thoroughly recognizable as a temple, although often not to the last consequence. So there are one or two elements that took us out of the actual immersion in the space. At the same time, there are also some really nice ideas that give rise to a feeling of adventure. Sound and lighting could have been improved to bring the room to life a bit more. The finale could have been implemented a bit more dynamically, to our taste.
The puzzles
The linear puzzles were thematically well suited to the setting of the room, but also felt a bit forced from time to time. The tasks were alternately cognitive and partly motoric in nature. Classic locks alternated with various mechanisms. The hint guidance itself was unfortunately not always quite as successful, so that the flow suffered somewhat. Possibly the lack of puzzle guidance was also related to the fact that not all elements of the room were translated into English. The decisions made regarding the use of light had a negative effect on one or the other puzzle. A circumstance that has a negative effect especially for people with color deficiencies or blindness.
The gamemaster
The hints from the gamemaster, aka Lara, came directly into the room via loudspeakers. The hints were sometimes quite direct, but this was due to the English language and not always well timed. As always with international rooms, it is a big challenge for the gamemaster to follow us when we are actually communicating in German.
Conclusion
El Templo Del Dios Chaak has an adventure feel to some elements. One sequence in particular raises the pulse for a short time. El Templo Del Dios Chaak has the potential to be a really well-rounded, exciting Escape Room adventure. However, to get a higher rating from us, the room still lacks optimized puzzles and a more consistent implementation of the good ideas. A 100% implementation in English for English game groups would certainly increase the game fun for them. We recommend the room for 2-4 players. El Templo Del Dios Chaak is suitable for both inexperienced and advanced adventurers.
