The Cipher Room - Newtown (Sydney, Australia)
Time limit: 60 minutes
Age limit: Recommended 12+ (creepy atmosphere only)
Player limit: 2-8 (recommended 2-5)
Difficulty: 4/5
Awards: TERPECA Nominee (2022-2023), Best of Morty 2023
Date visited: August 2024
Back at The Cipher Room for another spooky time with The Cabin, one of their older rooms at the Newtown location. I must admit I was a little nervous about this one, because we had already done Cipher’s three highest-rated and newest rooms (La Rebellion, Mr Pepper's, and The Marlowe Hotel), and I was concerned that The Cabin might not live up to the same high bar.
Once again, my concerns were unfounded, as The Cabin turned out to be just as good in its own way and one of my personal favourites. Like Cipher’s other rooms, The Cabin relies mainly on atmosphere and immersion, and even though I don’t even recall it having any jump scares, I felt on edge the entire time. The theme is that of a serial killer as opposed to anything supernatural, but the set and props do give you that eerie, icky feeling and a sense of foreboding. You feel it as soon as you open your eyes in the dark room, and ramps up as you progress through a series of clever, creative, and very fun puzzles that flow super well in the space.
The difficulty was just right — challenging but not frustratingly so. We accepted one clue to point us in the right direction when we got stuck for a couple of minutes on a particular puzzle, though in hindsight we didn’t actually need it as we escaped with ample time to spare and would have figured it out eventually.
And while it doesn’t have the same “wow” factor as Cipher’s newer rooms in terms of theatrics, The Cabin impresses with an awesomely clever ending that put a big smile on my face.
In sum, The Cabin is another sublime experience from Cipher that delivers in every respect and has no flaws I can think of. Perfect for players who enjoy a bit of creepiness but are too chicken for jump scares or live actors. I loved this one.
Escape time: 51 minutes out of 60
Rating: 9.3
Player | Theming | Atmosphere | Puzzles | Creativity | Fun | Average |
H | 9 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 9 |
E | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
Z | 10 | 9.5 | 9 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
J | 10 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 10 | 9.7 |
Rating | 9.3 |
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