Ghost Patrol - Trivium Games

Overall Rating: 9.3 *Note that this room requires a minimum of 4 people

Location	Emeryville, CA. USA
Date Played	June 19, 2022
Team Sizes	4-8, we recommend 4
Duration	90 minutes
Website	https://www.triviumgames.com/ghost-patrol

Set & Atmosphere – 9.5

Ghost Patrol features an extremely polished, cohesive set. The rooms actually feel like they could be inhabited by real people. Technology and clever mechanisms are used more for immersion than over-the-top wow factors and when combined with the high-quality set, they create a space that is magical. This isn't the kind of room where a mysterious person has inexplicably decided to purchase and install dozens of 3-4 digit combination locks or locked away a series of keys - everything makes sense in this universe. More than that, it feels right.

Story & Immersion – 10

The story begins in the lobby and runs to the end. They manage to do "show, don't tell" storytelling throughout, with characters that are developed through puzzles, clues and the magical set, including "Aha!" moments and big reveals. This room has the best escape room story I've ever experienced, and K almost shed a tear when it finished.

K: Tearing up for an escape room? That's a first.

Puzzles & Mechanics – 9

Puzzles run the gamut of word-based, visual, auditory, tactile, spatial, logic... There's a great variety of puzzles generally of medium-high difficulty. Puzzles had good feedback to indicate inputs and success/failure. Since the puzzles fit so cohesively into the story and setting, there were no points where we weren't sure what we should be doing or looking for - because of that, despite some moderate complexity overall, the puzzles felt smooth and satisfying. Puzzle parallelism varied from 2-4 (meaning with 4 people there are moments where each person works on their own puzzle). Larger groups than 4 could find themselves bottlenecked.

Flow – 9

The progression is smooth and natural, with the story and puzzles supporting each other seamlessly. Because the environment so clearly guides your next step, there were no moments where we felt lost. The pacing alternates between discovery, reveals, and problem-solving, making the entire experience feel cohesive and well-balanced.

The Verdict - 9.3

Ghost Patrol is one of the greats, and well deserving of its 21st placement on the 2021 TERPECA Top Room rankings. While not doable as a couple, it's worth wrangling some friends together. We recommend 4 for experienced escapers.