Junkfood

In Boston, there's a new interactive walkthrough game called Tomb. It's sort of an Egyptian-themed haunt where players have to solve puzzles and perform actions. It's from a new company with a stupid name spelled "5W!TS", and they anticipate having different shows in the future.

I visited on Saturday October 24, 2004-- they are in the Fenway district of Boston. When I got there, I discovered that someone I knew was also there by coincidence. His sister had recruited a group trip. The price was $16.80 (with tax), the weekend matinee price. Our group consisted of 11 people.

Without giving away any spoilers, I found Tomb to be interesting. Visually, the theming was very beautiful and realistic-looking -- you can almost imagine that you are in an Egyptian pyramid. The special effects and lighting were also really good. The audio was very clear-- no crappy haunt sound here. As for the puzzles and tasks, some were cheesy/easy and others were very difficult.

The replayability of this show is suspect-- I don't think that anyone would go more than once, unless you "die" and are unable to complete the game the first time. I seem to recall reading that if you "die" you might get a discount coupon for future visits. I recommend going with a group of people-- an intact group with no strangers. I believe that the optimal group size is 6-8 people, though I think that it will also work acceptably with a group of 4-10. It will also work best if there is no group waiting to go after yours, so you aren't as rushed. You'll probably want your group to be made up of friends and family, though it could be argued that the stress of the experience could be a friendship-breaker.

Because of the replayability factor, I have to question whether this company will stay in business long. The place seemed empty when I went, with the exception of our large group, and the staff looked bored. (However, my friend went by a few hours later and found the place to be crowded.) They have a year lease for this space.

In conclusion, Tomb was an interesting experience, and I'm glad I went. I do recommend it, with some reservation.

http://www.5-wits.com/