Your heist will take place at Kanaka Jack’s rather austere little wooden shack. It is exactly to what we expect of old Wild West cabins: a tiny uncomfortable bed, a stove for cool nights and to cook a tasty rattlesnake stew and a tiny table to eat this delicious meal and play poker. This is all it takes to make your gold digging man happy. Even though the plank walls may look a little too new and straight to really get the old cabin feel, the objects and furniture you’ll find inside seem like they are straight out of the past. The worn-out wooden furniture and chests as well as the rusty and dented metal containers greatly contribute to the place’s old-fashioned atmosphere.

The construction is neat and the various mechanisms, well hidden. Gold Rush therefore offers an honest set, which makes a good impression on screen. The little cabin also has a few surprises in store for you.

That being said, we believe that the shiniest nugget is to be found a few inches behind the camera. The character encountered (we only meet his forearms, but hey… you know what I mean) immediately sets the mood. We were in for 60 minutes of fun.

The interaction with the game master

Through a Zoom video session we were warmly welcomed into the lobby by MindTrap Escape’s co-owner Nathan. After a short explanation of the rules (he skipped the “no climbing allowed, no physical strength required” parts), he left us in the good care of One Eyed Bill, a fun fellow who would be our game master for the next hour. Much to our dismay pleasure, the latter is a rather “simple-minded” miner to whom we have to explain everything. And we mean EVERYTHING. Funny moments are bound to happen. The acting performance, the friendliness and good-hearted nature of our game master were factors that greatly contributed to making this experience memorable.

As far as inventory management goes, a participant will be the designated dashboard manager. Throughout the game, as soon as an item worthy of mention is discovered, Bill invites the player to enter a code in MindTrap’s online inventory system. All the other participants are then invited to refresh their respective Internet dashboard page so that a photo of the said item can be added to their screen.

A fun and easy way to get rich!

Gold Rush is mainly an observation and reflection game that suits very well the online format. The puzzle elements are eye-pleasing and the tasks fit nicely with the theme. Relying heavily on some good ol’ padlocks, it was always easy to identify which one goes with which puzzle. There is no unnecessary waste of time or confusion. One Eyed Bill is already quite confused as it is! 🙂 And if some elements may seem a bit cryptic in the beginning, everything becomes clear in due time.

The game’s level of difficulty is not very high, making Gold Rush a very accessible activity. That being said, the constant interaction with the on-site character allows the experience to be seamlessly adapted so that everyone can enjoy the hour, beginners as well as experienced players. This is one of the perks of having a game run by a well-played character and not generic game master.

Gold Rush also offers its fair share of “classic” manipulations. Even if most of them would be considered as “classics” from an escape game addict’s point of view, some of my favorite passages from the scenario involve physical aspects which turned out to be rather satisfactory … even from behind our screens. You’ll have a blast, that’s for sure!