Jul 10, 2018

Museum of Intrigue - amazing!

Interesting how Destiny is more than a shopping and eating venue; it also has unique entertainment such as racing cars, rope course, mirror maze, and now the Museum of Intrigue. John and I love museums but we had never heard of this one mainly because it is new.  It is also very innovative and a bit hard to explain.  The museum is 9000
sq. feet with areas set up in a variety of sets: rain forest, art gallery,
Salem, medieval dining room, archaeology, and more – all unique and interesting. Adventurers purchase one of the 16 different adventure books.  They are designed according to level of difficulty and to the number of players it is designed for. There are some for all age levels and some perfect for multi-generational fun. The price varies according to the level of difficulty.  There are also live, role-playing staff members who will help but only if you can convince them, in their role playing
job, to do so. Common staff roles are the professor, the archeologist, the scientist, and doctor.  One might be able to bribe the archeologist with a bone – “If I give you this bone I found if you help me…” The adventures indicate the number of minutes which corresponds to the price; however, once the adventure starts player can stay as long as it takes. There will never be another group playing the same adventure and new adventures are added all the time plus some are retired only to be reintroduced in a slightly different format. Each adventure uses the entire museum space.  


John and I tried the easiest level adventure – Still Life.  We had to create a still life with object we were directed to find. We had to find baby doll pictures which led us to picture frames with a still life that could only be seen with special glasses. Each still life had another image we had to look for. Once we found all the still life articles we returned to where there was a table with an outline of the articles we needed to complete a still life which then opened a picture frame with a picture of the still life.

While trying to solve my
adventure I was intrigued by the settings that are used in other intrigues.  Plus there are secret rooms, hidden messages and other unique features. They have a small party room set up as a speakeasy which would be a great place for a birthday party – food can be ordered and delivered.  It is possible to reserve the entire museum for an event; which may also be more economical than purchasing the intrigue for many people.  It would be a unique way to celebrate any occasion.  

I chatted with Jono, the Lead Designer, who was as interesting as
the museum.  He just finished his masters at Syracuse University. He said that it is often the older person who is the best at solving the intrigue but the Professor said his two youngsters loved their experience which was designed without the need to read and they are anxious to return to do more.  I want to return to try the Salem Witch Trial but that is best done with three or more because one person – unknown to the rest of the group – is the designated witch.  John showed an interest in the book called “Containment.”