Boda Borg
Hey! I just realized Livejournal is a good place to post this! For our birthdays this year, saraheeyore and I went to Boda Borg.
The website makes it look a bit more high-tech than it really is, but even without being transported to the future, we had a good time. For those unfamiliar with the premise, the building is split up into seventeen (I think...) different "quests" consisting of 2-5 rooms each. To move from room to room, you need to complete a challenge--some mental, some physical, many a mixture of both--and when you complete all the rooms in a quest, you get a stamp, and if you fail any room along the way, you go back to the beginning. No instructions were provided; you basically walked into a room and had to hit the ground running (or standing still, as the case may be). Because I feel the need to remember what I thought of everything, here's how it all went down for us, sans spoilers, just in case anyone reading this decides to go themselves:
Team - 3 person minimum, 5 person maximum. Sarah and I spent a lot of time figuring out who we wanted to come with us. It's tricky, because you have to not only like the people in the group, but be able to work well with them. They have to have complementary skillsets without being at odds with each other. Critical thinking is key and willingness to be wrong is essential, as is an up-for-whatever attitude. We ended up with teammates who only sort of knew each other, but of the three people we invited, one person turned out to be an impulsive push-all-the-buttons kind of player, another was, as they say, left-brain dominant (but whimsical), and the third was thoughtful, strategic, and even-keeled. Everyone determinedly enthusiastic but was willing to go with the flow. It worked out well, and the time spent waiting (there was a lot of waiting) was a good mix of silly banter, strategizing, and reflecting on which of our shared acquaintances (in various combinations) would or would not be a good teammate and whether or not we'd want to do it with our co-workers, kids, etc. But on to the quests, in alphabetical order, since chronological is pretty much a moot point (you bounce around a lot while you're questing, based on what's available and what you feel like taking on at any given moment).
Alcatraz - Completed
A good mix of physical & mental on this one. Figured out the first room on the second try, I think, after an unecessary pause that seemed to be very common judging by the length of time it took other groups to pass or fail on their first try. Second room malfunctioned once while we were waiting to get in (ironic to be pounding on the door of the jail quest asking to be let out, no?) but took three tries to figure out the necessary steps to pass. Excellent teamwork on that one. Third room was a bit of trial and error, but it we were able to figure it out, thanks to some good observations on the part of various team members.
Coach - Completed
First quest we tried. Kind of a weird way to start the day. First room was frustrating until we came up with a coordinated strategy. Solved the second room on the second try, thanks to a clever brainstorm on the part of my wife, though I think it took us a third visit to actually complete it.
Dansa Pausa - Completed
This was fun. First room took a little while to figure out, and even once we did, we only had about half the knowledge needed so we kept failing out as we tried to advance. Second and third rooms were very straightforward, but I think we did them both on our second try (in the rooms, I mean; it took us a while to get back to them, given the issues we had in the first room).
Farm - Completed
Apparently this is the one they recommend people do first. We moved through it quite quickly, although it took a few tries for the final room. I probably wouldn't have figured out the first room myself so quickly, but it was right up someone else's alley and I'm still not sure if she figured it out or got lucky by being her own impulsive self.
Infra - Completed
Sign made this one look more fun than it was. Took a while to figure out the first room; once we did, it was tedious to go back through it trying to figure out the second one, which required a bit more coordination than our flagging selves had. I was barely into the third room before my teammates had it figured out.
Jungle - Not completed
Very physical. We were limited somewhat by people's bad ankles, balance, etc. and some confusion about what we were allowed to touch when. Made it to the second room and figured out how to get through it, but didn't end up doing so. Curious about the other room(s) so would revisit upon a return trip.
LIght and Dark - Completed
First try on the first room, thanks to spontaneous touch-all-the-things player. Struggled with the second room, three tries on the third (I still don't know exactly what we did to pass, but hey, I did what my teammates told me and it's all good).
Pirates - Completed
A very satisfying challenge. We figured out the first room easily enough and quite enjoyed the activity itself. The second room was initially befuddling until we found a hidden clue and pieced together the solution, not just for the room itself but for the next step as well. The third room we tried a ridiculous number of times and were intriguingly frustrated so eventually had to take a very long break from it. When we came back, we got it on the first try (doing, we think, something we had already tried previously) and were pleased to finally see what the final room looked like. We failed it, of course, but gathered good information that informed subsequent attempts. I think it took two or three visits after that before we hit upon the right strategy, but once we did, we were very proud of ourselves and might possibly have gone around talking like pirates on our way to the next quest.
Platoon - Not completed due to lack of time
First room was quick. Second room we made it through about half the time--never quite figured out exactly what was failing us, but we passed often enough to not be overly concerned. There was a climb on this one, which several players were unenthusiastic about completing multiple times in a row and by the time their knees were ready to return, it was almost time to go. We knew what we needed to do to complete it but figured it would take a few tries to coordiate the various player roles, more tries than we had time for. If we make a return trip, this is on the priority list to complete.
Quiz Show - Completed
About what you'd expect. Didn't know a few of the questions, failed to properly push buttons on others. Took more tries than it probably should have, but we did it and decided not to go back for the other two stamps in the other two categories. (When you started, you had to choose Grab Bag, Sports, or Entertainment. We did Grab Bag and learned some interesting facts.)
Rats! - Completed
Middle room was easy. Final room took a couple of tries, but we got it. First room I understand the concept of what we were trying to do, but never actually figured out how we did it. Other than following instructions from a teammate with more of a clue.
Roll and Rock - Not completed due to lack of caring
First room was broken, so we got a free pass. Second room required a fair bit of dexterity, so we spent more time in there than we wanted, despite completing it with relative ease our first time through, and the third room we figured out easily but decided not to dwell on after a few annoying attempts to execute our plan.
Spider - Not completed
Also quite physical. Made it through the first room and were bruised enough to not attempt the second room more than two times. At least one of us sat it out on the second try, so we agreed to move on to a challenge that everyone was comfortable with.
Spook House - Not completed due to lack of time
Accidentally got through the first room without the correct solution; second room was befuddling to us. When we begged a hint from one of the staff members (they don't give hints as a rule, but if it's late enough and you've tried enough things, they will occasionally relent and give you a vague indication of whether or not you're on the right track) he gave us enough information to get us through to the third room after a few more tries and, in assuming we had already figured the first room out (because, you know, we had made it to the second room multiple times), unknowingly gave us a bonus hint that allowed me to deduce the correct solution (our way was a fluke and only worked some of the time; the actual way made perfect sense and worked all of the time). Third room had several possible approaches, which we really wanted to start plowing though if only they hadn't been about to close (not to mention relieving our babysitter). If we make a return trip, this is on the priority list to complete.
Step Up - Not completed due to lack of caring
Got the first room on the first try. A few failures in the second before we decided we would rather be elsewhere. Could probably solve this if we decided to care enough.
Superbanan - Did not complete
Mostly just wanted to see what it was. Failed the first quickly and decided not to reattempt. Too late, too tired, too much effort.
Tough, Tougher, Toughest - Completed Tough
A tiered quest, with three stamps avaiable. We completed Tough on our first try (so, not very tough). Immediately failed Tougher, declined to pursue it futher. Obviously we did not see what Toughest was all about. Given the particular physical demands to complete Tougher, we probably would not reattempt on a return visit unless we were working really hard to finish everything.
Final Reflection
My favorite quests were the ones where you had to use information from a previous room to solve a subsequent rooms. The ones with narratives tended to be more gratifying than the ones without, although puzzles whose solutions were not immediately obvious but suddenly clicked into place were also quite satisfying. Several quests offered hidden clues as part of the introductory signage, though this was often realized retroactively (usually after failure). Listening in the hallways was generally unhelpful for gaining insight into solutions, but this was just as well because coming up with your own hypothesis and testing it out is kind of the whole point. That said, I did enjoy listening to other teams agonize over things we had already completed. All in all, I enjoyed the smug satisfaction I got from solving puzzles as well as the time spent with friends.
Happy birthday to us!