What lurks in the swamps of New Orleans?
"There's nothing I can tell you that's going to prepare you for what's going to happen in there,"says Sean Green,manager of Clue Carre,somewhat ominously. An orientation video explains that we are about to be locked in a small furnished room filled with clues and puzzles."This is a game of logic and perception,"the video advises."No brute strength is required."The aim is to solve all the puzzles to reveal a five-digit code that will enable us to"escape"from the room. The catch? We only have 60 minutes to do it.
"Follow me to the Voodoo Room,"says Green,leading us into a small room containing two chairs,a bookcase of locked boxes,a hatstand,a safe and several padlocked chests. On one wall is a large painting and on another are several pictures and framed tarot cards.
Green explains that the famous New Orleans Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau has hidden the last surviving bottle of her elusive love potion somewhere in this room. We have to follow the clues,find the bottle and escape before her voodoo curse takes effect. Hidden cameras allow him to see and hear us and he can offer clues via a TV mounted on the wall.
You'll need your wits about you to escape the voodoo curse.Credit:iStock
With that,he leaves,quietly locking the door behind him. A clock on the TV starts counting down and a spooky soundtrack fills the room. Game on.
My girlfriend and I start exploring,studying the pictures on the wall,checking under boxes,examining everything we can find for that vital first clue. Five minutes pass and we're no further forward. Suddenly,there's a loud chime from the TV,which makes me jump like a startled rabbit (I imagine Green chuckling away in front of his monitor like a Bond villain at this). It's a clue:"Marie Laveau liked her hats."
We return to the hatstand and this time discover a hat with a false bottom,under which is a four-digit code that opens one of the locked boxes (that's the only help you're getting).
New Orleans:No one is ever stumped for something to do.Credit:VisionsofAmerica/Joe Sohm
From here,we follow a meandering series of clues that includes a voodoo doll with numbered pins,cards that fit together to form a map and candles that have to be arranged in a specific order. I've never been a cryptic crossword kinda guy so I'm surprised at how engaging and compelling the whole thing is. Every time we solve a puzzle,I feel a delicious thrill of accomplishment.