A GOOD mystery
Sleuthing afoot in Mystic ‘murder’
IIn the quiet town of Mystic, a peculiar lady — a clairvoyant who’s known for making people feel ill at ease — has been found dead. Detectives have a hunch foul play is afoot and are seeking the public’s help in solving the mystery. But when everyone is a suspect, where do you begin?
The fictional seer’s perplexing demise is the premise of Mystified Escape Rooms’ scavenger hunt, “The Mysterious Death of Matilda A. Williams,” a sleuthing adventure that, with the help of Mystified’s murder mystery kit, takes amateur investigators through downtown Mystic on a search for clues.
The scavenger hunts, launched in late-2020, helped keep Mystified busy during the COVID closures and while the business, which opened its eclectic escape rooms in Mystic in 2016, developed coronavirus-safe rules of indoor play.
“Especially during COVID, the scavenger hunts have been very popular,” says Phoenyxe McKee, front desk and general operations manager at Mystified. “Some of the clues are based off landmarks, sometimes they’re just puzzles. Everything is inside of the clue notebook, which comes with the kit along with a magnifying card and a couple of extra pieces that you’ll need.”
Geared toward teens and adults, the 60- to 90-minute scavenger hunt for teams of two to six players is best accomplished by pounding the pavement, like beat cops, though sleuthing by car is also a permissible investigation technique. The cost is $21 per player, including the 24-hour kit rental.
For younger players, Mystified offers the Family Frolic Scavenger Hunt Kit for Kids, an adventure for children aged 7 to 14 and their families. This hunt takes players to six small Mystic businesses to collect stickers and then return to Mystified for a small prize. The cost is $25 per kit (kids keep the kit as a keepsake).
Owner Shelly Wilson traveled the world and crossed the United States exploring escape rooms before opening Mystified in the expansive former West Marine space. The site has been renovated to include three escape rooms ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert.
“We specialize in very high-ambiance escape rooms,” says McKee. “They’re immersive experiences, so you’re not just going into a room with a bunch of different locked boxes.”
Each multiple-room game is mapped out and decorated to fit a theme — like movie or theater sets, they are designed by artists and theater professionals to look authentic to the story and time period.
There are currently three escape adventures at Mystified that range from beginner-level to expert.
The entry-level game, “Keeper of the Light,” centers around the story of Ernie, the resident ghost at the New London Ledge lighthouse. In the midst of a vicious storm, it’s up to players to journey through the dilapidated lighthouse to relight the beacon and save the incoming ships from crashing into the shore.
“All of our games are built with adults in mind, however children do exceptionally well at them because they don’t overthink things like adults do,” says McKee. “We also have the ability to adjust the thunder and lightning. It’s dark but part of the puzzle is that people are finding light sources as they go along.”
For a bit more of a challenge, “Curtain Call at the Cabaret,” is a mystery whodunnit-style puzzle where the leading lady has gone missing and players must find clues to her whereabouts before the show starts.
“We suggest a minimum of four people for this one,” says McKee. “It has been done by two people but groups of four to six are the average because there’s a lot to do in the game to solve it.”
Finally, players become a time traveler in “The Paradox,” which McKee says is “the most difficult game play we’ve ever put out.” The game has two levels — one for experts and another for intermediate players.
“Depending on the group, Level One could be done by your average player,” she says. Teams get an hour to complete the games.
“In this game, you are a time traveler who has to fix a couple of incidents throughout different time periods so you don’t create a time paradox and the world doesn’t end,” McKee adds. “The stakes are high with this one.”
Mystified was closed in 2020 from March to June because of COVID and has changed its rules a bit since reopening — capacity is limited and bookings (for private groups only, for now) are spaced out to allow for extensive cleaning between games.
“We haven’t, knock on wood, had any issues since reopening,” says McKee.
Mystified, at 14 Clara Drive in Mystic, is open Wednesdays through Fridays, 4 to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays, from 1 to 5 p.m. Hours are expanded in the summer and the rooms may also open on holidays. Corporate bookings are available, and Mystified has a pop-up room for outdoor events.