Present, in September 2022, were: The Ant, Aunty Ant, Lioness, Amazing J

It has just dawned on me, writing this review, that this game theoretically occupies the same space that Trapp’d Northampton‘s Molten Creek Mine previously used. I can’t wrap my head around that, which does suggest it has undergone quite a transformation. In my opinion (as you might realise if you have read my Mine review), it is a considerable upgrade.

I am fond of a temple game. There is some strong competition on the market (look out for a couple of forthcoming reviews!) but there is plenty of room for individuality and creativity in this particular genre. Good temple rooms should combine a sense of adventure with cool puzzles, a few scares and a little bit of magic.

Your quest in the Lost Temple of Yumiko is to find a Macguffin of eternal life but also, more importantly, to escape the temple rather than ending up like poor old Empress Yumiko. Like many of these kinds of games, there are the classic Indiana Jones references, but there is also enough here to feel fresh. It maybe doesn’t have the same strong aesthetic as something like an Egyptian tomb game – my first impression was Aztec-inspired although apparently you are “deep within the Shei-Ling Jungle” – but it is a more unusual and interesting take.

Blindfolds have made a post-Covid return to Trapp’d, to preserve the mystery layout of the space, and this makes for an effective reveal in the first room. It maybe isn’t the most totally immersive set all the way through, compared to some, but it does the job, and the puzzles and props are nicely tactile and a lot of fun to play with.

Much of the emphasis here is on physical tasks, which feels very fitting to the narrative. Some brain power is needed too and a fair amount of communication. Our team of four suited most of the tasks well; I can imagine that smaller teams might get frustrated at some of the back-and-forth required. Although the game does not forcibly split the team, strictly speaking, there are some aspects where having a team with kids (particularly one adult + one child) might be tricky.

This isn’t an especially scary game, but there are elements of darkness, tension and a couple of instances where we did all squeal, maybe a tiny bit unnecessarily. Most even slightly adventurous kids would be fine. There is a small amount of scrabbling about and everyone in the team does have to duck at some point. If mobility is an issue, then you could probably arrange for only one player to do this bit, as there is a potential workaround, but you would need to let the GM know in advance.

Overall, while not the best temple game we’ve played (it is a VERY high bar) we did really enjoy this outing. There were some very cool and appropriate tasks, some good effects and a decent amount of tension in the narrative. It is over a satisfyingly expansive area and we escaped in about 55 minutes, without ever really getting held up, so there was a decent amount of content. An enjoyable addition to the Trapp’d roster.

• Storyline: Find the charmed object and get out. Temple games are good for not needing tenuous Escape Room Logic.
• Theming and Set: Pretty good, without being all-out wow.
• Searching: Not a huge factor, fortunately for us.
• Puzzles: Nice theming for the most part.
• Physicality: Several dexterity-type tasks and a little essential crouching, over a large space.
• Scare factor: Mildly creepy in places but not as sinister as the website story makes out.
• Company Age Guidance: “Suitable for ages 10 years and over. Players of 16 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.”
• Age suitability: Better suited to at least 10+ in a mixed team. There are some tricky tasks in there for young ‘uns.

Also at this venue: End of the Line

For other Trapp’d games, see also:  Exordium; 46 Below; Abigail; Dead Mans Cove; VX 2.0; Cartel; Victor Frankensteins Reanimation; The Outlaws of Red Rock Madame Curio’s Cirque Delirium;  Molten Creek Mine; Salem; The Forsaken;  Legend of Drakon; Atlantis

Trapp’d website