Mind Masters CC — Local services in Clermont

I've done over 150 escape rooms in Seattle, LA, New Orleans, Houston, and the Bay Area. I actively travel and seek out the best escape rooms in the US, so this review is catered specifically to enthusiasts looking for unique, high quality rooms.

Mind Masters - High 4 / 5 (Rank 29 / 145, a room we will happily recommend to travelling enthusiasts, and our current favorite room in the Orlando area)

Mind Masters is a very solid room (especially for enthusiasts) that is extremely difficult to review because the less you know about the room, the more enjoyable it will be. The best thing for you to do is to look at my numerical rank for the room, compare it to other rooms I've done (hint - look at my profile), trust my judgment that the room probably isnt terrible, and then go in with low expectations expecting a standard escape room with some minor twists (which some people will definitely think - the room isnt for everyone!).

I know at this point that you're probably dying of curiosity and wondering why I'm being so cryptic, so I'm going to temper expectations by saying to not expect anything insane like a cutthroat caverns hidden in the basement. The best analogy I have for this is that mind masters evokes the feeling you get after seeing a good magic trick by a local magician - it's a delightful moment that makes you wonder how they could do that or how they thought of that, but not something that appeals to everyone since it doesn't have the grandeur of something like 13th gate. For a couple of jaded enthusiasts who have done a ton of rooms though, this was a breath of fresh air, and our favorite room played in our orlando trip. I don't expect most people to have this opinion since I assume most people value set and such more than we do (probably most people aren't going to like this room more than doldricks, which has the best conventional overall rooms in orlando), but if you're someone who has done a lot of rooms and really values novelty (and maybe enjoys magic tricks), you will really enjoy this room and should definitely prioritize doing this at the same level as you would doldricks. Beginners will also like the room, but maybe not be able to fully appreciate it compared to someone who has done a fair number of rooms as they have not seen what puzzles are standard in escape rooms quite yet. I'm pretty excited to see what the owners come up with next, and will definitely come back for their next room the next time I'm in town.

Player recs - standard recommendation of minimum if you're enthusiasts (2) and around the midpoint if you're a beginner (4) apply. The game is fairly linear and in a small space though so I dont know if I'd really want more than 4 in the room.

At this point I'm going to go start talking about some very very minor spoilers (which I discourage you from reading) for people who want a few more minor details and think the room might not be for them - I would suggest the rest of you just stop now and go do the room, but the information is likely on yelp already anyways so continue reading if you want.

-------------- start of minor spoilers ----------- Set - the set is a pretty normal backstage circus tent, and it will not significantly change over the course of the game, though it does contain some small surprises.

Story - Not much story in the room besides the intro, though the safety video was pretty funny.

Puzzles - The puzzles are mostly making connections between objects in the room. They were surprisingly unique though, and felt a bit different from what youd normally expect. The room was...

Strange Magic was one of my favorite rooms in Orlando and one of the most memorable rooms out of the over 150 I've done.

Set - A somewhat simple and sparse circus tent set, but the way the puzzles were integrated with the set/props was what made the game the wonder that it was. I don't want to spoil what happened, but essentially my expectations were subverted in ways I've only felt a couple times in escape rooms. The most similar comparisons I have for the feelings this room evoked are the Morgue side quests or Quest Room moments in Los Angeles, though Strange Magic was a bit tamer in comparison.

Story - You must search for an evil magician's source of power while he's doing his show. While there's not much of a sense of story progression throughout the game or deep plot points, I enjoyed the small touch of being able to hear bits from the magician's show.

Puzzles - The puzzles were thematic and involved some cool tech. My favorite part was that the tasks kind of make you feel like a magician, which made this a unique experience. None of the puzzles are super complex or novel from an enthusiast's standpoint, but I didn't feel like that took away from the magical experience.

Room rating: 4/5

Please come out and support Mind Masters--it's worth the trip outside of the major Orlando area!

[Completed as a pair of enthusiasts with 17:39 remaining...

I took a group of friends here for my birthday. Most of us had never been to an escape room before so we weren't sure what to expect. And WOW. The place seems unassuming from the outside, but we had so much more fun than I could have anticipated. For a smaller business, the escape room was done fabulously. Hidden clues, scattered puzzles, and a hint of magic abound as your team rushes to beat the clock and solve the mystery. There were some stunts & puzzles that absolutely blew our minds. The mystery itself is just the right amount of challenging. This was an excellent activity for team-building and camaraderie. Mind Masters has unlocked an escape room addiction for all of us now- we can't wait to try the next rooms once they're finished! Also, the owner (Pam) is super sweet & interactive. If you're thinking about coming here, DO IT. It's also a lot more affordable than most escape rooms in Orlando, which was a definite plus! Overall, I can't rave...