São Paulo, Dec 2023
After not having been hugely impressed by this venue’s pirate game, it was a relief to find that the second half of the double bill we’d booked was a step up. The Magic Amulet is inspired by Harry Potter, with plenty of pretty blatant references to the franchise; it interprets the setting in a way that completely avoids padlock mechanisms.
There was an early logic puzzle that relied on a little trial and error to get all the items positioned correctly, but otherwise I had few criticisms to make of the details of the puzzle design. Enthusiasts may find that it’s on the easy side, with tasks that mostly involve various permutations of putting the set of things in the right places or with the right orientations, but the puzzles for finding those places and orientations are varied enough.
Visually this room looks good, and improves as it goes on, in a way that’s comfortably ahead of the baseline ‘one room with lots of stuff in it’. That’s not just a matter of having pretty decorations, but an interesting and atmospheric space to explore, and items that at least sometimes feel suitably magical (though also sometimes not quite responsive enough).
Magic Amulet would work well as a room for inexperienced players, and would serve as a good introduction to playing escape rooms. Enthusiasts are likely to find it undemanding but easy to enjoy. 
