Mendoza, Jan 2024
Having played Refugio, we impulsively asked if they had availability for Laboratorio, the other game available in English and the one they’d told us was a good option if we were first time players. They did, so after a short pause while they reset it to be in the right language, we gave it a go.
Visually it was a step down from Refugio, a clinical white room that embraced the science theme but came across as a bit plain. I can see why we were told it was a good choice for beginners, in that it’s quite a non-linear game with plenty of choice for where to start and some easier puzzles, so there’s little risk of a group getting stuck early on.
Much of the earlier part of this game is in parallel because the different puzzles provide clue items needed for one big puzzle. That’s quite nice in that it provides a sense of working towards a goal, with a satisfying payoff when it all comes together to a solution; though the nature of that puzzle is a little dry and maths-y. Most of my favourite moments in the game were the ones involving some kind of physical manipulation, which included some simple but pleasing ideas.
One frustration was that a translated clue was just wrong, giving us entirely incorrect numbers to use with a lock. Reset errors happen, so that’s fair enough; less good was that the host let us struggle with it for several minutes, then came in to open the lock with the correct numbers, without admitting there was anything wrong with the clue.
That aside, it was fine, just a bit plain and basic. I was glad that we’d played the two games in the order that we did, because if we’d played this one first we might not have stayed on to play a second. 
