They say ‘you are what you eat’ – and that’s probably true, unless you’re Roofus – a friendly little zombie who lost his own brain!
Though posted within our Reviews section, this entry will not include a Key Rating. As a team, we at Escape Authority feel the correct thing to do is disclose that I was the Creator of this attraction on behalf of Chris + Creative. While I am excited to share its final results with you, our readers, I cannot officially endorse it – nor will we specify the venue’s location – in order to remain neutral to other games we have and will continue to review around the world.
Being a Witch Doctor is a thankless job. Sometimes, you just want a break – and that’s why every Witch Doctor has a good Zombie apprentice to step in when needed. You see, they hire Zombies because, as the adage goes, “You are what you eat,” and with a strict diet of brains, a Zombie never forgets his chores! They’re a lot like elephants in that way (the memory thing, not the brains, probably. I don’t even know what elephants eat to be honest. Anyway, not what this is about.)
And sure, our Witch Doctor has a Zombie. But the problem is, his Zombie is Roofus.
Roofus isn’t very good at being a Zombie. He’s disorganized and forgetful. You know how they say “he’d lose his head if it wasn’t attached?” Well, don’t worry; his head is attached! But all of his other limbs aren’t, and he lost them. He also lost his brain, which is a pretty crucial thing for a Zombie to have. (Come to think of it, maybe that’s why all the other Zombie kids call him Roofus the Doofus?)
But, what he lacks in smarts, and memory… and… you know, any discernible skills what so ever, he makes up for in his silly personality. Perhaps that’s the reason the Witch Doctor keeps him around, and instead put out an ad seeking Professional Helpers. Thanks for answering that ad, by the way!
Now it’s up to you Helpers – and several outlandish disembodied spirits you’ll meet along the way – to clean up his mess, find his missing limbs and help him remember the one thing the Witch Doctor asked him to do. Just think of it as playing with a goofy puppet instead of an undead reanimated corpse; that should take the edge off! It’s really just an hour of light-hearted fun, as long as you overlook that whole “or you’re cursed” snafu, that is!
Being newly hired, Helpers enter through the Employees Only doorway that leads into the Witch Doctor’s Warehouse & Archives. It’s here that a wide variety of weird items are stored before becoming available for sale to all sorts of peculiar clientele. The space is somehow equal parts small and vast; the sheer number of colorful crates stacked haphazardly up to the ceiling, seemly ready to topple at any moment, is enough to make even the biggest trolls feel small. (Luckily, the trolls don’t shop during regular business hours.)
Perched precariously above the mountains of crates is the Witch Doctor’s Secret Office, quite discreetly marked by a large arrowed sign lined in brightly flashing lights. Helpers clock in for their first shift just in time to catch the tail end of a conversation as the Witch Doctor’s shadow passes through on his way to headhunt. He reminds Roofus that there’s only one job to do today, and it’s very, very important to remember what it is – or we’re all cursed!
With the Witch Doctor away, the door into the customer area of his shop creaks open on its own, as if to welcome Helpers to their new job. Purple bricks of various shades line the walls, creating a slightly spooky but still cartoonish vibe. Dark wooden shelves surround the shop, each lined with bizarre artifacts, strange knickknacks and quite a few odd little (mostly mummified) animal corpses. Hanging Spanish moss creeps through every slatted ceiling board, with even the rusted tin roof panels seeming to struggle to get the Louisiana Bayou to stay outside where it belongs. Sparkling Mardi Gras beads collect dust all around, adding a flare of colorful fun that lightens the mood while also reenforcing the Witch Doctor’s deep voodoo roots.
Just outside the shop-proper is a screened in front porch with views of the surrounding Peachstone Bayou. It has an enchanting glow under the moonlight (which can be seen thanks to a tree which recently crashed through the roof.) Despite the cozy appearance, it’s best not to go off the porch; after all, there’s always an inflated risk of gator attacks in the area!
It would seem the Witch Doctor likes to make his customers feel right at home, because for some reason he left a refrigerator outside on the porch. (Those gators won’t be stealing a snack though; he keeps it chained up, of course.)
There are a lot of strange sights, sounds and smells to overwhelm the senses in and around the Witch Doctor’s shop, but it’s probably going to be hard for Helpers to focus on them… with a three foot tall reanimated zombie flailing around unrestrained! But don’t worry – this one isn’t hungry; that’s just Roofus, and he lost his brain again (as well as all of his limbs this time too – poor little guy!)
Once Helpers get Roofus put back together again, a much more pressing task awaits in assisting him in accomplishing that one job the Witch Doctor asked him to do while away. The problem is, without his brain, there’s no way Roofus is ever going to remember what it is.
Luckily (?) that fridge on the Porch is freshly stocked with brains! (Surely you saw that coming!) Unfortunately, and probably unsurprisingly, none of those brains belong to Roofus. Instead, these slightly chilled specimens each came from the skulls of a zany cast of, well… let’s call them unique individuals – all dead, of course, but not quite ready to move on from the mortal plane. You see, each one of these characters has some form of unfinished business that’s keeping them tethered to a place somewhere between the world of the living and the great beyond. Their disembodied spirits are becoming restless after so much time spent in a refrigerator next to the spoiled leftovers of last week’s Chinese food takeout, and they’re now willing to do anything it takes for their souls to be set free – including demonic possession of a living host vessel. Heck, they aren’t picky – they’d even settle for a reanimated, undead one if it means regaining a physical form.
It’s probably fair to say that when Helpers woke up this morning, they never expected to aid ghosts in possessing the body of a zombie to preemptively break an impending curse, but hey, that’s why it’s important to always read the fine print before signing a contract! Plus, isn’t it all worth it if one of these restless spirits can help Roofus to remember his one job?
As you probably already know, disembodied specters with demonic tendencies are all quite unique, and this batch takes that to a whole other level. Each spirit, back when they were still – you know, alive – was an outlandish caricature-esque personality who was distinctly identifiable and unforgettable. There was Hathaway Wren, a self-proclaimed “World-Renowned” old-timey British explorer. Frites Gaufres was once a famed French chef. Wendel the Wizard served as protector of a medieval kingdom plagued by a fierce, fire-breathing dragon. Dread Pirate Bradicus was a lazy knave and even worse sea captain. The Tooth Fairy finally pushed herself too hard trying to run her magical world-wide enterprise. And, Montu the Dog proves that even being a good boy doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to follow instruction. From time to time, other visiting ghosts may even pop in, each bringing their own peculiar personalities and problems.
Each one of those spirits, once firmly latched onto their new host vessel will give Roofus a completely unique personality, voice, mannerisms and objectives, all brought to life by unique background music that fits their own respective theme. They’ll all have a very important goal Helpers must complete in hopes of freeing their souls to the great beyond – but don’t be surprised when some of those supernatural anchors are the most nonsensical, comical objectives one could ever imagine.
Sprinkling a little Powder of Fourth Wall Breaking™ onto this Special Look (it’s just one of the many powerful potions the Witch Doctor always keeps fully stocked!) think of every character as their own dedicated, highly themed mini-escape game, unfolding one by one inside the confines of the Witch Doctor’s shop, bringing with them small appetizers of fully themed games. For example, Dread Pirate Bradicus brings with him a whole host of buccaneer-themed puzzles, while Chef Frites Gaufres’ challenges are all focused on fine French dining. It’s like playing multiple different escape games all at the same time!
Helpers will not need to assist every character in order to uncover Roofus’ lost memory, and, in fact there are by design double the number of disembodied spirits available from the start, making The Zombie and the Witch Doctor a completely replayable experience. The puzzle flow is also intended to be versatile, allowing it to adapt to any given capacity size. Smaller teams of Helpers have the ability to complete less of these puzzle tracks to reach the storyworld’s finale, while larger groups can opt to play more of them than usual to keep everyone engaged. Possessions can take place in any order, keeping the overall structure of the game nonlinear, while also allowing for constant future expansion to keep this afterlife forever fresh and new.
The Zombie and the Witch Doctor was first envisioned as the, ahem, spiritual successor of another highly popular Chris + Creative game design, Professor Bleehall’s Odditorium Emporium & Pie Shoppe. OddPie, as it’s often known for short, is the world’s first Create Your Own Adventure game, wherein every puzzle is a stand-alone challenge that can be completely in any order (or not at all) during a 60-minute score-based shopping spree. Since its debut in 2019, OddPie has been one of Chris + Creative’s most acclaimed games, so capturing that lightning in a bottle one more time became an important mission statement for the development of this new experience.
This time, Helpers will find themselves engaged in an immersive experience that much more closely mirrors the flow of a traditional escape game as opposed to OddPie’s score-based structure. Roofus’ tasks are jam-packed with clear objectives that Helpers must complete in order to reach the finale of his silly story.
The Zombie and the Witch Doctor is not just the spiritual successor; it was also purposefully designed to allow for easy scenic conversion of an existing OddPie game install, maximizing a client’s investments while creating an opportunity for a completely different game experience without the need to start from scratch. With some small tweaks, it’s even possible to run both games from within the same space, adding a whole new ticket option for the host venue without taking up any additional real estate!
OddPie created some unique design challenges, as any true world’s first attraction always does. One of the biggest unforeseen surprises would end up being the plant puppet used to bring Hubert to life in the game. As it would turn out, shortly after the first OddPie opened, the company who produced that puppet entirely went out of business – meaning there would never be a restock. Now, luckily thanks to some very talented industry peers who specialize in fabrication, we were able to get molds reproduced to keep Hubert alive and well long into the future – but that was a scary eye-opener of a situation that teaches a most valuable design lesson: always keep your fate within your own hands.
To do this, I would spend several months literally learning how to professionally produce Muppet-styled puppets completely from scratch. To paint a picture, I didn’t even know how to use a sewing machine before taking on this project. Several months later, with much thanks to countless hours attending good ole’ YouTube University – and a whole lot of trial and error – Roofus was born. Err, dead. Err, reanimated. Look, you know what I mean! There’s even a second version of the puppet – named Dee-dee – available should the game master prefer to portray the character as female. All of these puppets are custom designed to be directly integrated into both the storyworld as well as the gameplay, and have customized components built into them that may or may not (but definitely will) directly interact with certain puzzles. This friendly little Zombie isn’t just a host for the show, it’s a vital member of your team and, more times than once, becomes the physical components needed for many of the spirits’ challenges. Best of all, these puppets are designed and hand-built by Chris + Creative, meaning there’s never a risk of them being sold out or discontinued.
There’s a lot of other Zombie games out there – and for a very long time, that’s exactly why I never came close to embracing the theme. But, there’s something very fun about putting an ‘everything you think you know is wrong‘ spin on a typically cliché theme. Leave any and all preconceived notions about what a Zombie game can be at the Loading Dock door, because, simply put, The Zombie and the Witch Doctor is unlike anything else. This is a charming, silly, funny and entirely family-friendly immersive adventure fit for all ages that’s full of surprises, unexpected laughs and wacky plot twists that truly bring the storyworld to (after)life. An hour with Roofus is one you’ll never forget – even if you, too, lose your brain!
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Creator: Chris +
Number of Games: 25+
GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:
Duration: 60 minutes
Designed Capacity: 6 people
More Photos: ► click here ◄
Chris + exclusively owns the intellectual property rights to The Zombie and the Witch Doctor escape game attraction.
To inquire about its availability for your venue, email Chris@Chris.plus.
