This Animal Crossing escape room was both a clever puzzle experience and an enjoyable island. Highly recommended for those who enjoy both escape rooms and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH).

August 2020 Update: Unfortunately this escape room is now closed. You can check out other Animal Crossing escape rooms at http://escaperoomtips.com/category/animal-crossing.

Note: This is not a physical escape room. This is an “virtual escape room” played fully online within Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch.

Quick Facts

  • Game Name / Creator: “The Tea Party” by Jason Yu
  • Theme: “You’re invited to a tea party on my island!”
  • Location: Internet (Jason’s ACNH Island via Dodo Code)
  • Prerequisites: You’ll need a Nintendo Switch, a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a subscription to Nintendo Online, a separate computer where you can pull up Discord and a Google Doc.
  • Players: 1-3 “in-game” characters representing 2-6 “IRL” players.
  • Price: Free, with (IRL dollar) tips appreciated but not required. Please do consider tipping Jason via Venmo / PayPal after your game! We recommend about $15-$20 per IRL person.
  • Launched: May 2020
  • Duration: 90 minutes
  • Booking: http://jasonyu.me/interactive-media/

Review

We’ve never done anything like this before, so initially, we had no idea what to expect. We’re pleased to report that this was a full 90-minute virtual ACNH escape room experience, complete with:

  • Team Experience: This is fully remote, you can play with anyone else that also has Animal Crossing: New Horizons (and a subscription to Nintendo Online).
  • Full GM’ing: Jason Yu (the creator) will host and give hints via Discord. He also will control the in-game “actor”, the Robo-Butler.
  • Integrated Puzzles: The puzzles and input mechanisms are cleverly adapted to the medium.
  • Well-designed Set: The interiors are all thematic and provide a nice backdrop to the puzzle elements. The exterior is clean and lets you focus on the puzzle elements around the island. There are quite a few appropriate and original custom designs that function as either decor or puzzle material.
  • Developing Narrative: The tea party story develops through the game, and ends with a satisfying resolution.

The pre-game intro starts with the host, Jason, inviting you over to his island for tea and cake. Jason mentions that his “Robo-Butler” will serve the tea, but you may have to find the “Robo-Butler” and activate him first.

Upon arriving on the island and finding the house, you’ll find that the path to the house is blocked.

To gain access, your team needs to wake the Robo-Butler by placing the correct “activation fruit” on the stall. After placing the correct fruit and entering the house, you’ll find that the west, east, and north rooms are blocked by panels.

You’ll get to unlock these rooms by solving the various puzzles (which creatively implement various ACNH mechanics) around the house + island.

After completing the puzzles, you’ll get to resolve the story and finally get your tea. Here’s us below posing for our post-game photo!

Overall, we loved this experience, especially as an intersection between two of our favorite gaming experiences: Animal Crossing and Escape Rooms. “The Tea Party” was clearly made with love by an enthusiast of both genres – and we appreciate all of the thoughtful details put into the game.

This game is officially free, but please do consider tipping Jason (in IRL dollars) afterwards for his time in hosting and creating the game. We recommend about $15-$20 per IRL person. The game document will have a link to his PayPal / Venmo.

For those comparing this experience with other virtual escape room experiences, we enjoyed how 1) this experience is created natively for the online medium, instead of adapted from a previous physical game 2) we get to bring our own avatars instead of remotely giving instructions to an avatar 3) the controls are native ACNH controls, not vid-chat verbal commands.

This was our first experience in the intersection of Animal Crossing + Escape Rooms, and has opened our eyes to the promise of this medium. We hope to see more of these kinds of experiences from Jason and other enthusiasts in this new world of virtual escape rooms. If you know of another ACNH escape room you’d like us to try out, please contact us!

Tips

  • Familiarity – At least one member of your group should be fairly familiar with Animal Crossing: New Horizons mechanics in order to be able to complete some of the puzzles. The challenges will have you exploring a variety of game mechanics.
  • What to bring – Do bring a ladder and a pole vault (you will be asked to empty your inventory of anything else prior to traveling), it will help you navigate the island quicker!
  • Where to start – Start your game by finding the house. Afterward, thoroughly explore the island while working on the activation fruit puzzle – try to remember things when exploring since you’ll be back outside occasionally in order to solve puzzles.
  • Flow – This is a linear game – focus on one puzzle at a time and try to have your team stick together. The game is 90 minutes long, and after you unlock all three rooms there is still a final puzzle sequence. If you feel like you’re falling behind based on that rough guidance, ask for a hint via Discord!

Book your game at http://jasonyu.me/interactive-media/ and let Jason know that EscapeRoomTips.com sent you!