La Quintessence
The word “quintessence” originally means “fifth essence” or “fifth element” (from Latin quinta essentia) – a perfect fitting name for this game. Ever since La Quintessence was nominated for the 2024 Spanish Escape Room Awards in the category of Best International Room, it had been at the very top of my Swiss escape room wishlist. Still, two obstacles had always stopped me: its location is rather remote, about an hour’s drive west of Bern with no other escape gems nearby, and the fact that the room is only playable in French.
Not exactly the most inviting conditions. But since Lisa and Marco speak French fairly well, we decided to give it a try. They translated for us during the briefing, audio passages, and hints, and on top of that, Sabrina and I were even allowed to use our smartphones for live translations – an unexpectedly practical tool that made the experience smoother than anticipated.
Beforehand, only fragments of the story are revealed. Following the last notes of Trebor Teqaf’s journal, we set off in search of the mysterious quintessence. The trail led us first into an inconspicuous hotel and then into a secret passageway that opened into an entirely different world. After some minor struggles at the start, we finally discovered the transition and were left speechless. A collective “Wow!” ran through the group as we scattered like excited children to explore everything before gradually regaining focus as a team.
The room follows a well-structured storyline that skillfully combines logic with puzzle mechanics. At the heart of it are four books, which also appear in Many Tales’ logo. The game works best with four players who divide into pairs and follow separate narrative threads. Otherwise, solving the numerous meta-puzzles within the ninety minutes can be quite challenging. As a bonus, there’s even a creative side quest where you can collect extra points, and if you finish the main mission before time runs out, you can spend the remaining minutes on these additional challenges.
For me, this journey was absolutely worthwhile. La Quintessence is one of the most clever and meticulously crafted homemade puzzle rooms I’ve ever experienced. The story is seamlessly integrated, and the precision and attention to detail in the props are truly breathtaking. It all makes perfect sense once you learn that the owner is a trained watchmaker who also operates a woodworking shop – skills that shine through in every mechanism and object you encounter.
Even the signature books alone, complete with their beautiful illustrations, are masterpieces in their own right, each made up of over 100 individually crafted parts. Countless hours of work have clearly gone into them. It’s details like these that set La Quintessence miles apart – especially when compared with the all-too-common cheap knock-off books you might see elsewhere, which are nothing more than disguised cash boxes with a book cover and instantly give themselves away when placed among real books on a shelf.
Although I don’t know exactly when the room first opened, it is in immaculate condition and feels as though it were brand-new. A real gem, and one that deserves far more attention.
The only pity is that we had to rush through the final moments, as we were already late for our next escape room booking. Because of that, we missed the small exhibition at the very end – an inspiring glimpse into how La Quintessence was created and yet another sign of the incredible care and curation behind this project. It’s a shame the room isn’t available in English. If it were, I have no doubt La Quintessence would be a strong contender for a TERPECA finalist spot.
