Humboldt and the Lost Treasure

It was Trinka’s birthday and she invited us to Humboldt and the Lost Treasure, an escape room in Berlin Lichtenberg. (Attention! Spoilers!) I had never been to an escape room before. We had to solve all kinds of riddles, so doors and chests would open. Like putting four items in a certain order to get a number combination for a lock.

What I found interesting was how we acted as a group. "Humboldt and the lost Treasure“ has a central room with hints and instructions. It’s probably best if one person stays behind and tells the others what to do through walkie talkies. We didn’t do that. First we couldn’t figure out how to work the walkie talkies. Then we had so much fun looking at all the objects in the rooms, we didn’t even bother to read the instructions. Maybe we are too curious and playful to act efficiently. I was good at seeing how the riddles worked, but too lazy or laid back to actually solve them.

We went through the first riddles quickly. Then we were lost. I had dropped a flashlight and it didn’t work anymore. Marjorie was worried that we had to pay for it later - the game master had said something about very expensive new equipment - and everybody thought we needed the light to solve the riddles. Florian and I were starring at a box with a large wooden centipede for ten minutes. We thought of very complicated things that could be done with the thing, until the game master got impatient and gave us a clue.

Apart from this we were doing fine as a group. We only needed five minutes extended playtime to solve the room.

Now I’m thinking how this experience relates to RPGs. I have never played a role-playing game that was all about solving riddles.

How about you?

Wazimu

When I lived in Dortmund, I used to play a lot with Sven, Andi, Krüger and Marjorie. We considered ourselves a gaming club and called us Wazimu, which is short for Wambeler Zinnfigurenmuseum.

Here you can see us playing "Pirates!" by Flagship Games, a game I can highly recommend by the way.

Marjorie and I got married and moved to Berlin. Krüger also lives in Berlin. I meet him about once a week.

I don't see Sven and Andi that much anymore, so they decided to come over to Berlin for a weekend in May. We want to play 40K, HOTT and Gurps. I'm really looking forward to this.

To Do List

I tend to get distracted and start new things all the time, so Marjorie, my wife, convinced me to use 'to do lists' to organize my life. Buy storage boxes. Buy a kitchen knife. Go to the dentist. Paint a chair.

On the back of my regular 'to do list' I have a 'to do list' for hobby related stuff.

It says:

Paint 5 green creatures.

Sculpt 2 bamboo men.

Sculpt 2 horses.

Make a hill.

I don't think this is what Marjorie had on her mind when she talked to me about 'to do lists'.

Reiseführer

Ich habe gerade zwei Wochen mit meinen Kindern Lina (4) und Hendrik (2) im Haus meiner Eltern in Dortmund verbracht. Dort habe ich begonnen, meiner Mutter beim Aufräumen zu helfen. Mein Vater war obsessiver Sammler. Er ist nun seit mehr als 10 Jahren tot.

Jeder normale Vater hinterläßt seinen Kindern, wenn er kann, ein Haus, Aktien, Gold. Mein Vater hat mir etwa 2000 Reiseführer hinterlassen, darunter 20 über Zypern. Mein Vater war nie auf Zypern, so weit ich weiß. Die Schränke meiner Mutter sind vollgestopft mit Büchern, größtenteils ungelesen, aber so schlecht gelagert, daß viele wertlos sind.

Es ist für mich nicht einfach zu verstehen, welches System der Sammlung meines Vaters zugrunde liegt, was die Sammlung erzählt. Ich habe gemerkt, daß einige Themen, die meinen Vater interessiert haben, auf mich übergegangen sind.

Marjorie, die aus Honduras kommt und mit der ich verheiratet bin, habe ich auf einer Reise kennen gelernt, auf Kuba. Ich habe unter den Büchern meines Vaters auch einige Reiseführer über Kuba gefunden. Auch dort war er nie.

Unter anderem hat mein Vater zu folgenden Themen Bücher gesammelt: griechische Kunst, ägyptische, etruskische, römische Kunst, Museen und Ausstellungen, englische Gärten, Karten. Das Buch, das mich am meisten überrascht hat: "Romantik und Wirklichkeit der alten Mühlen".

Zu jedem Thema, das ihn interessiert hat, hat er eine Sammlung angefangen. Seine Bücher haben sich in der Wohnung wie ein Pilz verbreitet. Ich habe nun die Aufgabe, diese Sammlung aufzulösen. Einige Bücher werde ich behalten, das Meiste verkaufen.

Ich glaube, mein Vater war ein sehr einsamer Mann.