How We Built The Alchemist: Four Years of Magic, Mystery, and Mastery

From a Flicker of Imagination to a Blueprint of Wonder

The spark that became The Alchemist began with a question: What if magic could feel real? So we tried to make it real.

Before a single wall was built, we poured that idea into digital renders and hand-drawn sketches. Every beam of light, every curve of the architecture, was imagined first on paper, not just as decoration, but as part of a cohesive story world.

The process tended to be long and intricate. We would gather in the empty space, tracing ideas onto the floor with tape, whispering things like, “Here will stand the altar. Here, the first secret will reveal itself.”

It wasn’t about making a puzzle room that functioned, it was about creating a world that felt inevitable. As if the stones, the shelves, and the artifacts had been waiting for us all along.

From that beautiful and exciting chaos, Francine, our co-director, remembers:

“I’m very impressed, happy, and proud that we managed to have this very ambitious vision, and actually built it.”

Seeing the finished space beside those first renders, we knew the vision had held. The dream had survived the long road from imagination to reality.

Thirty-Five Artists, One Vision

To turn concept into reality, we sought out thirty-five different artists, each a specialist in their craft.

Carpenters, sculptors, painters, metalworkers, lighting designers, prop makers, and sound engineers all contributed their unique expertise. The Alchemist became more than a game; it became a living artwork, a place where theater, design, and storytelling converge.

This scale of collaboration was immense. Each artist added a distinct layer of authenticity: the warmth of worn wood, the glimmer of a crystal, the faint hum of hidden mechanisms. It’s the kind of world you don’t just see, but feel.

And yet, despite the many hands that built it, The Alchemist remained true to its original design. Francine explains:

“We found 35 different artists to work with us to make this vision a reality. And now, if you look at the renders, and you look at the reality of the room, they are almost identical, and I’m very proud that we managed to do that.”

Magic, Movies, and the Myths That Shaped It

Every corner of The Alchemist is infused with story and symbolism. Its roots stretch deep into the worlds that inspired us as children.

Victor, our co-director, shares one of his favorite details:

“I love that we have an extra crystal in there. The idea of charging a crystal with light from multiple sources felt very magical. Of course, it comes from movies like The Fifth Element or The Dark Crystal.”

That small moment, a crystal gathering light, later revealed an uncanny real-world echo. We discovered a homeopathic ritual involving the infusion of liquids with intention through light. Somehow, our fiction had mirrored a form of ancient belief.

And that’s exactly what The Alchemist is built on: the meeting point of imagination and reality, where what seems magical might just have roots in something real.

Even architectural details carry meaning. The circular bookcase, for instance, nods to Dumbledore’s office, a quiet homage to the spaces that once sparked our own sense of wonder.

Puzzles That Invite Discovery

In every Sherlocked experience, puzzles are the heartbeats that keep the story alive. In The Alchemist, those beats were refined with patience and precision. And as humans, we get attached to our ideas and achievements.

Francine’s favorite, the planetary alignment puzzle, became a kind of metaphor for the project itself, an intricate system of parts that had to line up perfectly to reveal something beautiful.

“It’s an entry-level puzzle that people can do with the whole team and enjoy,” she explains. “It’s relatively simple, but players often mention it as their favorite moment.”

Victor’s favorites include the lens puzzle, developed by Francine and Lorita, and the musical flaps, a piece inspired by a folding children’s puzzle from a holiday activity book. Small seeds of playfulness that grew into moments of shared wonder.

Secrets for Those Who Look Closely

The world of The Alchemist doesn’t end at the puzzles. Long before the room opened, we launched a puzzle quest on Instagram, a cryptic online adventure that teased the story of The Alchemist and invited players to solve their way into its history.

Winning teams earned something special: a place in the world itself. Hidden among the towering shelves of the grand bookcase are subtle tributes, such as book covers inscribed with the names of those early solvers; “The Red Pandas” were one of them.

These Easter eggs don’t interfere with gameplay; they simply wait, quietly, for those who pay attention.

Knowing When to Begin

By the time The Alchemist neared completion, the scope of the project had grown beyond what any spreadsheet could contain. At a crucial moment, we realized we needed to launch what we called the “minimum launchable version”.

Not everything we had planned made it into the opening version. But the room, even in that first form, carried the full spirit of what we intended.

Looking back, Victor reflects:

“If we hadn’t opened when we did, even two months later, we probably would have been bankrupt. But also energetically bankrupt.”

That decision to open when we did kept the dream alive. And in the years since, we’ve continued to expand The Alchemist, adding features, details, and layers that were once waiting in the wings.

And even now, two years after launch, the work continues, proof that the world of The Alchemist is still alive, still growing, with new puzzles and secrets continuing to emerge.

A Living Work of Art

The Alchemist isn’t a static experience, it’s a living world built on collaboration, imagination, and resilience. Every puzzle, prop, and whisper of a story carries the fingerprints of dozens of makers and the dreams of hundreds of players.

It took four years to build, but every second spent inside tells you why. Because true magic, the kind you can touch, see, and solve, takes time.

And now, this world is ready for you. Step inside, let curiosity guide you, and become part of The Alchemist’s story. Book now!