Waiting on the Winds of Winter is frustrating, but let’s try to put ourselves in George R. R. Martin’s shoes for just a sec. You’ve spent decades busting your hump as a writer. Now, you’ve got this unequivocal worldwide hit. Wouldn’t you want to enjoy yourself a little? Given the choice between locking yourself up with a keyboard for months, or overseeing an indescribably cool creative center like the one featured below, we know what we’d prefer.
Martin’s been a patron of the artist collective Meow Wolf for a while. And now, just before Game of Thrones Season 6 drops, the group’s unveiling the most ambitious project ever at its eponymous headquarters. Formerly a bowling alley, this huge renovated building is meant to be a nexus of arts, pumping a surge of new life blood into Santa Fe’s creative industry. Under one roof, it houses a concert venue, a maker space, artist studios, galleries, and a learning center offering arts curriculum to local kids. Meow Wolf’s center piece, however, is the House of Eternal Return.
As Ars Techinica’s walkthrough creatively describes, this house is like a “IRL” MMO with a Myst-like focus on puzzles strangers can solve together. But even that comparison doesn’t cover everything. It’s like a fun house at points, and an escape room at others. Sometimes, it’s even like walking into a fantasy novel. As guests explore this fully-enclosed, two-story home, they piece together clues revealing how the family that once dwelled there disrupted the very fabric of the space time continuum. Open the kitchen fridge and step into a luminous parallel dimension. Crawl through the fire place, peek down the toilet, or explore any number of nooks and crannies. You’ll find access points to alien spaceships, arctic caverns, and even weird rock ‘n roll nightmare. Each discovery tells a new chapter in the story, and some actually re-write the previous ones.
Even if none of these portals lead to Westeros, the House of Eternal Return still looks like a wonderful, unpredictable experience. And not just for fans of Martin, either. It’s for anybody interested the colorful, unpredictable and just plain fun.
Think you’ll venture to Sante Fe to solve this dimensional mystery yourself? Are there any other fun houses adventurers like us should seek out? Fill our talkback with suggestions!
Featured Image Credit: Concept art by Caity Kennedy of Meow Wolf