Episodes that had difficult layouts but aren't recognized for them

[The Viper]

I've been re-watching some episodes, and I've noticed that some episodes have tough layouts, but no one says anything about them. Two off the top of my head are the Lion-Slashed Jacket of Sacagawea, and the Royal Torque of Queen Boadicea.

In the Lion-Slashed Jacket, this team had to scale the central shaft, then complete the top floor of the temple. Compare this to runs like The Jeweled Scabbard of Sforza, where the team only had to complete the central shaft, or like the Applewood Amulet of Emilliano Zapato, where the team only had to clear the top floor of the temple.

In the Royal Torque of Queen Boadicea, the layout forced the team into the Scared Markers, then up in to the King's Storeroom. Compare this to other bottom central shaft runs like The Good Luck Watch, or the Electrified Key where the team only had to complete 1 Central Shaft room, and the Shrine-Forest path was open.

Feel free to post any other runs that you feel aren't recognized for their hard layouts

[PurpleParrot319]

I was thinking about posting a topic like this. Thanks Viper for saving me the time of doing so.

Lion-Slashed Jacket: It's too similar to Lost Hornpipe. If that team can do it, then the Lion-Slashed Jacket kids should've been able to do it too. However, Lauren was too slow and Mike hesitated one too many times, resulting in a loss.

Royal Torque: I truly believe this run would've been a win had Lissy moved faster. She wasted way too much time in the Crypt and struggled climbing out of the Pit. And Good Luck Watch would've been a win too if Janeen wasn't too slow and hesitant. The Jesters' Court error didn't help things either.

[The Red Jaguars]

This is how I feel about it:

Lion-Slashed Jacket - Yeah, this is definitely an overlooked layout. The team was forced up the central shaft and didn't have an option to enter the King's Storeroom from the Pit either. Its also possible that if Mike completed the Shrine, then they might've had to enter the Secret Password from the Quicksand Bog. Even though they were slow players, they still made it far taking into account their tough layout.

Queen Boadicea - Agreed, it was a lengthy layout too. But pretty much any of the season three bottom of the central shaft runs were like that. Lissy is probably the real reason they lost. She wasted too much time for her own good. But it was still a lengthy layout and this was the closest a team has come from escape from the bottom of the central shaft with a win.

Here is a couple more I like to add:

Belshazzar - I honestly don't think Katherine or Sean were bad players at all. Katherine moved fast in the temple and Sean only had enough time to get where she left off. They had really bad luck with two potential production errors. The Room of the Harmonic Convergence one was ridiculous and ate up a good chunk of their time. Like I said, they didn't seem like bad players to me.

Ivory Elephant - It was longer than most season two runs and the temple guard layout also seemed tricky to me.

Tokugawa Ieyasu - We always give Brandy and Quentin a hard time for hesitating and completing unnecessary objectives. But their layout was just as lengthy as "Hans Holbein" and "Robert the Bruce" was. They almost reached the Silk Sash despite the mistakes and long layout.

Judge Roy Bean - Yeah, Kelli screwed this up from being a win. But the Orange Iguanas were forced to complete 9 rooms to even reach the Thornwood Gavel. Compare that to "Sojourner Truth" and "Sir Gawain", and this layout was much tougher than those two.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Red Sash, not Silk Sash.

I kind of disagree about "Ivory Elephant." Sure the center of the room temple runs where the players have to go counterclockwise was tough. But, it was really Monica and Brad's own fault for not taking any shortcuts. Plus, Monica wasted a lot of time on the objectives she did.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, Monica and Brad both contributed to the loss. Monica wasted too much time in the Ledges and completed the Observatory in horrible fashion. Brad made a useless detour into the Ledges and didn't take the Shrine shortcut.

I also want to add "The Mystical Spellbook of the Imperial Wizard" to the list. It was another lengthy layout including making the Green Monkeys detour into the Ledges and force them into the bottom of the Pit. They made it pretty far too with that tough layout.

[The Viper]

*Sorry for bumping an old topic* A run that I've realized had a really hard layout is The Missing Eye of David. They had to go through atleast 7 rooms to get to the eye (which included the entire central shaft), but more importantly, the temple guard placement was brutal. All 3 guards were forced, and the half pendant was hidden in Medusa's Lair. No one has really been able to find where in Medusa's Lair the half pendant was, which shows that it was probably difficult to find. I feel like the bizarre half pendant placement, guard placement, and layout were set up to screw this team over. If only they hadn't realized that Emily only gave the Swamp guard a half pendant.  

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I agree about Missing Eye. Both Michael and Emily were forced into the some of the hardest rooms Season 2 had to offer. Plus, that half pendant (supposedly hidden in Medusa's Lair) was very poorly hidden. Couldn't they just hide it on the Troubled Bridge actuator, ala Sacred Ring. I also think that runs like Red Sash, Golden Cup, and Mystical Spellbook were pretty hard layouts too, like mentioned above.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I agree about Missing Eye. Both Michael and Emily were forced into the some of the hardest rooms Season 2 had to offer. Plus, that half pendant (supposedly hidden in Medusa's Lair) was very poorly hidden. Couldn't they just hide it on the Troubled Bridge actuator, ala Sacred Ring. I also think that runs like Red Sash, Golden Cup, and Mystical Spellbook were pretty hard layouts too, like mentioned above.

Yeah, Missing Eye's layout was unfair for the temple guard placement and half-pendant placement. There was no way for Michael and Emily to avoid all three guards AND the half-pendant no where in sight. Even I didn't see the half-pendant in Medusa's Lair during the Missing Eye run.

Going back to this topic, these are the layouts I don't see any team winning in:

- Golden Cup
- Dead Man's Hand
- Discarded Seal
- Missing Portrait
- Robert the Bruce
- Dried Apple Half

All of these layouts were impossible because of production errors or the teams had to enter a lot of rooms. I don't see even the best players having a chance with these layouts.

Some layouts like Belle Boyd and Red Sash I can see as being winnable though. Although in those runs, we would have to have a team like Gator and Jessica be partners and be flawless in the temple. Red Sash was definitely winnable considering Brandy and Quentin came close to grabbing it despite taking longer paths and hesitating. 

[GreenMonkeys#1]

What about Sacred Ring?

Even though the first guard is avoidable, there is still an unknown answer to what was the path to the Dark Forest. It was either Crypt/Bridge/Observatory/Storeroom/Medusa/Laser Light/Swamp/Forest or other possibilities involving the Shrine. Also, it is never shown if the Storeroom/Shrine door did/did not open. If the Shrine door did open then ignore everything I said because there would be a possibility of a solo run. 

Another option that is good is the Medal of Sir Edmund Hillary. The run had to be one of the worst paths ever. Both entrances used, not good Temple Guard placement, and the diversion to the Well once the Silver Monkey was completed. Give some credit to Tara after she came close with this. She could've won with this unusual layout if she didn't pull a Ron.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Sacred Ring maybe. Sir Edmund Hilary yes. Tara and Danny were forced to use the elevator, which always ate up a lot of time.

Here's another one: Mush Pot Hat. It had an identical layout to Sir Edmund Hilary. Also having to use an elevator here.

[GreenMonkeys#1]

Empress Theodora could count here as well, since Ashley & Josh had to go loop all the way around from the Dark Forest just to get to the Robe. Not to mention the guards were also there and the slow ass elevator.

Golden Goblet had a pretty fucked up path as well, it was just up down up down throughout the run. 

Even though the runners sucked like hell, the two room detour in Bifocal Monocle was pure evil. However, Veronica deserved it.  

Aurangzeb is highly forgettable and also had an unusual layout. Chamber to the Storeroom and the Shrine/Password door locked. Not going to forgive them for not finding the easy half pendant.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I don't know about Bifocal Monocle. For all we know, it could've been a solo victory if Veronica never entered the Room of the Ancient Warriors or King's Storeroom. She totally brought that on herself. It reminded me a lot like Poseidon, where it could've been a solo victory, but Kimberly blew it. So that whole "detour" was completely avoidable.

[The Red Jaguars]

I definitely agree about Sir Edmund Hillary having a difficult path. People always complain about Tara going down the central shaft, but they don't realize that the Silver Snakes had a long path. And she also had to take the slow ass Well bucket too. I know she pulled a Ron when she exited, but she might've not won anyways with little time she had. And she still finished in the same place as Ron despite having a half minute left than him.

I disagree about Empress Theodora's layout. Ashley and Joshua moved so slow in the temple. The bottom floor of Season 2 was very easy to complete, but Ashley moved as slow as Kerry on the bottom floor. And Josh was not much faster easier. And despite being slow, Josh and Ashley almost reached the Purple Robe. A team like Atocha or Emiliano Zapata would win this layout.

I agree about Attila the Hun though. All of the floor switching took too much time from the team. I know Rachelle moved slow, but I don't think they would've had much success if Taylor went in first. And there is the possibility that the last guard was in the Secret Password. Definitely an unfair layout.

I sort of agree with Bifocal Monocle, only because it is the only Season 3 runs with dead ends. However, I don't feel sorry for Veronica and Thomas one bit. The way they performed in the temple was Golden Cricket Cage bad and they probably wouldn't even win with a Roland layout.

And I agree with Lost Taj Mahal Turban too. The layout was almost identical to Imperial Wizard, except all three guards were forced. I am not really bothered by the triple capture though because the team would've reached the Turban at best.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Mush Pot Hat (like mentioned above) had an identical layout to Sir Edmund Hilary. Does anyone think that was a tough layout as well?

[The Viper]

I think that Bifocal Monocle's layout was really dickish. It basically punished the team for using logic (in this case, moving toward the artifact rather than away from it) and was a really harsh layout to give a Season 3 team.

I also think that Edmund Hillary was harder then Mush Pot because the Observatorybwas locked from the Troubled bridge and becausw it required atleast 3 floor switches.