Slowmentum: Escape ChristmasSlowmentumEscape roomIRLEscape Christmas is an original take on a Christmas-themed escape room, that mixes fun puzzle solving with moments of introspection. It tackles current issues such as commercialism and the rise of AI in a clever way, without feeling preachy. It was really refreshing to play a room that felt fun, but left us with an important life lesson about gratitude and slowing down in our lives. I certainly expect to see more rooms from Slowmentum in the future, and I hope that they continue with their unique brand of educational/topical rooms to help ignite discussion. While I've played a lot of rooms, Amy (who joined me) has only played two, so it was a bit of a push for the two of us to get through it. Overall we did really well, but I would say the sweet spot would probably be 3-4 players; a maximum of 6 can join in. We were a little apprehensive that we might be joined by strangers for our game, as we hadn't opted for the 'private' room booking. I'm sure this set-up works for some, but I do wonder if it put others off. I'd definitely like to see this approach refined next time. The puzzles were well constructed, the room design was fairly basic but effective and the GM was hilarious. We didn't quite escape in time (2 mins over), but had we been a team of 3 or 4 I'm certain we'd have been out a lot sooner. I look forward to seeing future rooms from Slowmentum!
The Great EscapeExitus Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLTERPECA 2024 nominee The Great Escape was our final room of the day at Exitus, and boy, was it good! Chris, our GM, led us into a small cell with bunk beds and a log burner. Setting the scene, he explained that our objective was to escape the camp and then to liberate the other 200+ prisoners. No pressure! From the moment the lights went out, we felt like we were escaping an actual prisoner-of-war camp. We uncovered secret passages, pulled ropes, and crawled as we explored different areas. We even [REDACTED], which we have never done in a room before; much to the enjoyment of our GM. It was a fun, unexpected moment that felt perfectly in keeping with the setting. I’ve been pulled out of an experience in the past by an incongruous piece of technology. Here, everything felt made complete sense within the setting. This includes the puzzles, of which there were many! Each of us had our moment to shine, whether that was with a maths puzzle, a more physical feat or a good old-fashioned logic puzzle. This is the first 90-minute room we have tackled together as a team, and we were excited to see how that translated in terms of gameplay and difficulty. What we found was that the extra time meant less clock watching (there is no visible timer in the room/s anyway), and we allowed ourselves to be fully immersed in the experience. I can definitely see why this room is TERPECA nominated, and if it is an indication of the increasing quality moving forward, I can’t wait to see what comes next! You get two escape times for this game: the first is when you actually escape the prisoner of war camp, and the second is when you have successfully liberated all of the other prisoners. We escaped the camp 53:02 minutes in, and completed the final challenge at 67:07. Not a bad effort!
Coco LocoExitus Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis was a step down in terms of difficulty compared to our first room (There's Something Outside), but still very enjoyable. It’s a family-friendly, linear room set in a chocolate factory. To be clear, this is more of a traditional factory setting – not a fantastical Willy Wonka set-up, although it does feature some edible treats. Just to set expectations! The room consists of one large space, with another small area that’s accessible later in the game. As with our previous room, the flow was great, and we rarely found ourselves questioning what we had to do next. We moved swiftly between most of the puzzles, some of which involved jigsaw pieces, chess, connecting pipes and observation tasks. One of our favourite puzzles actually required that we eat some chocolate, which we definitely did not complain about! I imagine this would be a lot of fun to play with children, especially with one of the puzzles towards the end. It is a linear room, so you have a clearly defined path to follow, and the simple story is easy to follow. We escaped in 33:56, but this could have been under 30 minutes had we not wasted so much time looking for one item that was right in front of our faces!
There's Something OutsideExitus Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLWe didn’t set out to tackle Exitus’ toughest room first; it just happened to fall like that due to availability. Normally, we’d start with an easier ‘warm-up’ room, but actually, we found the extra challenge fired up our brains even more. James (our GM) explained that we must collect and charge the nine batteries required to power our spaceship and return to Earth. This succinct objective was really helpful as we knew exactly what we were looking for throughout the experience. The inclusion of something to write on was also key for us, especially as there were some math puzzles. The various rooms along the way were spacious and atmospheric, with eerie green lighting in one that felt distinctly alien. Billed as a ‘space horror’, we were fully expecting to jump out of our skin. While it was a little jumpy at times, we’d generally classify it as spooky rather than all-out horror. We were told that There’s Something Outside was recently changed from a non-linear to a linear room based on feedback. Having not played the room in its previous configuration, I can’t comment on which works better. We did find the flow of puzzles and signposting to be very smooth, intuitive and satisfying. There was a good variety of puzzle types, as well as a lock type we hadn’t encountered before. (maths, logic, ciphers, memory), There was a lot to get through, but we worked well as a team. The escape rate for this room sits at around 10%! We were delighted to escape with nearly 10 minutes to spare!
Dino DeadlockM4 EscapesEscape roomIRLWe were a little concerned when we first arrived at the venue, which did not look particularly inviting. It also wasn’t particularly well signposted! A derelict school bus housed the Jurassic Park-style Dino Deadlock room, which I’ll admit lowered our expectations considerably. We were later told that the outside has been left like this deliberately to deter thieves from trying to break in! Thankfully once we got inside the room, we found it was more impressive! The theming was really good - we particularly liked an old fashioned computer that features in the game, a puzzle involving eggs and the dramatic climax! There weren’t really any traditional locks in this room, as it is much more technology-focused. It was actually a really fun non-linear experience, that worked perfectly for our group of three. The puzzles weren’t particularly challenging, but they did work well within the theme. We finished with over 26 minutes left, which left us feeling equal parts smug and disappointed. We really enjoyed the experience but wished that it had lasted closer to the hour.
Murder at Haven HouseEnigma EscapesEscape roomIRLWe booked this room very last minute during a trip to Wells. We hadn’t realised that a new escape room business had opened since the last time we visited; the first in the area. Booking via email was quick and straightforward, it is worth noting that if you want to book last minute you should contact them via email or phone. The booking system won’t show availability for less than 6 hours away, but this doesn’t mean that rooms aren’t available. Enigma Escapes is situated in a set of shipping containers, located approximately 15 minutes' walk outside the town centre. The current venue is likely a temporary solution while they secure a more permanent location. There are currently two different rooms on offer, ‘Artifacts of the Cluzu Tribe’ and ‘Murder at Haven House’. We opted for Murder at Haven House, which is the first murder mystery-style room we’ve played. It combines elements of deduction and puzzle solving, which makes for a packed hour of activities. Our task was to investigate a murder scene, piece together evidence and eliminate suspects. There was a handy suspect board (with photos) available from the start of the game; this is used to pin up and interrogate evidence. The flow of the game was generally good, with a mix of linear and non-linear gameplay. We shot through the first room very quickly, which featured some fairly simple puzzles. Signposting was perhaps a little heavy with lots of highlighted text, but there was plenty to keep us busy. Once we gained access to the second room, the difficulty did increase, but I would say overall the room is more of a 'medium' difficulty. I’d highly recommend a team of at least 3, preferably 4 players. As a team of 2, we worked pretty effectively, but still ended up locked in and could really have used some backup. It is doable with 2, but we sadly fell foul of overthinking, and also missed a key item during our search of the crime scene! There are a large number of physical locks to open throughout the game, with a range of different puzzles to solve. I personally struggled a little to focus too much on the more deductive/story elements, because there was so much going on. We did manage to eliminate most of the suspects before our hour was up, and we were just one puzzle away from finishing. In terms of decor, we feel that there could be improvements, but we also appreciate that Enigma Escapes is still a relatively new company (less than a year old). Michelle and Rachael have a real passion for the business and big ideas for how to improve and expand, but for now, they are focusing on building the brand and increasing revenue to reinvest back into the business. The GMs were contactable via a walkie-talkie throughout the game and assisted with any hints we needed. We did utilise this on a couple of occasions and they were quick to respond. We did waste a little time trying to explain what we needed help with, as the rooms aren't equipped with cameras at this time. Overall, we really enjoyed the room, and despite not making it out on time, we were impressed with our performance given it was just the two of us. We will be back to play the other room (more puzzle-focused) very soon.
Hansel and GretelRiddlr Escape RoomEscape roomIRLPlease note: Before I begin, I want to preface this by saying that this room is brand new. It literally opened just over a week ago, therefore it will be refined and improved over the coming months. We did experience one very minor technical issue and a couple of breakages (didn’t impact gameplay), but on the whole the room played well. — After an enjoyable trip to Riddlr earlier this year, we vowed to come back once their latest room was open. Loui, our GM, was fantastic. He was really passionate about the room, very accommodating with our requests and extremely open to feedback. He talked us through the hint system and explained that the room we were playing was less of an ‘escape’ room and more of a narrative journey. I think the slightly unfortunate thing, is that the narrative doesn’t deviate from the well-known story and therefore there was nothing particularly new about it. Some twists or turns would have kept us more invested in the story. The room is clearly a labour of love and this shows as we enter the first room, a magical forest complete with a candy-covered cottage. We were surprised as leaves crunched beneath our feet, a seemingly small detail but with a clear intent to increase immersion. It’s a beautiful room that fully captures the essence of the fairy tale. With plenty of space for our team of four to move around, we quickly set to work on finding a way into the cottage. The puzzles in this game are predominantly linear and feature mainly traditional padlocks, with only a couple of electronic locks. A digital keypad late in the game didn’t feel particularly in line with the game’s setting and slightly broke the immersion. There were a mix of more physical challenges, along with thinky puzzles. We each had our moment to shine throughout the games, as puzzles targeted different skill sets. There is a final bonus puzzle once you finish the room, which if completed before the timer runs out will unlock a reward. This was a nice touch! The hint system follows the standard Riddlr M.O., which is a flow chart showing the order of puzzles to complete and a corresponding hint button to press if needed. Hints in this room are contained within the pages of a magical storybook - which felt like a perfect match for the room. We still feel like using the flowchart is cheating, even though its use is built into the runtime - so we tried where possible not to look at it. I feel like this room has a lot of potential and will hopefully evolve and improve over time. It is clear that the folks at Riddlr really care about getting it right, so I have no doubt they will tweak and improve over the coming months. Don’t miss: we played this room as part of the two rooms back-to-back for £30pp offer, which is an absolute bargain!
Zemsta Umarlaka [Deadman's Revenge]DreamScape - Escape RoomEscape roomIRLDead Man’s Revenge was my first experience playing a TERPECA-winning escape room, and it did not disappoint! Our attention was seized from the moment we were summoned by the GM, and we remained enthralled throughout the entire experience. I had reservations about the presence of a live actor, having had limited exposure to this in the past. I must say that it definitely added an extra dimension to the gameplay and increased immersion. The sets are wonderful, the audio and special effects were masterful, and the hint system was inspired. A fantastic mix of varied puzzles kept us on our toes, with one particular challenge towards the end requiring lots of clear communication. A special mention for our GM, who also doubled as multiple characters in the room. He was funny, terrifying and fully embraced his roles. He really made the experience for us. Dead Man's Revenge is a MUST play if you are visiting Poznan, and has taken the number one spot on my personal escape room rankings. If this is the level of quality to expect from TERPECA-winning rooms, then I will definitely be seeking more of them out.
Nine Codes: The TycoonFunbi GamesEscape roomTabletopMuch like ‘Nine Codes: The Initiation’, part of the original puzzle set from Funbi, Nine Codes: The Tycoon utilises a fairly simple postcard format along with an accompanying web application. This time, the game is themed around a fictional Monopoly-style game (the board layout is very similar) and features a neat gameplay mechanic. While I didn’t find the puzzles posed too much of a challenge, they were fun and rewarding to solve. You don’t have to be a Monopoly expert to play this game either, no prior knowledge is needed. Nine Codes: The Tycoon is a tasty snack for experienced puzzlers and a great starting point for beginners. I found it to be easily completed in one delightful sitting and I’m now patiently waiting for the next Funbi project to be released. I’d really recommend this game, along with the rest of the Funbi Games catalogue!
Lost in MineFunbi GamesEscape roomTabletopLost in Mine thrusts you into the darkness as you venture into an abandoned mine. After finding a book with annotations and mysterious images, you must slowly work your way through the dark caverns. The booklet may seem small, but don't be mistaken - there are plenty of puzzles to work your way through. It also uses really creative ways to hide and reveal hidden secrets. I found the theme really intriguing, and the narrative kept me hooked throughout. It was certainly a more psychological affair than I was expecting. The puzzles were well-integrated into the story, utilising the paper-based booklet (including a map of the underground tunnel system) and online elements. Both must be used together to navigate your way through the mine, unlocking the narrative along the way. I particularly enjoyed the nostalgic '90s Windows theming that was used for the online portion of the game. As I've come to expect from Funbi, the game had several joyous aha moments along the way and a surprising ending. With a difficulty rating of 3/5, beginners might find it a challenge, while more experienced players will feel right at home.
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