The Deacon's Cabinet

Charlotte, our GM, slipped straight into character to set the scene. Her performance, along with the use of lighting and the musty ‘ye olde’ smell, pulled us right back in time. Once the lights came back on, we found ourselves in a carpenter’s workshop, complete with sawdust and tools hanging on the walls. The titular Deacon’s Cabinet is the main centrepiece. A large wooden cabinet with strange symbols, it’s full of locked compartments and hidden secrets; effectively a giant puzzle box that must be unlocked piece by piece. Gameplay is predominantly linear, so you must solve one puzzle before moving on to the next. We absolutely flew through some puzzles, while others had us stumped for a significant amount of time. This is definitely the most challenging of the Escape the Past experiences. It is a single-room experience, but although you won’t be opening secret passages into other areas, there are still plenty of secrets to be uncovered. We enjoyed the mix of puzzles on offer, which played to different strengths within the group. A jigsaw puzzle hid secrets within, and there was a clever puzzle utilising a seemingly everyday item in a fun way. A keen eye, the ability to think laterally and a good ear would be handy tools for this room! The locks within the room are primarily mechanical, with a couple of exceptions. Sadly, towards the end of the game, one of the components malfunctioned, but Charlotte ran in very quickly to fix it. She stayed in character the whole time, and we triumphantly finished the room with mere moments to spare. It was a fairly challenging experience, with a lower success rate than their other room, but we found it extremely engaging. —— A full review of all of Escape The Past’s experiences can be found here: https://escapepuzzler.com/escape-the-past-edinburgh-uk-feature/

Julia was a wonderful host who, with the help of some nice light and sound work and a stunning location, set the scene beautifully. The room is a joy from start to finish for those who love a puzzle. The puzzles are varied but linear which meant that both of us were kept busy and totally engaged for the whole time. Everything is beautifully made and begs to be touched and poked and twiddled. Treat yourself to an atmospheric hour of fun puzzle solving that allows you to feel a little smart. I would happily walk right back in and do it all again. We can’t wait to try their other room.

My friend and I had only planned on doing The Anatomist but decided to also try their second room after our GM recommended it to us (also because we had such a great time!) I’m so glad we did because we both liked this one even more! The “cabinet’ shines as the star and the way it’s used makes it one of my favourite props/set pieces I’ve seen in an escape room. In my opinion, this room is a must-do if you’re visiting Edinburgh (and heck, if you live here!) The room begins in the exact way I love- with DRAMA and INTRIGUE! Definitely puzzle heavy and a bit more challenging than The Anatomist. I found some of the connections more difficult to make but our GM helped us along in a way that allowed us to finish the room (in just under 1h!) without giving any answers away outright. I feel like this would be perfect for three people. Fantastic use of the space. I love when an ER can prove to me it doesn’t need a ton of room to be good. I’ve been really impressed with both of their rooms in how grounded the puzzles feel in their historical context! A lot of fun and clever moments. Overall, a top room during our visit to Scotland. Big shout out the Beth- she really elevated an already great escape room to a fantastic one! BETH- my friend and I both agree you belong on the stage!! 😆👏🎭

Innovative room which revolves around the ‘cabinet’ in the name of the room. Fairly puzzle heavy, well decorated room. Puzzles are on theme and generally very clever. Very friendly and enthusiastic game master.

Brilliantly themed room with a super enthusiastic host and great novel puzzles.