The City Adventurers were on a roll (pun intended) with playing escape rooms at Escape Plan in Shoreditch. In March we completed The Adventure Begins, and Roll Out The Barrel and were eager to play their new game Pushed for Time which had been under construction. Due to open in April 2024, Pushed for Time promised to be very different from their other games. For a start it moved away from the WW2 themes, and featured a time machine disguised as a Parisian Art Deco elevator. With the tag line “Sometimes the only way forwards is back… but which way will you choose?” we couldn’t wait to book.
The Plot – A Time Travelling Adventure
Pushed for Time is an Escape Room Adventure that starts at the offices of Riditure & Co. – the world’s first and only Time Travel Agency. You have been recruited by Riditure & Co. to trace the disappearance of their engineers. Stuffed in the walls of an Art Deco elevator, you find some blueprints not seen since 1926. As you investigate the plans, you realise that the only way forwards is back!
The Game
A slightly different team from last time set off for this Time Travelling Adventure. We were again met by Sarah who escorted us upstairs to begin our adventure (and to meet Brendan the owner/ creative mastermind).
The game had launched on 11th April and we were there in the first week. This can be a blessing and a curse – Everything is new and pristine but there can be teething problems. Having been to a newly opened escape room in the past, we were not surprised there were still a few bits and bobs to iron out. With this in mind we were given a 90 minute game, with a longish introduction to the adventure.
We loved the concept of a time machine escape room and the idea that you had to (a) locate the time machine and (b) discover where it was going to send you. So we were really excited by the time we were shown into the offices of Riditure & Co.
As you would expect from Escape Plan, the set was impressive. With beautiful comfy chairs in the corner of the room, it would have been easy to settle into the office, but we were on a mission so there was no time to delay. We split up and gathered clues then came together to solve the puzzles before the time machine itself was revealed.
The Art Deco elevator was beautiful and we loved the way we were transported to the different areas. I can’t say where we were transported to because that would be spoilers. Let’s just say the set design throughout the game was exceptional. There is a lot of love and craftsmanship that goes into the construction and production of these games.
Some of the game is linear, eg you have to solve the office to locate the time machine, but the puzzles are fairly non-linear. They require a mixture of skills to solve and, as always good team communication. The puzzles are heavily tactile, which we love. That’s not to say they use padlocks. There was a definite lack of padlocks and keys. The puzzles are a lot subtler than that and are a pleasure to solve with a real sense of achievement.
There were a couple of puzzles that caused us problems but we spoke to Brendan and Sarah after the game and I understand these puzzles are being tweaked.
Final praise should go to the Art Deco elevator. Not just a beautiful piece of set design, it was a wonderful way to be transported between time zones. Stepping into it certainly caused a few “Wow” moments…..and that was before we discovered what hidden functions and applications it was concealing.
We managed to complete our quest and had fun travelling in time. The new game (and the Art Deco elevator) are worth checking out.
Pushed for Time can be booked at https://escapeplanltd.com/
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