puzzle
Awaiting exam results can be stressful
August can be stressful as you await your exam results
- Did you do enough revision?
- How lenient will they be with the marking?
- Did you read the question correctly or skim it and make some stupid mistake?
Maybe you should have just stolen the exam paper!
Well, no, in real life you shouldn’t. But for an escape room adventure that’s just what we were asked to do.
An Eccentric Professor’s Final Exams
On a trip to Madrid we tried out the escape room “Exit Madrid”. Luckily the game was available in English as well as Spanish.
We played The Lab, a medium to high level game that was created in 2010. Our mission was to steal an exam paper from our lecturers office because we’d been partying rather than revising. Would we find the paper and discover what´s on Prof. Calm´s next exam?
As with other escape rooms, this one starts by locking you in a room, where you can only escape if you complete the mission. We were given 66 minutes to complete it and were warned that 45% of the teams don’t succeed in escaping the room at EXIT Game Madrid.
Result!
Pleased to say that, with a few hints from the Games Master, we completed the mission with nearly 3 minutes to spare.
Demented dolls and a scheming ventriloquist dummy…..
One of our friends invited us to take part in Handmade Mysteries latest escape room.
We were told to meet at The Depot and await instructions. At the appointed moment, Wynne, our wooden, toy soldier guide arrived to take us to Poppa Plock’s wonky workshop.
First impressions on entering the toy factory was that it was very creepy. Twisted toys and demented dolls littered the room and there was a freaky ventriloquist dummy giving instructions.
Our team were under pressure in a race against the clock to complete Plock’s finest creation.
Did we succeed in building “Roy”? Did we discover why the toy maker mysteriously disappeared? Did we share some bizarre moments? (Those who have played the game know what I’m talking about!)
Well, I’m pleased to say we completed the build within time. However, the photographic evidence suggested we may have overrun slightly.
Escape from Reality in Cardiff
On Saturday 6th August 2016 Escape Reality opened in Cardiff.
This escape game experience offers 6 different themed rooms. Teams of 2-6 players have 60 minutes to escape by working together to solve various puzzles. How hard are the challenges? Well the venue rates the games difficulty between 3★ and 5★.
- Jungala Difficulty: ★ ★ ★
- Enigmista Difficulty: ★ ★ ★ ★
- The Heist Difficulty: ★ ★ ★ ★
- Misery Difficulty: ★ ★ ★ ★
- Fibonacci Difficulty: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
- Alcatraz Difficulty: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
All escape rooms have their own unique touches. One thing Escape Reality has that we had not used in other escape rooms was an ipad to give clues and hints. Did it work? Well, not really. We found that when we used it to give us a clue, it told us something we had already solved but didn’t give a clue to finding the next puzzle. This may be to do with the numbering system.
A big plus point is that the venue has a large waiting area. This is great if you are booking more than one room or are meeting your group at the venue. Much better than hanging around on a street corner as one venue made us do (but that’s another story!) The waiting area can be used before and after your game…..just don’t spoil things for players waiting to go into a game when you discuss how you got out!
“The dice have been rolled”
We played the Jungala game in September.
The plot revolves around you and your team finding an old board game in the attic. You’ve just rolled the dice and been engulfed by a vortex. You find yourselves transported into an alternative realm. Scary.
Returning to reality you try to leave the room and discover …..da,da,da……the door has been locked….
Yes, You are Trapped In A Room and need to find a way to Escape.
All you can do is complete the game “or be trapped inside the other realm for eternity.” You have sixty minutes to complete the game and the clock is ticking……
Saving the world!
On Wednesday two teams were deployed at Sherlock Unlock. They each had 60 minutes to complete their missions.
One team had to stop a devastating biological attack. Professor Nemrov had created a virus so contagious that a single infected victim could easily start a global pandemic and a Zombie apocalypse.
While they were working on that, my team had to discover where the time traveler Walter Spiegel had disappeared to and to stop a tear in the fabric of time. Life on Earth hung in the balance!
Both teams were able to solve the puzzles and escape the rooms within 60 minutes thus saving life as we know it.
A few days later our skills were called on again.
I and my team of Secret Agents were deployed on Mission DASH 008. This time our task was to destroy a diabolical criminal organization by uncovering clues and solving puzzles. Although we didn’t win, we did complete the mission.
Outdoor Treasure Hunts
London is full of arts and heritage
and it’s easy to miss the amazing things that are all around you.
Treasure Hunts in London helps you discover things that are often overlooked by providing a guided way to explore. Our hunts are fun adventures to enjoy with friends.
Aimed at adults, our treasure hunts combine exploring arts and heritage with solving clues and completing assignments. Using a mixture of cryptic, puzzle and straight clues, they lead to a destination, and a question that must be answered.
Come and explore what’s on your doorstep.
Outdoor Treasure Hunts currently on offer include:-
- A Treasure Hunt exploring Historic Chingford on the London/Essex borders.
- A Treasure Hunt exploring Street Art in Brixton.
- A Treasure Hunt exploring the area around Trafalgar Square.
- A Treasure Hunt with a literary theme, covering the area from Borough High Street to the Millennium Bridge
Come and explore what’s on your doorstep.
