Pudding LaneCronologicEscape roomIRLGreat set decoration with terrific use of historical detail. Excellent puzzle flow as well. I have to give a special nod to our GM Jack, who was clearly watching closely-- he gave exactly the right nudges at exactly the right times. And he was knowledgable and passionate about the game as well. Also, I want to praise the game for giving us the best set of flashlights I've encountered in an escape room. They were small and lightweight but very bright. I wish other rooms with atmospheric lighting would follow their lead! (I realise that’s a small, almost trivial detail, but it’s indicative of the overall attention to detail that made this room so great.) All in all, one of my favorite games in the UK.
Magician's WorkshopEscape Room HerndonEscape roomIRLAn outstanding room with excellent puzzle flow. Great fun, and we’ll definitely be returning to this venue.
Demise of the GricersEnteredEscape roomIRLVERY IMPORTANT: This game is physically dangerous. I would say it is roughly as dangerous as skateboarding or downhill skiing. That's not an intolerable level of physical hazard for a leisure activity-- but it is substantially more dangerous than a well-run escape room. Gricers offers many of the same pleasures of a good escape room-- it's an exciting story-driven challenge in a fully immersive environment. I'm not surprised it's been embraced by the escape room community, but I worry that leads to people diving into it with inaccurate expectations around risk. If you are enough of an escape room enthusiast to be using Morty, you have probably skimmed through or ignored numerous overwrought safety warnings for escape rooms. Do NOT ignore the safety warning that comes with Gricers! If you do choose to play, I encourage you to read the Room Escape Artist's review first. It has some useful information that will help you play more safely (although, again, still with a skiing-level of risk.)
The Non BelieversYour EscapeEscape roomIRLJust an incredible technical creation— I was immersed in the world of the game and lost all sense of time and place. Great theatrical use of lighting and sound.
Disparue [Missing]Enigma-TicEscape roomIRLThis was one of those rooms that just wasn't for me. For one thing, I haven't seen Stranger Things, so (although I was able to understand the general idea) the various locations seemed kind of disjointed to me. More importantly, this game was obviously designed by somebody who hasn't hit middle age. A communication puzzle depended on a scratchy walky-talky that my middle-aged ears struggled to understand. There was a lot of squinting at things in dim lighting that my middle-aged eyes struggled with. At one point, I had to spend a long time kneeling while bending my middle-aged wrist at an uncomfortable angle. I wouldn't have minded if I found the puzzles delightful but I didn't walk away feeling like I had any amazing ""aha!"" moments. Maybe this is all just me (although I note that I have rarely encountered so many problems in any of the almost 100 other rooms I have played.) Whatever the reason, this just wasn't a fun one for me.
Le PrinceEscaping BelgiumEscape roomIRLThe setting was beautiful, with a wonderful attention to detail. The puzzles, though, ranged from "pretty good" to "frustrating and a little arbitrary."
The Million Pound HeistEnigma Quests - ShoreditchEscape roomIRLA fun game that might have seemed groundbreaking when it opened circa 2016. Although it is well maintained and nothing is broken, some of the puzzles feel a little dated— a bit too much combing through text on printed pieces of paper at the start. But it builds nicely.
In Flanders FieldsAtrium MortisEscape roomIRLAlthough this has one TERPECA nomination, it isn't talked about as much as some of Belgium's bigger and flashier games. I think that's a shame. The set isn't massive but it's great fun to explore, and it's beautifully designed and suits the theme. The puzzles were solid and I appreciated them even more when I learned that the owner had based some of them on actual codes used in WWI. All in all, I think this is well worth playing.
L'Évasion des Dalton [The Daltons' Escape]Escape ProdEscape roomIRLA happy surprise for me. It's a small space, and the decor is nothing special. But a bunch of the puzzles had a cartoon logic that delighted me. I wouldn't travel to Brussels just to play this one, but if you're in town, I'd definitely include it on your agenda.
Hell HouseThe Panic Room 3 - St Georges CentreEscape roomIRLPanic Room have clearly lavished money and care in creating this set, which is the most impressive of any of their rooms. Bizarrely, though, they have scrimped on some very basic upkeep. A number of puzzles in the game depend on a printed journal you're given-- but the journal has now faded almost to the point of illegibility. Plus, the rooms are dimly lit and cannot be traversed without two handheld lanterns you're given-- but one of the lanterns stopped working ten seconds into the game. With literally twenty quid worth of upkeep, this could be a top-notch game. Unfortunately, until Panic Room can be bothered to take a few simple steps to make it playable, I can't recommend it.
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