Bletchley Project

We hadn’t actually planned to do an escape room during our visit to the beach at Weston-Super-Mare, but it was so hot we sought out an air conditioned space to cool down. Not that an excuse is needed to squeeze in an escape room! Connor (GM) was super enthusiastic and helped us choose which room to play. On offer were a horror-themed room, a spy mission or a deep sea adventure. He recommended their newest room - The Bletchley Project - a spy-themed game featuring the most up-to-date technology on offer at All Star Escapes. It is also their toughest room, with only a few people escaping without plenty of hints (they’ve had to make it slightly easier since first opening). After a short briefing from Connor and a quick intro video, he handed us a bag of essential tools and left the room. The theming of the first room was fairly basic. We could also hear people bowling on the other side of the wall, which sadly broke the immersion a bit. One interesting element that I’ve not come across before, was a screen-based logic grid that we were instructed to use to keep track of any intel we gathered. The ultimate aim was to eliminate suspects and unmask a spy. Unfortunately it wasn’t in keeping with the time period of the game, so gets marked down for that from an immersion point of view. It was by no means a perfect experience, with a couple of technical issues that hindered our gameplay. The second room had much better theming and a variety of different puzzle types to tackle. There were some areas we felt could be improved in terms of the clueing, but overall it was a fun experience. Connor was fantastic throughout, always on hand to issue a nudge in the right direction or resolve any issues.