Murder at Haven House

We booked this room very last minute during a trip to Wells. We hadn’t realised that a new escape room business had opened since the last time we visited; the first in the area. Booking via email was quick and straightforward, it is worth noting that if you want to book last minute you should contact them via email or phone. The booking system won’t show availability for less than 6 hours away, but this doesn’t mean that rooms aren’t available. Enigma Escapes is situated in a set of shipping containers, located approximately 15 minutes' walk outside the town centre. The current venue is likely a temporary solution while they secure a more permanent location. There are currently two different rooms on offer, ‘Artifacts of the Cluzu Tribe’ and ‘Murder at Haven House’. We opted for Murder at Haven House, which is the first murder mystery-style room we’ve played. It combines elements of deduction and puzzle solving, which makes for a packed hour of activities. Our task was to investigate a murder scene, piece together evidence and eliminate suspects. There was a handy suspect board (with photos) available from the start of the game; this is used to pin up and interrogate evidence. The flow of the game was generally good, with a mix of linear and non-linear gameplay. We shot through the first room very quickly, which featured some fairly simple puzzles. Signposting was perhaps a little heavy with lots of highlighted text, but there was plenty to keep us busy. Once we gained access to the second room, the difficulty did increase, but I would say overall the room is more of a 'medium' difficulty. I’d highly recommend a team of at least 3, preferably 4 players. As a team of 2, we worked pretty effectively, but still ended up locked in and could really have used some backup. It is doable with 2, but we sadly fell foul of overthinking, and also missed a key item during our search of the crime scene! There are a large number of physical locks to open throughout the game, with a range of different puzzles to solve. I personally struggled a little to focus too much on the more deductive/story elements, because there was so much going on. We did manage to eliminate most of the suspects before our hour was up, and we were just one puzzle away from finishing. In terms of decor, we feel that there could be improvements, but we also appreciate that Enigma Escapes is still a relatively new company (less than a year old). Michelle and Rachael have a real passion for the business and big ideas for how to improve and expand, but for now, they are focusing on building the brand and increasing revenue to reinvest back into the business. The GMs were contactable via a walkie-talkie throughout the game and assisted with any hints we needed. We did utilise this on a couple of occasions and they were quick to respond. We did waste a little time trying to explain what we needed help with, as the rooms aren't equipped with cameras at this time. Overall, we really enjoyed the room, and despite not making it out on time, we were impressed with our performance given it was just the two of us. We will be back to play the other room (more puzzle-focused) very soon.