Escapologic

Entertainment is taking a turn for the better. We aren’t talking shitty overpriced cinema seats anymore. Oh no. Forget your pub quizzes, your cheeky Nando’s and your singer-songwriter-laden gigs. Those things are all very well and good, if that’s what you’re into, but they will feel like shadows of a good time once you’ve experienced the latest pickle tickler on offer.

The emphasis is real. I can’t quite convey my euphoria in relation to this new trend popping up all over the shop. It’s a puzzle solving game, but to call it that massively underplays the utter awesomeness that ensues once you’re amongst it. It’s a test of knowledge, team work, and worth as a human being. I shit you not, fine fellows.

After reading about a spy-mission-type getup behind Victoria Centre some time last year, I was in. Head first. It was great, but I think a tad more suited to the kiddies. The idea was to move from room to room, through a maze of different, mostly computer-generated tasks that resulted in you diffusing a “bomb” on a ship. The context, story and thought behind the whole shebang was seriously impressive. There were a few technical hiccups but overall, a joyous experience that left us falling about in fits of laughter afterwards.

Any road, I found out about Escapologic when our Ashley (LeftLion marketing and canoli guru) came into the office and said:
“How do you fancy being locked in a pitch black room with a tiny light? There might be a body in the corner of the room wrapped in a sheet. You might have to find the key to get out of the room.”

I nearly shit myself with excitement. When I was a kid, I used to play flash games online like Crimson Room and MOTAS (The Mystery of Time and Space) – shout out to those who KNOW – and I used to play them for hours. I’m all about that finer detail you have to pull your hair out for.

So, to hear of a similar, real-life version of this mind-fuckery was a bit too much for my little brain to handle. I took a few days to process the excitement and, before I knew it, the time was nigh. We found the place tucked away on Castle Gate and even on first entry, before you’re locked up, you can feel the apocalyptic darkness seeping in through the stain-washed walls.

The losers

I’d love to tell you all about what happened in the room, but I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you. So I’ll simply say this – it was everything I imagined it to be and more. The attention to detail, the décor, the considered pace and level of tasks as you move through the hour. Down to a T. The person who has created this thing is an absolute badass.

We were given the steampunk-style room – ConTRAPTion. There are a few more roooms due to open up in the near future – a laboratory-style one, a creepy crypt, a James Bond/Mission Impossible style escape mission with laserbeams, and, finally, a Saw room. Yes.

You get an hour to escape. And in that hour, we did not escape. I feel a throbbing sense of shame just typing it out. We were very close but, excuses aside, we are shit.

It takes logic, dexterity, a solid group, and some thigh muscle. I’ll say no more.

Go forth.

Escapologic, 21-23 Castle Gate, Nottingham, NG1 7AQ

Escapologic website