Done another at Escape Hunt in Oxford. Pirate-themed. Was really fun and well-themed for the most part as is the place's high standards with some very interesting puzzles, but I'd still probably consider it the weakest there. One of the cooler set-pieces (a big cabinet-sized pachinko sorta thing) was out of order because apparently the object had a habit of getting stuff. Also an early puzzle
has about 3 different clues pointing to it - meaning that twice we figured out a cool clue only to find it pointed us to something we'd already done
. Plus, a later puzzle relied on
sense of smell. And in a "specifically think about smelling these objects" sorta way as opposed to noticing a smell
, it was a cool idea and I appreciated it afterwards but also knew there was near no chance we'd figure it at the time without hints.
Then at Other World Escapes, Portsmouth. Pub-themed. Was a real treat tbh had some really interesting and hands-on puzzles. A bit more time than your average room and had this real great moment where
you think it's all over - you've used all the keys and codes and clues and everything in the main room and solved what seems to be the main mystery. Then you read a letter which gives you one clues and tells you it's not quite over. Then - heavy spoiler for the actual puzzle - you realise you have to push an arcade cabinet into the wall to open up an entirely new room that was incredibly hidden and unexpected. Only a few puzzles in that bit but it was a cool surprise
. I'm looking forwards to hopefully doing another room at that location in the future.
