Escape Room Centre - A Review

A Review by Annie Atherton

Myself, my partner, my parents and friends met up at the Escape Room Centre Blackpool, eager to try our first escape game.

The venue opened up especially for us on a Tuesday, one of only the two days they are closed, the other being Wednesdays. Stepping through the entrance door it straight away felt as if we were entering a mysterious and different world. Up the stairs we were greeted by our host and ‘gamemaster’ Jacob who took us through a health and safety briefing along with particulars unique to our chosen game room, Grimoire in the Attic. Before we entered the room Jacob told us ‘the story so far’ and our mission; “The Grimoire, an ancient book of powerful spells has been stolen. We know it has been hidden somewhere in the abandoned mansion we stand in now. Tonight, at midnight, a ritual will take place to invoke evil spirits who could well destroy the world as we know it. Having searched everywhere, and the time approaching 11pm, there is only one place left to look... the attic, and that’s where we are going now!”. With these final words still ringing in our ears and a couple of our team lanterns in hand, we climbed the rickety staircase. Our mission, find the book, escape and save mankind!

Actually set in a real attic, it was very atmospheric. Various objects around the room were the kind of things you would expect to find in an attic and the decoration was spot on. It was dimly lit but after a few moments our eyes adjusted and we began searching, soon finding objects to ‘light our way’. A spooky tune played in the background throughout the adventure adding to the experience.

Communication, we found, was very important with sometimes the silliest of ideas turning out to be the right idea. I believe they call it ‘thinking outside the box’ and never has that been more true than in an escape room. We soon also realised how important it was to work as a team, gathering information and cutting out repeating what somebody else had tried five minutes earlier. There was plenty of giggling along the way as we progressd through the puzzles. Hung high on a wall a large screen displayed a sixty minute countdown timer announcing every ten minutes our time remaining, injecting a constant sense of urgency, no pressure! In the moments we got stuck Jacob was on hand to give us a gentle nudge in the right direction, never revealing the answer. With the gamemaster able to see and talk to us throughout the game we were never completely ‘alone’.

Did we escape? Well yes, with a few added minutes we managed it. Would it have mattered if we had not escaped? Not really, we had such a fun time it didnt really matter. We all agreed it was a great experience and nice as we were a mixed age group. Would I recommend it, absolutely!

M Escape Room Centre, 44-46 Church Street, Blackpool, FY1 1HP N 07482 738553 | E info@escaperoomcentre.com T @TheEscapeCentre | F @EscapeRoomCentre www.escaperoomcentre.com