Cronologic: Pudding Lane (Plymouth)

A classic, reborn

It’s Tuesday 4th September 1666 and The Great Fire of London has been burning for two days. Order has begun to break down and chaos is threatening to erupt – fuelled by the rumours that the fire was started on purpose… Londoners are blaming every stranger that crosses their path. Is it another attack in the long running feud with the Catholics? A retaliation in the war with the Dutch? Or was it just an accident?

Your team must brave the fiery streets and dastardly challenges in order to find out the truth. The fate of London awaits…

This is a bit of an odd review to write, as technically we have already played and reviewed Pudding Lane. The key difference is that since we played it, six years have passed, we’ve lived through a Pandemic, the game has changed companies, and relocated nearly 200 miles away.

When we played Pudding Lane in 2020 it was run by Time Trap in Reading, who sadly are no more. But like a phoenix from the (Great Fire of London) ashes, Pudding Lane has risen again and is now operated by Cronologic, a new company on the scene that is owned and run by two lovely enthusiasts.

We don’t normally replay games, but as it had been so long, and was a different company, we thought we’d give it a shot. I must admit, I was very surprised by how much I had forgotten about this game. Yes I remembered the set, but I had totally forgotten all the puzzles, but we did play as a team of five before.

We found the venue easily enough and ascended the stairs, before being greeted in reception by our hosts, Claire and James. Cronologic has a feel of an old office block inside, yet they’ve added their own touches that made it feel surprisingly comfortable, and dare I say it, tropical.

After a lovely chat, it was time to get down to business. Claire disappeared and then returned with a bag full of goodies that would help us on our mission – also, as it turns out, this wasn’t an escape room venue, but a secret time travel facility. So with the health and safety and mission briefings fresh in our mind, we stepped into Pudding Lane, ready to right the wrongs of the past, again.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I’ve purposely not re-read our review from when we first played this game as I don’t want to be influenced by it. A lot can change in six years, and what was once impressive, is perhaps not so impressive anymore. Pudding Lane doesn’t have the size and grandeur that many games have now, but what it does have is a kind of intimate charm. As soon as you enter this space, you just feel…cosy.

Pudding Lane is a lovingly put together game, and in terms of set design, there really is nothing to fault it. Even though the space wasn’t massive, each area we encountered felt unique, and like it belonged. The attention to detail was just as we remembered and it’s clear to see that this is a game that has been looked after well.

Thanks to the stairs to enter the venue, I would imagine it’s not overly accessible. But if you can make it up to the reception area, then you should be fine for most of the game. I say ‘most’ as there is one area where at least one team member will need to be a little agile.

PUZZLES

Time Trap were one of the best companies around, and that was down to many factors; set design, hosting, and puzzles. Even though I didn’t remember the puzzles, Liz did to some extent, and Cronologic’s Pudding Lane has moved everything across pretty much as it was.

That’s not a bad thing, I remember the puzzles being good, and in this version they still were. Most of the puzzles resulted in combinations for padlocks, or perhaps something triggered somewhere, but we always knew where to go next.

Searching, observation, logic, teamwork, and skill were the main puzzle types, and all were fair and well sign posted. We found ourselves moving from puzzle to puzzle with minimal fuss, but there was one that slowed us down for a bit until we noticed something we’d previously missed. No red herrings here, everything serves a purpose.

This time round we played as a team of two, and had enough to keep us busy. Equally, when we played as a five, we were also busy. That’s likely down to the multi-linear approach that means puzzles, for the most part, can be solved in varying orders – until the inevitable choke points bring you back together.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Our host was Claire, one of the owners, and she was both lovely, and attentive to our game. We didn’t need any help, but if we did, there was a small screen in the room that we would have recorded help from. Thanks to our thorough debrief after, I have no doubt that if we needed help, we’d have got it pretty quickly.

It’s often clear when a games master is also an enthusiast as they have the experience to know when, and more importantly, when not to chime in with help. Claire left us long enough to work out the puzzle ourselves and that was much appreciated – although we did tell her in advance that she could clue us whenever and however she deemed best.

ANYTHING ELSE

It’s great to see Pudding Lane back in action. If you’ve played it before, you probably don’t need to play it again. But if you haven’t, then it’s an OG game that you should probably aim to tick off your list.

Buying in a quality game like Pudding Lane is great for a new company to hit the ground running, but Cronologic have certainly set the bar high for their next, in-house built game.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: 2 Players – 35:13

Address: 78 New George St, Plymouth PL1 1EF

Website: https://www.crono-logic.com