Landlubbers beware!
In the 18th century in the Caribbean, the endless roar of cannons fills the air, terrifying all inhabitants.
In the charming port of Nassau, the Golden Sail – a legendary pirate ship – moors.
As members of the first generation raised in the pirate capital, you can’t wait to join his crew.
The day finally comes – the ship’s captain, a legend among pirates, announces that he is accepting new recruits. A look of unbridled enthusiasm and adventure burns in your eyes as you complete the formalities to become full crew members.
Before you is the open ocean, thousands of nautical miles, liters of rum, new lovers in every port, fame, countless battles and, most importantly, tons of gold to plunder. You are not afraid of sea monsters or scurvy. For you, the only thing that matters is eternal glory in the pirate world. Get ready for an unforgettable adventure that will make your hearts beat faster!
When we were planning our trip to Poland it seemed to keep growing and growing until it became a bit of a monster trip. But during planning the ‘foundation games’ were guided by the rankings of TERPECA. Dead Man’s Revenge was one game that just scraped into the Top 100 of 2025 at position 100, but when it debuted in 2023 it was at position 36 – so it had potential to be something special.
Personally, I love a good pirate game so this was one that I was especially looking forward to. The venue was easy enough to find as it is actually in the same building as another company, Continuum, where we had already played Personality and were soon to play (one of our favourites of the trip) Strangers. Although being in the same building, they are on different floors, so make sure you read the signage correctly!
We climbed the stairs (couldn’t see a lift) and then rang the bell at our allotted time. Almost immediately we were ‘greeted’ by our GM. I say ‘greeted’ as it wasn’t a happy greeting, as she was very much in character and that was the role of someone who was not particularly happy to see us (she was lovely after the game, so it was definitely just a character choice).
Once we entered the venue, we were instructed to sit on the benches, and had time to use the facilities and lock away any personal possessions in the lockers. As soon as we were ready, we were given a scroll that contained the rules, and were told to read them. With the rules clear in our head, we were escorted to the room and given tools vital to our mission…brooms?
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
Generally in pirate themed rooms we tend to see the usual types of sets; on a boat, on a beach, in a tavern, etc. etc. In some games however they take you on a proper journey that encompasses multiple types of spaces – and that’s what Dead Man’s Revenge did. This game had some beautiful set pieces and the build quality was top notch.
Each new space we explored was beautifully themed and felt distinct to the previous, and helped drive the narrative. Early one the space was quite small, and larger teams probably would have been tripping over each other here, but as it progressed, the spaces seemed to increase both in size and scale.
Dead Man’s Revenge felt theatrical at every turn. Ambient noises, clever use of lighting and a moment that was equal parts hilarious as it was impressive. This moment was something we’ve never seen in a pirate themed escape room before, and probably never will again – it was just pure whimsical fun.
PUZZLES
I’m pleased to report that this game was not style over substance, and the puzzles felt like they backed-up the quality of the set, feeling diegetic to the space we were in and the tasks we were completing. Logic, searching, pattern recognition, directions, wordplay, communication, teamwork, and what could perhaps best be classed as reflexes! This game really had a bit of everything.
Unusually, for a pirate themed game, there was a lot of tech, with minimal use of padlocks. The tech worked seamlessly and one puzzle in particular used a dynamic that oddly reminded us of a beloved childhood pirate boardgame – if you play it, you’ll probably work out what this is. Well I say seamlessly, but there was one puzzle that was a little finicky.
There was decent and at times subtle signposting to guide us around the rooms, but nothing too obvious so as to diminish the difficulty level. Part of the challenge in this game was also about working out how to interact with the host who appeared at various times, so perhaps a little role-playing was also needed.
We played as a team of two and found that there was plenty of puzzling to keep us going, especially as at times we were able to split up and work on things independently. One caveat to that though, there was one puzzle later on in the game that relied heavily on colour, so if any member of your team is colour-blind, this one could cause a challenge.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
When we first arrived at DreamScape I wasn’t sure if we had somehow offended our host, but like I mentioned earlier, she was fortunately just in character. She played her role(s) perfectly and after the game we had time to have a lovely chat with her about the game, and she answered any questions we may have had.
If we needed help during the game, clues came through a voice over but not just any voice-over, this was yet another beautifully crafted prop that remained with us for our entire experience, and it was really great – provided you didn’t forget to take it with you like we nearly did on a few occasions! Even the reason we were using this clue system had a back story – attention to detail once again.
ANYTHING ELSE
I’m always a fan of pirate themed games, and this is one of the better ones I have played. It didn’t take itself seriously at all, and has at least one moment that will most definitely stick with you. Great hosting, great set, fun puzzles, and generally just an enjoyable experience.
Success/Failed
Final Rating:
Operation Puzzles Room Design GM/Clues Excitement
Team: 2 Players
Address: Święty Marcin 43/3 p, 61-803 Poznań, Poland
Website: http://www.dreamscape.com.pl/
Leave a Reply