Enigma Quests: The Billion Pound Heist (London)

More Questions than Answers

In a dangerous digital world, you’ll need everything you’ve got to stop a villainous plot and recover treasures of the art world from a secure vault.

Our second game at Enigma Quests, having just played World of Witchcraft and Wizardry was to be The Billion Pound Heist. As Enigma Quests were quite busy on the day, we couldn’t just back-to-back the games so we popped across the road to Brewdog and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Enigma Quests do have a very large lobby area though and a bar, so you can easily kill time on site if you want to (they also have boardgames).

We have been waiting, and hoping for a new escape room venue to open in London for a long time. Although technically Enigma Quests aren’t new, they’ve just moved to a more central (Holborn) location. Enthusiasts are always asking for recommendations on London escape rooms and we were desperately hoping to be able to add to our list of recommendations.

We returned to the venue, suitably satisfied from a tasty lunch, and it was time to get down to business. It seems like all the escape rooms (and their escape arcade are located downstairs in the venue. I don’t know if there is a lift, but it looks like the type of venue that would have one, so if accessibility is a consideration, it’s worth checking with the venue.

We were greeted by one employee upstairs, who sent us to another downstairs, who then passed us off to our host for The Billion Pound Heist, Saria. Saria led us down the corridor, and to the outside of the room. Here, she gave us the mission briefing, and a little health and safety. The door then opened, and our time began.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

We’ve played quite a few heist games in the past, and they’ve never really been our favourites (still, I prefer them more than ‘magic’ themes). But we try to go into a game with an open mind, as we have played some really great, and unique heist games.

I must admit, I wasn’t really clear on the story for this game, so I was a bit taken back when we entered into an art gallery, although the game soon progressed and evolved through a number of different spaces – and looking back at the story now, the art gallery does make sense.

The first space we encountered was a bit of an odd one and there wasn’t a huge amount to do/interact with in there, there were also a few things that felt like maybe they were puzzles at one point and had been removed, or perhaps they were just set dressing? Hard to know.

As the game progressed, one or two of the spaces did get smaller, and if we were a team bigger than the four we were, I think we’d have been tripping on each others’ toes a bit. But there were some cool features and, although perhaps not ‘wow’ moments, there was one point where our team did say ‘that’s cool’, so I guess that’s a good sign?

I’d probably say the set design and progression through the story was perhaps strongest in this game over the others that we played – although Inventor’s Odyssey was a close second. Saying that, I think the thing that let this game down the most, was the puzzles.

PUZZLES

One thing we noticed at Enigma Quests, in (I think) all the games we played was the lack of padlocks; I can’t recall any. What this meant was that solving puzzles resulted in something being triggered, either automatically by tech, or manually by the GM behind the scenes.

Each space we encountered had a few puzzles, although arguably not that many, especially as a team of four. One puzzle choice was also particularly interesting as it’s something that many of us encounter in the real world and I’ve never met anyone who is a fan of them. Yet this puzzle went on for far too long and it was nearly impossible to get the entire team engaged with it.

It felt to us like a lot of the puzzles lacked signposting, that’s not to say they were difficult, just more confusing as to how we were supposed to know we were supposed to do something. We actually asked the GM at the end about one puzzle and when she explained it, it still made no sense as to how we were supposed to know it (we took a punt).

The puzzles that were in this game were: observation, logic, maths, and perhaps a bit of teamwork. We found ourselves trying things multiple times and for some reason only working on the final try, which would make us question if they were things that were triggered by the GM and perhaps delayed? One puzzle in particular we weren’t sure we had solved, and then after trying a few different options, randomly triggered as complete.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

For hints in this game, they came over a speaker system in the room and we simply had to request them when we needed them. Saria was quick to assist when needed, and get us back on track.

Our host was welcoming and friendly, and took the time after our game to try and answer our questions. Although it seemed like she was pretty new to running this game as there were some things she couldn’t answer.

After the game, team photos were taken using our own phones. So if you want a team photo after, make sure that one of your team has kept their phone on them.

ANYTHING ELSE

We had high hopes for this game, but left with more questions than answers. I would imagine non-enthusiasts may have a good time, but don’t play this game if you’re looking for a challenge, or for logical progression. We left this game with confusion over how we were supposed to make certain connections, and still don’t know if we solved one puzzle or if it was just randomly triggered – it’s a mystery.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – took around 31 mins

Address: 86 Fetter Ln, London EC4A 1EQ

Website: https://enigmaquests.london/