“I will get your life insurance if you drown”
We are all dreaming of that desert island escape, but what if something goes wrong and you end up Castaway?
Unfortunately for you your ambitious adventure has gone horribly wrong after the weather took a turn for the worse and your boat is sent crashing into a rocky shoreline.
Have you got what it takes to raise an SOS and make it onto the island to safety? Or will you end up swimming with the fishes in Davy Jones’ locker?
We don’t often make it out to the east of England, but a friend’s wedding gave us the perfect excuse to book a little time off from work and arrange a mini road trip, and no road trip is complete without at least one escape room (or in our case, twelve.) One venue we knew we needed to include in our trip was EO Escape Rooms. We’ve heard nothing but good things about their games online, but when Amy from Brit of an Escape Habit tells you you have to go, well, you can’t really do anything but figure out how to make it happen. So we made it happen, and planned to play all five of their available games, plus maybe throw in their single player game, The Box, if we had time (we did, we loved it, we nailed it).
Although we would be playing all of their games, EO Escape Rooms would be our only stop for the day, so we were able to start at the very sensible time of 10:00. But even with this very sensible starting time, I was incredibly grateful when we arrived and were immediately offered a coffee by Kelly, co-owner of EO, and our host for the day. Of course, with a coffee in hand, there was nothing to do but settle in and have a chat 😉
But eventually it was time to get going, and start the first game of the day: Castaway. Castaway is located on the first floor, so we followed Kelly up a set of stairs and took a seat on the benches outside for our health and safety briefing. In addition to the normal warnings like, “Don’t stick your fingers in a plug socket” (Yes, sadly people always have to be warned not to do this, because if they aren’t, someone inevitably will), Castaway has a few other things to cover – like, “Are you wearing socks?” We were of course, so without further ado, we entered the room, boarded our boat and turned our attention to the screen to learn more about how we came to be castaways.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
Whenever the booking page and the game briefing for a game includes a caveat that you MUST wear socks, you know you’re in for a good time. The reason for the sock necessity instantly gave Castaway a fun, almost party-esque vibe, despite the dramatic circumstances of the story, and we were ready to dive right into puzzle solving. Which is just as well, as the game is wide open, and totally non-linear, making it an excellent choice for the company’s recommended team size of three to six players (of course, experienced two’s will also be okay, but there’s a lot to do.)
While Castaway isn’t a particularly narrative driven game, the story is ever present, and the set provides lots of opportunities for exploration. There was so much to do, the game had a frenetic pace, for as soon as one thing was solved, it was on to the next. Half the time I had no idea what Gordon was up to, and vice versa, but thankfully there were a few moments where we were forced to come back together as a team to solve.
The ambient noise provided a lovely backdrop to the set, and it was easy to become absorbed in the game as we puzzled our way onto the island, and finally, through to the outside world.
PUZZLES
Castaway is a game positively brimming with content. The majority of the puzzles will result in a combination for a padlock, and there are locks of every size, shape and style to be found. Similarly, there are an equal number of various puzzle styles to be solved with tasks involving everything from teamwork, pattern recognition, and logic, to observation, searching, and more. The variety in the puzzles almost guarantees there’s something to appeal to everyone’s strengths.
But if you’re not a padlock lover, never fear. There were also some wonderful puzzles that were more tactile and physical in nature. But whatever the task, the signposting was clear, the puzzles were fair and logical, and over all, the game was just FUN.
EO have also done something rather unique. Within each game there is a bonus puzzle. This is entirely separate to the game itself and solving it won’t actually help you get closer to our escape. What it will do, however, is grant players an extra ten minutes to solve the puzzles that will help them escape. But beware you don’t spend longer solving it than you would be awarded for doing so…
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
It’s always clear when a GM, or the owner of the venue, is also an escape room enthusiast, and Kelly was certainly that. Kelly was a total delight from the moment we walked through the door, and we loved chatting about all things puzzle related, and setting the world to rights. Of course, eventually it was actually time to play the game, and she was also a perfect host, giving us enough time to figure out a puzzle on our own, but not leaving it too long before sending through a clue if we were being a bit dim (as we often are).
Thankfully, there weren’t too many instances in Castaway where we heard the screeching of the seagulls to alert us that we should look at the screen for a little bit of help. But when we needed intervention, it was expertly timed, ensuring we didn’t lose our pacing and stall or become frustrated.
ANYTHING ELSE
Castaway was a delightful game, full of content and lovely moments of nostalgia. But the real star of the show is the set, making us feel like we never wanted to leave!
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
Operation | |
Puzzles | |
Room Design | |
GM/Clues | |
Excitement |
Team: 2 players – escaped in 29:50 mins (we got the bonus 10 mins)
Address: Unit 1 Drury Dr, Sudbury CO10 1WH
Website: https://www.eo-escape.co.uk/
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