Escapable: Avast (Wakefield)

Pirates!

It’s the year 1663 and you’ve managed to sneak on board a pirate’s ship in search of treasure! As you enter the captains’ quarters you soon realise that finding the booty is no easy task. It’s as if the pirates didn’t want anyone to get their hands on it! Luckily the captain is nowhere to be seen, but who knows when he may return… Happy treasure hunting landlubbers!!

We were on a little northern escape room weekend where we teamed up with our friends from Brit of an Escape Habit, Amy and Ian. Escapable was a no-brainer so we made sure to book in for all of their games. We had played The Great Loudini (great in many ways) the night before, but now we were back the following day for; Avast, Titanic and Outatime. First up for the day, Avast!

Technically Escapable is walking distance from town but we were tight on time so drove the short distance from our hotel and parked in their car park. Escapable is a lovely venue where their hallway has plenty of seating and lots of interesting things to look at while you wait. We were greeted by Mike who was to be our GM for all three games today.

We had a little chat with Mike about escape rooms in general and what our plans were while we were up north, and then it was time to get down to business. The health and safety briefing was delivered just outside the reception and then we were escorted down the corridor to the entrance to Avast. Outside the room we received our mission briefing in the form of a video, and while receiving our mission, we had time to look at the set dressing that had overflowed from the room. Mission understood – game time!

It’s no surprise that I (Gord) am the one writing this review, pirate themed games are generally considered my favourite themes (I don’t know why, so don’t judge). We’ve played a number of pirate rooms and I am always quick to say that I’ll write the reviews for them.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

I always feel that pirate rooms must be one of the easiest rooms to build (other than an office setting). All you need to do is get some old pallets, stain it, and then put it on the wall and BOOM! You feel like you’re in the galley of the old ship. That’s pretty much how this room felt, and that’s not a criticism at all, just an observation and I have no issues at all with this.

Ok, perhaps having a concrete floor on a pirate ship felt a bit odd, but we can overlook that. The room itself was well designed and had all the usual pirate-related items one would expect to find: parrots, pirate hats, swords, you get the picture.

At all times we were in Avast background music was being played which helped us to get our sea legs. We played as a team of four and this felt like a good size for the space(s) available. I think if we had gone much bigger we probably would have been tripping over each other, but as it was we had space for solving some of the ‘bigger’ puzzles, and to move around easily.

PUZZLES

Out of the games we played at Escapable, I’d say that Avast is probably the most beginner friendly game and most suited to people who are just wanting to try out escape rooms without too much of a challenge. Admittedly we were a very experienced team of four, but we completed our mission in 21 minutes with no help.

Of course, this quick time could also be down to the fact that Avast was a pretty open game and played out in a mostly non-linear fashion. We certainly found that we were all working on things independently, only coming together at various occasions where there were the usual choke points.

If you’re looking for a tech heavy game, then keep looking. In my history classes I don’t recall hearing much about maglocks (or electricity for that matter) on pirate ships, so you’ll just find good old fashioned padlocks (actually there may have been a little tech too). Ok they weren’t correct to the time period, but that didn’t bother us as the puzzles were decent. Speaking of puzzles, they were varied, on theme, and satisfying to solve; decoding, observation, searching, colours, directions and spatial relations for the most part.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

We gave Mike a very easy time with this room. We didn’t need any clues and were in and out in just over 21 minutes. If we did need clues they would have come in the form of being spoken by Gary the parrot. Gary was a wonderful little companion to have in the room with us, even though he didn’t need to speak, no pirate room is complete without a parrot.

ANYTHING ELSE

Our time in Avast was short, but enjoyable. This is probably the easiest of the games at Escapable but that would make it good for beginners. Even then, I think enthusiasts would still have a good time.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – escaped in 21.08

Address: Thornes Lane Wharf, Wakefield WF1 5RL

Website: https://www.escapable.co.uk/