Escapable: The Great Loudini (Wakefield)

Magic!

You have been tasked by Harry Houdini himself to help retrieve one of his stolen diaries. Taken by the imposter that is ‘The Great Loudini’… However that’s not all,  Loudini has been working on a way to predict the future! Can you retrieve the diary in time and help Houdini secure his place, as the greatest magician of all time…

Escapable is a company we have been hearing great things about almost since the moment they opened. Admittedly, it’s been a few years since we ventured north, and we were well overdue a visit to a higher latitude. But even with so many great games to choose from, we knew that Escapable was a venue we didn’t want to miss. Especially their newest game (at the time) – The Great Loudini.

Booking The Great Loudini was actually quite difficult, for the game relies on the abilities of one, and only one, person at Escapable. I wouldn’t go so far as to say our trip north revolved entirely around the available times for The Great Loudini, but it was certainly a factor. But as luck would have it, we managed to snag one of the coveted slots, and assembled the team.

Escapable’s venue at Thorn’s Lane Wharf isn’t exactly in the middle of nowhere, but it’s most definitely not in the centre of Wakefield, so it was very convenient that our teammates, Amy and Ian (of Brit of an Escape Habit), were able to meet us in Wakefield and drive us to our final destination. We arrived the requested 20 minutes before our scheduled time slot, but were able to settle into the chairs in the reception area and make ourselves comfortable while we waited for our time to begin. But it wasn’t long before our host, and one of the owners of Escapable, Tom, arrived.

With the requisite health and safety briefing out of the way. Tom ushered us through to the theatre where our experience began. Not only did we receive a briefing on our mission, but we were also treated to a bit of a performance – elements of which would come into play later. As the show came to a close, it was time to make our way to Loudini’s dressing room and recover Houdini’s missing diary.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

In the theatre we were blindfolded, and led through to the dressing room, cloaking our journey in mystery. When the room was revealed, it was easy to become immersed in our surroundings as we set about exploring the room. There was plenty of space to move around, and secrets to uncover.

The Great Loudini set an excellent pace – not frantic, but not leisurely, and built in intensity as we progressed through the game. Periodically, Tom would reappear throughout the game, and it was always a highlight, as we were treated to another performance. It never disturbed the flow of the game, and in fact, contributed to the sense of anticipation, with some incredibly clever, and fun moments of interaction.

PUZZLES

The puzzles in The Great Loudini were thematic, logical, well sign posted, and just a joy to solve, resulting in plenty of truly satisfying “Ah-Ha!” moments.  As a team of four very experienced players, we still found that there was no shortage of things to keep the entire team occupied. The challenges encompassed pretty much everything one might expect to find in an escape room: searching, logical deduction, observation, as well as some more tactile tasks. The variety of padlocks and hidden tech kept things interesting, but it was the magic that elevated the puzzles.

Some of the puzzles did actually incorporate live magic, and some of the puzzles directly incorporated elements of the magic that was performed throughout the game, culminating in some truly astounding, and utterly bamboozling, wow moments.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Tom was not just our host and GM, but also the star of the show. While there is now a version of the game in which the live magic is not a part of the game, that was not the game we played. In my opinion, Tom is absolutely integral to the game, and while The Great Loudini would still be a solid puzzle game without the live magic element, it was Tom and the magic that made The Great Loudini, well, great. If you can, I would absolutely recommend holding out for one of those elusive slots where you will get to experience the full show.

Magic aside, The Great Loudini is still an escape room, and help is always available should it be needed. Although Tom could have just delivered clues himself, in character of course, that wouldn’t have felt quite right for the game. Instead, clues came through in an utterly charming manner that was also perfectly on theme. The nature of the clue system meant that clues tended to be a bit more abstract, and less direct, but are typically enough to set you back in the right direction. Of course, for more direct help there was a secondary system in place, should any teams need more detailed help.

ANYTHING ELSE

Part magic show, part escape room, The Great Loudini was an experience unlike any other. I’m still utterly baffled by how they managed to do some of the things that they did, and honestly, the only explanation I have is magic. It’s not hard to see why this game is #1 in the UK on Escape the Review (at the time of publishing this review).

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – complete in 41:10 (a record at the time)

Address: Thornes Lane Wharf, Wakefield WF1 5RL

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