Escapable: Titanic (Wakefield)

Fun for the family

The year is 1912, you are a passenger aboard the RMS Titanic, and you’ve been accused of cheating at a game of cards against the Captain’s First Mate! You’ve got the next 60 minutes to escape the guards office before they return and disembark you… You know you won fair and square, so to avoid an unfair punishment you need to be quick to make your escape! To make matters worse, there have been reports of frosty weather ahead…

Our second game of three for the day at Escapable in Wakefield, was Titanic. We had just played Avast, and Outatime was the next one, but for now we were focussed on averting disaster. Oh no, wait… we were there to escape as we were accused of cheating at poker, that’s not what I was expecting from a Titanic game – there must be a twist, surely….

Escapable have two venues (at time of writing) and Titanic is located at the venue that is a little further out of town, but technically still walkable. We were limited on time, and feeling lazy so we drove, and fortunately there is parking at this venue which made life easier.

We were playing a few games with our friends Amy and Ian, from Brit of an Escape Habit, so we had extra brain power to help get us through our little northern road trip. When we arrived at Escapable, we were welcomed by Mike who was to be our gamesmaster for all three games.

As we had just played Avast, we only had a little time to wait in their waiting room before it was time to board our ship. The health and safety briefing took place in reception, and then we were escorted to the door to the room. In the hallway outside the room we were shown a video that gave us the mission briefing. With our mission briefing fresh in our mind, we boarded the infamous ship, and our time began.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Ok, this game probably won’t win many awards for immersive set building, but it was fine. It was like a room that just had some nautical related items, and that’s ok. Although saying that, there was one area that felt like much more time had been spent on designing it. What it perhaps lacked in immersion, it made up for in space. The places we encountered were large enough that bigger groups would have no issues spreading out.

Although there weren’t many spaces in Titanic, we certainly earned our steps by going back-and-forth between them! I like it when games use space in this way, and the back-and-forth can sometimes help with games where space for multiple rooms is limited.

Ambient noises were played at all times, and there were some cool special effects at a key moment that added to the fun. One nice thing was that the game wasn’t particularly dark, but at times when extra lighting was required, it was provided. Not just one to share between us, but each team member was given a light source – nothing worse than not being able to see and having to share a light source, it really kills the flow.

PUZZLES

Titanic felt like a more linear game than the others we played at Escapable (read: Good for inexperienced players/families). The game wasn’t particularly tech heavy, although there was some, but most of the puzzles resulted in combinations for padlocks. I’ve personally got nothing against padlocks, and if you’re trying to learn how to play escape rooms, then having padlocks is a great way to start off as it helps to guide you in what you’re looking to find (four digit padlock, chances are you need a four digit number from somewhere).

We played as a very experienced team of four, so our completion time for this game is probably not normal of most teams. But the fact that we completed Titanic in around 23 mins is probably a sign that the puzzles in Titanic are classic “escape room” puzzles, and perhaps slightly on the easier side: searching, observation, decoding, directions, teamwork, communication, logic, and to a small extent, colours, were all present.

The puzzles were all loosely related to the story, or at least the theme and nothing felt particularly out of place in the context of the game.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Mike was a lovely host and made us feel welcomed from the moment we stepped through the door to the venue. We didn’t need any clues while we were in (or on) Titanic, but I’m sure if we had, they would have come through quickly, as Mike was clearly paying attention to our game. Had we needed any help, we simply had to request them and they would have been given to us over the speaker system.

ANYTHING ELSE

Titanic is one of those games that I would recommend to families, larger groups, and those starting out with escape rooms. It wasn’t overly challenging, but it did have some cool moments. This is the type of game that is great for finding your feet with escape rooms.

Success/Failed

Final Rating:

Team: Team of 4 – Saved in 23 mins

Address: Thornes Lane Wharf, Wakefield WF1 5RL

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