Lots of puzzling
1217. King Arthur finds himself in a spot of bother. Merlin the Magician has somehow conspired to get the mighty sword Excalibur lodged in a stone! The Knights of the Round Table have taken turns to try and release it, but all have failed. Lancelot is losing the plot! Guinevere is going gaga! It’s Medieval mayhem and they need your help!
Can you decipher the clues, solve the puzzles and conquer the challenges to release the mighty sword Excalibur from the stone?
We had been down to Housetrap before and had a fun time, so as we were in Cornwall we decided to see what they’d been up to. As it so happens, they’d been rather busy! When we were last down in Cornwall they had games like Aquarium, Tumbleweed, and Seance but now new games had appeared – Camelot, Abducted, and the one we had heard the most about… Killjoy. We had just successfully escaped the grips of the aliens in Abducted, and next up, was Camelot.
Between games we used the facilities at Gnomeworld (it’s basically a caravan site, but with gnomes everywhere), and then it was time to get down to business. We returned to the venue and were greeted by our host, whose name has totally slipped my mind, Ellie, maybe? We took a seat in the waiting area where the rules were explained to us, not just the mission briefing and health and safety, the rules.
Camelot comes with a bit of an extra challenge that I think most people would love or hate. That is, if you get through the entire game without any clues, then after the game you get to do some bonus puzzling where you can win some prizes. I have mixed views on this type of thing, but we’ll come to that later. Game time!
It’s worth noting that Housetrap have two venues, one at Gnomeworld in Indian Queens, and another in Bodmin – so make sure you know which one you’re going to.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
Camelot takes place in the space that once hosted Tumbleweed. Our overriding memory of Tumbleweed was that it was a really rather large space. It seems like Camelot has pretty much taken up the same footprint as its forbearer, so it’s surprising that the game has a limit of six players as it feels like you could fit in many more. It’s a fun space with a typical castle-like appearance with straw and general medieval items dotted around the place.
I can’t remember any actual ambient noises being played, but there were some noises which were probably intended to be atmospheric, but which also sadly added to the confusion for us and caused us to lose a good amount of time and felt a bit like a red-herring or a distraction – but that could have just been us.
A lot of escape room players will instantly discount playing a room if it is only a single room game, and yes, Camelot does feel like a single room game (it technically isn’t), but it fits a lot in, and actually I think the size and scale is one of its biggest strengths.
PUZZLES
There was a bit of everything in Camelot; searching, observation, skill, teamwork, logic, pattern recognition, wordplay, directions, and, according to Housetrap… “brains brawn, braver and bravado galore”. Arguably the first puzzle is working out where the hell to get started. There were numerous starting points and for a lot of the game it was quite non-linear, which is great for a bigger team.
We unusually played this as a team of three as we had a good friend in the area, and as a team of three, we were kept busy throughout. I mentioned earlier about getting distracted by something, and I think this was a mixture of our fault, but also poor signposting on one puzzle. It’s a shame as we got so hung up on that one puzzle that it kinda killed our flow, and as we obviously didn’t want to ask for help, we got a tad frustrated.
Eventually we had to ask for help as the puzzle just made no sense to us. This of course meant we sadly lost the opportunity for bonus puzzles at the end.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Our host was lovely, and ran the game how it was intended to be run, and when we eventually had to ask for help for that puzzle, it came quickly and got us back on track. I can’t recall if it was a voice over the speaker system, but I believe it was probably via a TV screen in the room that also showed the timer.
So my issue with limits to clues, or putting restrictions on clues is that it adds extra pressure and can make you leave feeling like you’ve failed, even if you haven’t. We were so resistant to losing the chance of extra puzzles that it really affected our game. Then when we left, we felt sad because we didn’t get the bonus, especially with nearly 20 minutes left on the clock, rather than feeling elated because we had completed the game. I’d guess that this will be a marmite type of thing that some will love, and some will hate – but each to their own.
ANYTHING ELSE
Camelot is one of those games that really has no right to be as big as it is. It’s chocked full of puzzles and it’s quite a work out to get around them all. We liked most of this game, but one key decision regarding hints left a bit of a sour taste. Don’t let that put you off though, it’s a fun game, and Housetrap are upping their game with each new room they open – they’re certainly on our radar for anytime we’re in the area.
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
| Operation | |
| Puzzles | |
| Room Design | |
| GM/Clues | |
| Excitement |
Team: 3 players
Address: HouseTrap, Gnome World, Moorland Rd, Indian Queens, Newquay TR9 6HN
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