Ready for a Challenge?
His collection continues to grow.
His morbid fascination with body parts consumes him like a disease.
Unsatiated, he seeks more victims for dismemberment.
Luckily for him, there is a never-ending supply chain.A rampant serial killer is terrorising the local population. Dubbed ‘Killjoy’ by the media, he seems to select his victims based on their propensity for fun.
Captured and in distress, you find yourselves locked in two separate rooms. You will need to work well together to have any hope of freedom.
Escape, or die trying
We seem to make our way down to Cornwall with relative frequency, and so we’re always on the lookout for a few extra games to fit in. We’ve played at Housetrap a few times, both at their Indian Queens location, and their Bodmin location. Their games are always fun, but we’d been hearing some interesting things about their newest game: Killjoy. Primarily that it was specifically designed in such a way as to ensure that the majority of customers didn’t escape, which is almost contradictory to the entire format. In fact, so much so that only two prior teams had actually accomplished the feat.
When we decided to tackle this game, I had resigned myself to the fact that this might be the first game that we would finally fail to escape from (that wasn’t due to a technical problem anyway), just to try to mitigate the accompanying disappointment if such a thing were to occur, especially since Killjoy was to be our fourth game of the day, following Abducted and Camelot at Housetrap’s Gnome World location earlier in the day, and finally Tribe, just before.
Between Tribe and Killjoy, we spent a bit of time in the reception area, staring at the ominous whiteboard indicating that there had only been two prior successful escapes. But eventually, Trev entered the room, to give us the low down, and explain the rules, now that we had been captured by Killjoy. Then, without further ado, we entered Killjoy’s lair, and the game began.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
The set of Killjoy was as expected, really, for a serial killer’s dungeon, as we found ourselves locked in separate cells, adorned with buckets or toilets of gross, unidentifiable substances, with a pervading atmosphere I can only describe as dingey. My biggest piece of advice here is to wear clothes that you won’t be too upset about if they get dirty or stained, since it’s probable that you’ll come into contact with something that you’ll inevitably rub into some fabric. The website also specifically mentions that players must be reasonably agile, and that’s true. Whilst there is no running involved, climbing/clamboring, and a bit of crawling could factor into the escape.
The dim lighting makes it hard to tell exactly what’s what, but fortunately, it was never too dim to stop any actual puzzle solving. The atmospheric noises helped create a disquieting atmosphere – one where you were never quite sure if the sound you heard would precede an appearance of Killjoy, since it was made quite clear that it would be a matter of when, not if, he would make an appearance.
Killjoy didn’t feel like it had a flow, and we often found ourselves stalling, regarding where to go next. But eventually we found a rhythm, and as we pieced things together, we started to pick up the pace, and feel a sense of urgency, as the clock ticked away, and it looked like we might actually manage to escape the clutches of Killjoy.
PUZZLES
If you’re looking for an escape room where the puzzles don’t have the feel of a typical escape room, this one might be what you’re looking for. Housetrap have designed it with the idea that if you were really captured by a serial killer, he certainly wouldn’t leave you puzzles or clues to outsmart him, so instead it’s up to you to figure out how to do just that. Most don’t. As I said, we were only the third group to accomplish it in the several months it had been open
Lateral thinking skills (or “Thinking Outside the Box” as they like to say) will be a player’s best friend here. Due to the split start, communication is also key. Aside from that, expect mostly tactile challenges that require problem solving, rather than deriving a four-digit combination. You may even find yourselves coming up with some very MacGyver inspired solutions to challenges (we certainly did). It certainly wasn’t what the designers intended, but since we didn’t break anything, apparently anything was fair game.
That said, the challenges that are found throughout Killjoy aren’t exactly unfair, although the diabolically low escape rate might suggest otherwise. We did ask for a couple of clues, and each time we received that little bit of help, it felt almost like a slap in the face because if you stopped to think about it differently, of course that was the answer.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Killjoy uses the standard “Written clue on a screen” method of delivery, with one caveat: clues must be requested, and they must be requested because they come with a time penalty. This is perhaps the biggest reason why teams aren’t escaping: They’re being challenged to think in a different way, but too afraid to ask for guidance in an attempt to preserve their time. However, if you do ask for help, it is granted swiftly.
Killjoy is also a live actor experience, in a way. You’re already captured, so it’s not like you’re trying to actively evade the menace, but Killjoy is present at points throughout the game. But the rules are clear; follow them and you needn’t worry. In our game, Killjoy was played by the owner of Housetrap, Trev, and he played his part to a T.
ANYTHING ELSE
We were only the 3rd team to escape the horrors of Killjoy, but not because the game is unfair. It will challenge players to think outside the box, but the solution is there if you look hard enough. But I can see this style of game being very hit or miss with players.
Success/Failed
Final Rating:
Operation Puzzles Room Design GM/Clues Excitement
Team: 3 players
Address: 7 Paardeburg Rd, Bodmin PL31 1EY
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