A dark, creepy, and fun room
One minute you are out in the woods, the next thing you know, you wake up in a strange lodge… it’s a matter of life or death… the question is, are you willing to fight for your freedom? Can you escape The Lodge before your kidnapper returns?
The Lodge at Lockdown Ormskirk was actually a historic game for us. It was the first real life game that we had ever played as a team with Amy and Ian from Brit of an Escape Habit. If you’ve ever read their blog then you’ll know it’s very hard to find a game they haven’t played, so it was quite fortuitous that Lockdown recently opened up in Ormskirk and we happened to be in the area.
Located in the high-street of Ormskirk and with advertising right on the street, it was quite easy to find the venue. Finding the entrance was a little trickier. If you’re trying to find it, locate the window on the street, then go down the passage to the side where you’ll then find a door on your right. First puzzle complete.
When we arrived we were warmly greeted by Sarah, and one of the owners (sorry, we’ve forgotten your name). We were shown through to their waiting room and then had a bit of a chat (and used their facilities). The waiting area was dark, very dark, so coming in from a bright day outside meant it took a while for our eyes to adjust to the waiting room – which is even more fun when you realise the floor had a bit of a slope on entering.
Once our eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, we were taken down the corridor to attempt our first game of the day, The Lodge. Our GM, gave us a health and safety briefing in the corridor outside the room entrance, then once that was over we entered the room where we would receive the room specific briefing.
Covid-19 Procedures: Everyone on our team wore masks, as did all the staff we encountered on site. There was hand sanitiser in a few places and gloves were also available if you wanted to wear them. For the most part we didn’t see any other teams, but I believe we did briefly cross paths with one after our final game (they were all wearing masks too).
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
The maximum number of players in The Lodge is four, and I can see why. The space itself wasn’t cramped but it would have been tight with more players in there. Saying that, although the space isn’t massive, they have done a good job at maximising it and have managed to fit a lot in.
The overall vibe of The Lodge is your typical ‘cabin in the woods’ feel and as such it was dark and creepy (not scary, just creepy). Although the space was dark, it was never too dark to see but it would have been nice if we were given a torch for each member of the team – as it was we had one torch that we had to share between the four of us.
The theming of the room was spot on with a creepy cabin and they managed to throw in one or two surprises. To accompany the creepy look and feel of the lodge, they also have an ambient soundtrack playing. This helped to give the room an ‘edge’ and take away from the sound of us rushing around solving things.
PUZZLES
Looking back at this room it’s hard to know if the puzzles were easy, or if we created a super-team, I think probably it was a mix of the two as we had all played a lot of games. The Lodge would be a great game for those looking to give an escape room a try as it features many of the puzzle types you’ll find in other venues; observational, logic, audio, searching, word play, and simple maths.
The start of the game was pretty open and we all split up to investigate (and solve) different things, but later on in the game we found we all came back together as the puzzles became more linear.
Most of the puzzles resulted in combinations for padlocks, but there were a few extra tech puzzles that were a nice change of pace. We really got into our groove with this game and that was helped by good signposting, it didn’t take long to work out what went where.
Sometimes even simple maths can be a problem for some (us included), so it was nice that we were given a pen and paper so we could write down anything that we needed to.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
We stormed through this game in around 23 minutes and as everything clicked for us we didn’t actually need any clues. However, there was a screen in the room that was used for the story briefing (watch it when you get in the room), showing a timer, and also delivering clues.
I would imagine that if we needed clues they would have been delivered quickly and efficiently, as it seemed like they were keeping a close eye on the game.
ANYTHING ELSE
Perhaps on the easier side, The Lodge would be a great entry level game for those thinking of trying an escape room. Even enthusiasts should have a good time as the puzzles are decent and the theming is spot on.
Success/Failed
Final Rating:
Operation Puzzles Room Design GM/Clues Excitement
Team: 4 players – escaped in 23 minutes
Address: 18 Church Street, Ormskirk, West Lancashire, L39 3AN
Website: https://lockdownormskirk.co.uk
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