RADA: Little’s Lost Letter (London)

If you can get a ticket – play it. Play it now.

Little made a promise to the night. She would build a rocket before the sun next arose. And keeping that promise, she knew, would begin with a little help…

This is a bit of an odd review to write as this game is a limited time run, only open for two weeks and all the available slots sold out within 90 minutes of going on sale. So why am I writing it? Well it was mentioned by our gamesmaster that they want to get more reviews so they can get more funding for future escape room projects like this – and trust me, we definitely want more games like this. Funding people, if you’re reading this…give more money to RADA, please!

We had heard about previous RADA escape rooms but historically we have been too slow getting tickets, or couldn’t make it to London in time. This time, we weren’t making the same mistake. As soon as they went on sale we got a slot and then made sure our plans worked – fortunately they did.

RADA has a reputation for churning out world class actors (Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, just to name a few), but set/sound/lighting designers are perhaps less well known outside of the industry. We had high hopes that the designers’ quality would be equally as high as the acting calibre, and the £40 price point for teams of up to six people certainly made it a no-brainer to find out.

We arrived at our allotted time and were asked to wait in the bar, then before long our host, Charlie, arrived and escorted us upstairs to the escape room. Outside the room we received the health and safety briefing and a bit of detail about our mission. Then before we knew it we were standing outside Little’s Father’s shed.

Charlie’s parting words were that our time would begin when the lighting increased, and we were on our own. Left in a darkened room, but with a clear starting point in front of us.

It would be wrong of me not to point out a warning that is on the RADA page about this experience, and that is that this game contains ‘themes of grief and loss’. From the start this theme is front and centre, and I could see this getting emotional really quickly.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

It must be nice to be talented, and just as nice to be in an institution like RADA where you’re just surrounded by insanely talented people. Although oddly, the one talent we didn’t see during our visit was ‘acting’. This game had no real-life actors present in the game, but that’s fine as Little’s Lost Letter was a chance for those behind the scenes to get in the spotlight.

Sometimes you play a game and you can’t quite put your finger on what makes it good, but for this game it was clear, it was like playing in a warm hug. The set just had this oddly cosy feel about it, and the narration and lighting just added to that feeling. Ok, I would assume they can get away with a few more things than permanent escape rooms can, the set only has to last two weeks and is unlikely to be subject to the wear and tear of stag groups and the like, so it can just look pretty without needing to worry too much about falling apart.

Having been built in what is most likely a sound-treated theatre-type room, there was no bleed of noise from the bustling streets outside and we were fully immersed in this lovely little shed, and sound was added as and when required, and to great effect.

Looking again at the creative’s sheet for this game, I can see that the gameplay equipment was sponsored by Clockwork Dog, so no doubt they had some great guidance from that team!

PUZZLES

Before we played the game I had a look at the ‘creative team’ crib sheet and the thing that seemed most lacking for an escape room, was that no-one was fully listed as a puzzle designer. One person was electrical with a puzzle bias, and the director has the word ‘puzzle’ in his bio a couple of times, but that’s it. So I will be totally honest and say I went into this game expecting a ‘puzzle light, set heavy’ experience. So you can imagine our glee when we played this game and found the puzzles to be fair, enjoyable, and dare I say it…unique.

Having played over 600 escape rooms now, it’s really nice when we see things we haven’t seen before and are still pleasantly surprised. This isn’t a big room but we were still able to split up and work on things independently of each other (or at least as pairs), and although aspects of the game were linear, there were still some multi-linear aspects.

The starting point of the game was clear, but that was the start of the game and not the start of the puzzles. This game is clearly made for those perhaps less experienced than us, so there was a clearly identifiable starting point, but from then, you’re on your own (well other than the clue system).

Searching, observation, smell, colours, pattern recognition, and audio were the bulk of the puzzles, but they were all satisfying to solve, and more importantly, fair. Surprisingly, not all of the puzzles resulted in codes for padlocks, as there was a good use of tech – with some added special effects for good measure.

We managed to complete this game in around 29 minutes and without any hints, which is testament to the puzzle design. One puzzle in particular was a bit of a head scratcher, but fortunately we have a ‘Liz’. A ’Liz’ is an odd creature, a lot of the time it hides in the corner, quiet and pensive looking, then all of a sudden “BOOM – Puzzle hole” and it solves the trickiest puzzle in the game without breaking its stride. All escape rooms need a Liz.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

As I mentioned earlier, being a RADA escape room I expected over-the-top acting in the game, but there was none of that (great for those of us who are dramatically challenged). Even the clue system was understated, a simple label printer quietly sitting in the room would come to life if teams needed any help.

Actually, that was the other interesting thing about this experience, our host Charlie isn’t listed as a games-master, she is the ‘Assistant Stage Manager’, yet she seemed like a natural and arguably performed better as a GM than some others have at ‘proper’ escape rooms. There were times in the game where we slowed down, yet she held fire on the clues and waited to see how we did. Of course, we could have requested clues if we wanted, using the little bell, but she never jumped the gun and this added to our wonderful experience with this game.

ANYTHING ELSE

Ok, the negatives: Hard to get tickets for and when it’s gone it’s gone. That’s it. This is a lovely game, at a great price, and the team at RADA can stand proud with what they’ve achieved. Ratings are the hardest part of reviewing games, but regardless of the rating we’ve given, this is a game you really should try and play.

I for one really hope they get additional funding for next year and can create something even bigger and better than Little’s Lost Letter, as that would certainly be a must play. For now though, I’m making sure I’m on the RADA mailing list and will be jumping at the chance to play any more games that this team creates.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players – completed in 29 mins

Address: Gielgud Theatre, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Malet Street, London WC1E 6ED

Website: https://www.rada.ac.uk/whats-on/littles-lost-letter-escape-room/