The Panic Room: The Don (Gravesend)

“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse”

The Chancellor’s daughter has been murdered! Word on the street is she was seeing the notorious mob boss ‘Don Romano’. A man with a vast resume of crimes, how could it be anyone else? it’s finally time to put him behind bars, once and for all!

No time for a warrant; you and your team need to Infiltrate his den and turn the place over. Romano is an extremely paranoid man who keeps everything locked up tight! Gather your team, collect the evidence and escape before he returns, or you may end up sleeping with the fishes…

Our second room of the day with The Panic Room took us to yet another location: the original. We were there for The Don, and after seeing the quality of Secret of Pocahontas, we were excited to see what was in store. Once again, we were warmly greeted when we arrived. We were actually incredibly early and ended up leaving again to go find a coffee, but there was enough room for us to wait, and enthusiastic staff to chat to, had we decided to stay.

Finally it was time to head to the room. Being set in an office, I wasn’t expecting much from The Don; after all, there’s not a lot you can do with an office. However, I’m pleased to say I was very wrong, and the attention to detail paid here by The Panic Room was impressive. The walls were covered in a gorgeous burgundy wallpaper, and the room full of solid, beautifully crafted antique furniture and other pieces. It did feel like a very expensive office, with some very clever hiding places.

This is a solid room, which enthusiasts and new players alike will enjoy. It felt like there was a lot to do for a team of two, and there was plenty of space for larger teams to feel comfortable, but I think really the optimum number would be three or four.

PUZZLES

The Don is probably one of the most traditional style escape rooms at The Panic Room; not surprising really, as it’s their longest running experience. As a more traditional room, it does fall back on some escape room classics with a bit of searching, and some lateral thinking to arrive at combinations for padlocks, but there were also some surprising moments triggered by doing or placing something correctly. The Don also had some interesting, and beautiful keyed padlocks, that fit well in the surroundings.

There was one puzzle that threw us for a bit, as it could have be construed to be rather ambiguous, depending on how you looked at. Gord and I both took a crack at it, and spent what felt like an eternity trying to figure it out. As it turns out, it’s simpler than it first appears, and, once we had all of the pieces, it was solved quickly, but I can see it being extremely frustrating to some players, as the directions just aren’t quite as clear as they could be.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

There wasn’t a complex story or narrative to draw you in, but it didn’t need it; you know what you’re there to do, and the set worked well with the theme. The room had a nice flow, the puzzles were just the right level of difficulty, and there were a few unexpected surprises, with a finale that gave me a smile.

Despite being the oldest room at The Panic Room, everything was in good condition; perhaps there was a bit of wear and tear, but everything is clearly well cared for, and nothing felt tired.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Clues were delivered through a screen, disguised as a clock, which seems to be a common delivery method at The Panic Room. The GM behind the scenes was attentive, offering nudges at just the right time to keep us on track, despite my moment of stupidity with one puzzle where I needed to take a closer look.

ANYTHING ELSE

The Don was a fun, traditional style escape room. While we were worried for a bit that we weren’t going to make it out in time, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s easy to see why it’s still going strong at The Panic Room.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 2 people – escaped in 51:29

Address: 7 Berkley Crescent, Gravesend, DA12 2AH

Website: https://www.thepanicroom.net