We’d been waiting for a decent Wild West room for a while
An old legend surrounds the mysterious town of Red Rock. Strangers talk of an ancient rare jewel said to hold unimaginable value. It was rumoured to belong to the first mayor of Red Rock around 300 years ago who was supposedly assassinated in a political conspiracy between the neighbouring towns. Whether this jewel truly exists, nobody knows. The townspeople are not particularly welcoming to outsiders, barely leaving the town and usually keeping to themselves. The town’s local sheriff, Newman “The Law” Dalton, is the only man alive who knows the real truth. But secrets never stay secret for long…
Hundreds have claimed to try and steal the jewel, but to no avail. You and your outlawed band of miscreants, The Rockboar Syndicate, are among the failed horde. After a vain attempt to break into the bank and steal the towns infamous prized jewel you now find yourself trapp’d in the sheriff’s jail cell and sentenced to be hanged at dawn. With mortality drawing nearer by the minute, you and your fellow criminals decide to give the robbery one last shot. The sheriff has been called out to an ambush shooting just outside the town so now is your chance! Find a way to break out of the jail and make your way to the bank. The last train out of town leaves in 60 minutes and you want to make sure you’re on it – with the jewel in hand!
Next on the list for our Great Escape: Peterborough Edition, was room number two at Trapp’d Peterborough. After a successful escape from Cirque Delirium, we took a few minutes to chat outside before tackling Red Rock. As Red Rock has a bit more of a narrative then Cirque, and it is central to what you’re there to do, we were handed laminated cards with the story. Once we finished reading, we were given our choice of shoe covers (you’ll see why if you take on the room), blindfolded, and led to the room.
I’m not the biggest fan of starting a room blindfolded, as I generally don’t feel this adds anything to the experience. I can understand why Trapp’d felt that this would be necessary in this instance, but we were being led to prison; it’s perfectly conceivable that one could be led through town to the jail, and it would make perfect sense, perhaps even helping to enhance the narrative to be marched to your prison cells for being a naughty bunch of thieves. But, I suppose not being blindfolded would take away some of the wonder that you experience as you progress through the game, so I can see the reason behind it.
Red Rock is the more traditional escape room experience of the two rooms at Trapp’d Peterborough. I also thought it was the stronger of the two rooms, though Gordon is of the opposite opinion. I can tell you, however, that. The only thing that really let it down was the ending. After successfully retrieving the jewel, it was just a bit anticlimactic, and I would have loved to see something in place to make that a bit more exciting. Not necessarily another puzzle, but just something.
PUZZLES
Puzzles within the room were a nice mix of exploration and hunting, as well as some logical reasoning, and one or two physical challenges. They were on the simpler side, though we did struggle with a two, simply due to my own stupidity. (What can I say, I had to get up early and I am not a morning person.) Once Gordon pointed out my error, we were back on the right track. However, there was one puzzle that was, quite frankly, frustrating, and we did require a clue to get this one right. It was perfectly clear what needed to be done; what wasn’t clear was where the sequence was to start, and we were left repeatedly doing the same thing over and over, to no avail, until we finally asked for help.
IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN
This room did have a narrative behind it, and there were hints of this throughout the puzzles. But where this really excelled was room design. The space was huge, and they have definitely done a good job of making you feel as though you are in the Wild West. The decor was gritty (quite literally), and the room had a flow. There were a few points where we were able to split up and work independently, but we also often came together to work things out together.
GM/CLUE SYSTEM
Should you need a clue, these were delivered via speaker, and time was kept with a stopwatch. I would have loved to have seen something a bit more immersive, perhaps a more interesting timekeeping solution within the room, or clues delivered in character, but we’ve said before, I would rather have a good room with a mediocre clue system than a mediocre room with an interesting clue system.
The GM herself was attentive, and helpful when needed, responding quickly to our one request for assistance.
ANYTHING ELSE
The space is absolutely massive, and while we successfully completed it as a two, this would definitely be well suited to a larger group. The experience was fun, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to both enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
Success / Failure
Final Rating:
Operation | |
Puzzles | |
Room Design | |
GM/Clues | |
Excitement |
Team: 2 players (escaped in 45:38)
Address: The Peterborough Greyhound Stadium, Fengate, Peterborough, PE1 5BP
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