clueQuest: Plan52 (the one with the red box)

cluequest-unit-plan52[1]

[Note: clueQuest has since relocated twice, so most of this write up is out of date. I recommend reading the most recent clueQuest review to get a better feel of where they are now.]

Outside the room

My first ever escape room, and I have to confess I was a little bit nervous about how it would go. It wasn’t helped by having to make my way to some dodgy looking business park in the middle of Tottenham. What had I let myself in for?

Getting into the venue was a challenge on its own, since it wasn’t terribly well signposted and being nighttime, the majority of the business park was shut down. I guess if you can’t find an escape room, you’re probably not the sort of person who should be playing!

The room was housed in a pretty drab industrial unit and I got the feeling our game host was relatively new. She tried her best to be serious, but she just didn’t do a great job – the background story seemed weak, and I didn’t feel at all immersed. The “how to use a padlock” training seemed a waste of time, until two of our party failed the test at the first attempt (unfortunately, two more of us managed to fail to use a padlock properly inside the room, so the superiority was short lived…).

Background

You’re wannabe secret agents, auditioning for Mr Q, the great mouse detective featured in the logo. Solve the crime, with help over the walkie talkie from HQ.

Inside the room

There were five of us in the room, but it never felt crowded. Clues were given when we needed them, at just the right level and not too early (although it’s worth remembering it was our first ever room). The first few puzzles were pretty basic, so perfect for beginners, and then they steadily got more complex. The room was was busy enough to require a good search, but not so busy that you were overwhelmed with red herrings.

On the puzzle front there was a great range from simple combination and key locks up to high tech equipment. There were probably a few too many padlocks for my taste, but it was by no means overwhelming.

Certainly enough content to keep you occupied for the whole hour, and I’d expect most teams to need several clues.

Result

We escaped with a few seconds remaining. I almost blew it by trying to brute force one of the puzzles and in the process lost some of the information we’d already worked out… but we rallied and got out just in time.

Verdict – 

An excellent introduction to escape rooms. It’s got a nice introduction to get novice players comfortable with how it works. It’s not too linear, throws in a couple of surprises and has some novel puzzles. With clueQuest now at a brand new venue, I think it’s one of the “must play” rooms in London.

Eating

We headed to a local pub beforehand, the Ferry Boat. Good pub food, and given the dearth of options around that neck of the woods, probably your best bet.

Don’t take my word for it…

Other reviews for this room – let me know if you know of more:

Detailed Room Ratings

Venue
Host
Wow! factor
Immersiveness
Difficulty

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