Find The Way Out (Kings Lynn): Abandoned Ship

Outside the room

There are a lot of escape room reviewers in the UK now and, slowly but surely, we’re extending the coverage across the UK’s games. That said, there are still a number of rooms that have never had an escape room blogger visit them so, whenever I go near a venue which hasn’t yet had a visit, I make a special effort to drop by. I live in hope that there are some unknown gems out there that deserve to be shared with the wider escape room community.

Find The Way Out was one of those unvisited games. We’d just come off of four games in Norfolk, so we thought we’d drop by Kings Lynn for a game (or maybe two) before heading home. It’s another small-town venue (technically, the game is in Clenchwarton), and the games themselves are located at the back of a tea shop – the sort of place you might go for scones with your gran. Or, indeed, some of the rather delicious-looking cake – if only the tea room had still been open when we were there!

The greeting was a little muted – I think the owner was slightly bemused by players who’d made the trip across just to play the games – but friendly enough.

Background

You were part of the crew of the frigate Sharkfeeder sailing the Caribbean under Captain Edward Scape when he seemingly lost his mind and made his entire crew walk the plank. You must find your way back on board and find safe passage back to dry land.

Inside the room

It wasn’t a great start to the room when we were asked to read the briefing stuck to the door before entering. I’m a big believer that a well delivered introduction to a room can make a huge difference. That said, things improved once we were inside. This was never going to win a prize for most immersive experience, but they’d made a decent effort to put together a game that carried the theme, even if it at times some of the props looked distinctly amateur. I really enjoyed the sense of discovery as we explored the space and found out what was ahead.

This room wasn’t packed with puzzles, but there were just about enough there to keep us going. However, I think normal-sized enthusiast teams are going to find a shortage – it could definitely do with a few more to keep you busy. The puzzles were reasonably varied, with a couple of novel physical puzzles, some riddles and searching.

It probably won’t come as a surprise, given the intro, that there’s no real story development during the game. There’s a little fun thrown into the finale, but I didn’t feel there was anything special beyond that. You knew it was time to leave the game when the puzzles ran out, but there was no real feel, to me, that the game was reaching its thrilling climax.

Result

We escaped from this room in almost exactly half an hour without any clues. At the time of playing, that was the record. I doubt it will stand if a few experienced teams visit.

Verdict –
 

From an inauspicious start, I found myself liking this game a surprising amount. There were enough puzzles for us, and a couple of them were genuinely novel; and the set design, while not amazing, was at least endearing. I don’t think it’s a game to make a beeline for, but it’s a pleasant one to drop in on if you’re passing by (and fancy some cake!), and it was good enough that we signed up to play their second room straight afterwards.

Detailed Room Ratings

Venue
Host
Wow! factor
Immersiveness
Difficulty

3 Comments


  1. // Reply

    We are only 45 mins away – you could have done a double escape! Hope you venture to us soon.


    1. // Reply

      I called but you didn’t have any availability for the day we were there! Was curious (and keen to play on a warm weekend rather than wait till the depths of winter…)


  2. // Reply

    Haha, us Norfolk types are hardy fellows who don’t mind a bit of rain 😉 We look forward to seeing you when the sun is shining.

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