Category Archives: International

Inside Rooms: Cabin in the Woods

Bucharest, May 2018

You’d think that we, collectively as a culture, would had seen enough slasher movies to know not to approach the creepy old cabin deep in the woods, no matter how lost we might be – but that’s what you’ve done, and good thing too, because in this ins… (more)

Inside Rooms: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Bucharest, May 2018

Market take-up in the UK having very clearly indicated an enthusiasm for Harry Potter as an escape room theme, games set in Wizard Schools have proliferated around the UK, tip-toeing around the line of IP infringement. Over in Romania there’s little … (more)

Escape Room Adventure: Pădurea Fermecată (Enchanted Forest)

Bucharest, May 2018

Pădurea Fermecată translates as Enchanted Forest, and from the story seems to be a curious mix of Narnia and Middle Earth inspirations: a forest locked in eternal winter by a wicked witch, causing suffering to the intelligent trees known as Ents. The… (more)

60 Minutes: I Spy

Bucharest, May 2018

When one game at a venue is good, it’s usually a sign that their others are worth playing as well. Their designers might have put more investment into one room than other, or have improved their skills or increased their budget over time, but the ‘ho… (more)

60 Minutes: The Lord of the Rings

Bucharest, May 2018

Some themes are a natural fit for the escape room format – such as jailbreak scenarios, or anything where you’re trapped in a smallish space. As a tale about an epic continent-spanning journey, Lord of the Rings is a less obvious fit; but 60 Minutes’… (more)

60 Minutes: Black Magic

Bucharest, May 2018

First of three games we played at 60 Minutes, Black Magic was an enjoyable escape room that layers an effective occult theme over a fairly classic set of puzzles. The delightfully over-the-top game description on the website talks about The Queen of … (more)

Secretul lui Bachus

Bucharest, May 2018

From the Romanian name I guessed this would be a game involving wine and the Greek deity of alcohol, which was only half right. It’s actually based on a piece of real world history from Romania’s communist era, involving a corruption scandal in the 7… (more)

The Codex: Prohibition

Bucharest, May 2018

An important warning here: there are two versions of this game, with and without a live actor. We played the version with the actor, which is only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays; book any other day of the week and you’ll get the version without…. (more)

The Codex: Sleepy Hollow

Bucharest, May 2018

Sleepy Hollow has a feature that I’ve seen in only a few other games: the players start with a book of clues which give them cryptic instructions on what to do at each step of the game. Done badly that can cause more confusion than it prevents, or le… (more)

Chambers: Electric Chair

Bucharest, May 2018

Should I ever turn to a life of crime and find myself in gaol, I’m going to be sorely disappointed when the cell doesn’t contain an array of hidden messages to help me escape. Most iterations of the jailbreak theme never bother to give an explanation… (more)