Category Archives: International

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)

The Void: Coven

Bucharest, May 2018

First of many games that I played on a visit to Bucharest, Coven was a particularly high quality game amidst impressively strong competition. The website and intro video suggest a full-on horror style of game and my teammate was dubious about my choi… (more)

Quest Room: Bloody Elbow

Los Angeles, Feb 2018

It is the 14th century, and everyone is ruled by Holy Inquisition. You have been accused of witchcraft and incarcerated to await your awful death by the hands of a executioner nicknamed “Bloody Elbow”. He is famous for his love of disgusting tortures… (more)

Quest Room: Da Vinci’s Challenge

Los Angeles, Feb 2018

This room needs at least 4 people. I say this because at the start you are split into two groups; we only had 3, and one person was stuck on a puzzle which prevented us joining up (effectively she was stuck on her own).

Like the other Da Vinci room … (more)

60out: Da Vinci’s Secret

Los Angeles, Feb 2018

Note that this room is 75 minutes rather than the conventional 60; that’s because it’s absolutely stuffed with puzzles.

On entering the room, it’s clear that although it has an artificial feel to it, a lot of time has gone into the decoration; there… (more)

60out: P.U.T.I.N. Bunker

Los Angeles, Feb 2018

Vladimir Putin has gone mad and started the countdown to launch a nuclear missile for World War Three. You have 60 minutes to stop the missile.

The theming in this room is good; it’s greatly helped by some very fun tongue in cheek specific elements,… (more)