Escape Coalville

our gm didn't give us clues for the last puzzle which meant we failed . They were too busy talking to their friend who shouldn't have  been there and something was hidden in [spoiler].

the amount we scored was 51,000 / 57,000

there was plenty of puzzles try and complete in the hour .  

Cool idea, better for small teams due to size.

A very unique concept, executed brilliantly. Very enjoyable game 

We absolutely loved this room! Communication is one of our team's strengths so we found the puzzles in this room fairly easy, having found 5 lanterns in about 15 minutes and all 8 by the end. However, it's probably one of the most fun rooms we have done. It is really unique and makes you think in a very different way to your standard room. It's worth mentioning that this is not a scary room; there is nothing at all in this room that is meant to be even remotely creepy other than for anyone who would have a fear of the dark.

Our side mission score - 55,000.

This room was good fun and there were plenty of puzzles to keep us busy for the whole 60 minutes. We unlocked the door pretty early on but then chose to stay in the room and complete more puzzles to boost our side objective score. There's a fantastic range of puzzles of varying difficulties that make the room accessible to all teams from beginner to expert. I do however have 2 criticisms... The room is very small! With a team of 4 it was very tight and we were constantly in each other's way. I believe this was moved here from Peterborough where it was in a bigger room, but here it just feels cramped and more like an office than a bank vault. My other issue was that there are a lot of red herrings. The GM afterwards told us that it's set up in a way to let them add in more puzzles at a later date but this just added extra confusion to the game as it is, such as finding codes for locks that don't exist.

Good game, good puzzles. Hosting let this one down - everytime we asked for clues we were ignored which meant we failed. If she had helped us at all we would’ve got to see the end of the game. 

We had a lot of niggles which almost ruined the experience for us. 
We had the brief, where the host unenthusiastically read from a crumpled A4 piece of paper.

We then entered the room and to start off with, the room WAS completely dark, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. But then over the hour, your eyes have time to adjust and you start noticing even the slightest bit of light, which kind of ruined the immersion slightly. 

During the brief, we were told not to touch the wooden panel on the wall, which is hard instruction to follow when the game consisted of feeling around in the dark. At one point during the game, he kept telling us off for touching it, but we still have no idea which one of us was touching it, so every time we were told, we just kind of all had to stop what we were doing. 

Then a little LED kept illuminating on the ceiling, which we thought we were making happen so we focused on it for a while until the host told us to ignore it because it was just the microphone or something. (How hard would it be to disconnect the LED). 

While trying to avoid spoilers, there was this 'type' of puzzle we've seen often enough, usually quite a pleasant and fun puzzle (and the perfect puzzle for a fully dark room), however, this version of the puzzle had us all gagging. It was not pleasant at all. 

The venue was easy to find, with free parking right beside it, which was very handy.

A bit plain for my liking, and some of the puzzles were a bit tenuous.

It's a room "of its time" and we had fun with it, but our experience was marred by some broken tech that's allegedly an issue known to the venue, a missing item, and something being out of my (safe) reach in a room with a lot of "finding" involved. It could also do with having a quick vacuum, being overrun with dust!

Host was very attentive and knowledgeable about the game.

We thought the idea of it being in an ambulance would make it really interesting but instead it was just random bags you had to unlock. Because of the small space it was very chaotic as the floor was covered in props and used locks. The idea was you had to find out who the patient was but this was quite easy. I think it needed more to it than just being in the back of the ambulance. 

We enjoyed this game, some really fun bits in here even a cheeky chocolate cookie waiting for our 3 year old which was a really lovely touch. She enjoyed searching around and helping us find clues and we really liked how original this game was. 

This is such a unique concept. It's not spoiler that this game is played in the complete darkness - and it really is darkness! Your eyes do not adjust at all. It heightens all your senses and forces you to visualise the room and remember where you have "felt" things previously etc. A very clever concept, not the easiest thing to do, not being able to see but absolutely acheiveable. You need to communicate and trust yourself and your team mates. I really enjoyed this challenge. 

Unique game with some interesting puzzles that worked very well, except some smells that were far too similar. Liked that it tied to history of Coalville, but otherwise the story was barely mentioned by our host or included in game. The end was also a bit underwhelming, perhaps a separate exit door would add to the experience.

I had a great time in here nonetheless (the gripes above are fairly minor in the scheme of things) and I'd definitely recommend playing!

This truly is a one of a kind game. 

Utilising every sense in your body other than sight is a unique concept and one that was executed very well. Communication is the key to this game.

The puzzles were all perfectly logical, but the challenge comes when you can't see a single thing and you have to variegate your way around in the pitch black. I would highly recommend trying this experience

Fun, new room. One or two teething issues, but a very cool concept and very disorientating.

What an interesting experience! Not scary in any way and makes you rely on all the senses you don’t use as often in escape rooms. Also puts enthusiasts back on the same page as someone new to the hobby as you explore the space without being able to see your hand in front of your face! The puzzles are very varied and are adapted perfectly to the surroundings - physical, logical, search and themed brilliantly around Coalville’s mining history. Lots of fun!

Nice scenic route around the town of Coalville, teaching the history of its mining past along the way. Great to see the puzzles using the surroundings rather than just ones you can solve on paper without going on the walk. Quite clever in places - not too taxing for an enthusiast. 

Lovely simple puzzles to showcase what an escape room is and all the various locks you might come across along the way. Enjoyed the progression between boxes and the clear idea of what was to be done next. Perfect for beginners. 

Trip down memory lane for me having played the original version at HintHunt way back in 2014. Nice to see that the company have made subtle but well received changes to the gameplay whilst keeping the main chunk of the game. Quite search heavy but really fun to find the hiding spots and associated puzzles. 

Some really lovely ideas in this game with a naturally unique setting. We found the flow for this game to be a little off due to some difficult searches (purely a taste thing) but the puzzles themselves were enjoyable and made clever use of the cab space in the ambulance. 

It's always interesting when you play an Escape Room and it's not actually a room, having played escape games in a prison van this then attracted some interest. Its also worth noting, you don't have to escape as such, this is a logic deduction puzzle that you can only solve when you've solved the other puzzles around. It's also worth noting that you only get one chance to correctly identify the solution or its an insta-fail.

Gameplay is relatively linear From puzzle to puzzle but some of the puzzles can be oblique in nature and not overly well sign posted as to what you have to do to progress. There are some good ideas here in a potentially interesting environment but I think the game as it stands lets it down.