Escape Reality Manchester: Alcatraz

By | March 20, 2019

by Escape Reality Manchester (website)

The Printworks, Withy Grove, M4 2BS

Manchester

2-6 players

Languages: EN

60 minutes

closed
In 1934, Alcatraz transformed into a maximum high-security prison housing the most infamous and dangerous criminals. Situated in the chilly waters of San Francisco Bay, no prisoner has ever successfully escaped. Alcatraz has just reached its maximum capacity for the first time in history – because of you.
You are all masters of escaping and no prison has managed to contain you. As highly skilled individuals you have been plotting your escape plan and now the time has arrived. A diversion has been caused by other inmates and the warden has sprinted off to help, leaving you in your cells unguarded. This is your prime opportunity to make your escape attempt. Can you escape before he returns and catches you?
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Overall rating

Rated between 2 and 3 out of 5

based on ratings from 41 users
combined with 4 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

MerseyMarauders expert rated this:Rated between 1.5 and 1.5 out of 5
Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
cleverplainquite easy
Simon (The Overthinkers) expert rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 15 Apr 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 36:13 Outcome: Successful escape!
Sabrina (The Overthinkers) expert rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Played: 15 Apr 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 36:13 Outcome: Successful escape!
Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 2 and 2 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

Good room but I hate the clue system!

Jen Wells (Get Wells Soon) expert rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

Not our usual first choice of theme but we enjoyed this game; it has a split start and some really immersive elements. A good mixture of puzzles.

Scotus0 expert rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
Played: 08/07/2019 Team size: 3 Time taken: ~50:00 Outcome: Successful escape!

Absconding from Alcatraz

This was my third prison-themed room, but I'm always willing to see how different companies present them.

Story

As convicted criminals, your fellow inmates have created a distraction, giving you one hour to escape before the warden comes back.

Puzzles

Somewhat traditional: a bit of counting, some arithmetic, a dash of practical. Teamwork was important, but only at the very start. As three decent players, we worked well together and didn't struggle on much.

Mise-en-scène

The cells were credible...I wasn't particularly wowed by anything beyond that point.

Final Comments

This room doesn't deserve more than a three-star rating. When compared to Lucardo's The Prison, it shows there are definitely some missed opportunities!

Arjay Henshall expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 21.09.2019 Team size: 4 Time taken: 33 Outcome: Successful escape!

My favourite room they have here at escape reality. 

Love the start of the room and it really demonstrates teamwork. The first half of the room is truly a teamwork game and co operation. 

I know the prison feel can be overdone as its a common theme, however this was executed very well and made it feel like a true escape. 

A couple of the puzzles were a little ambiguous with very little signposting, however i would say that its certainly not the hardest room we have ever played by a long shot and i and that all the rooms at escape reality cater for beginner players rather than intermediate or advanced. 

if you are ever in manchester, please make sure you stop by and give this game a go. a team of 4 is optimal

2 Bodies 8 Minds rated this:Rated between 2.5 and 2.5 out of 5
Played: 7 Apr 2024 Team size: 2 Time taken: 42 Outcome: Successful escape!
great hostingbroken techplainquite difficult
Disn't enjoy the theme or decor at all really, very outdated and run down. Puzzles were actually quite fun and got the brain working but needs some love, building from the outside also looked awful when driving past. Doesn't feel like an active escape room venue, more like it used to be active and has been left abandoned for years. On the plus, puzzles were pretty good, and our host Tonio was brilliant, deserves a raise! So friendly and welcoming, we could have chatted for hours. Great guy! And made the whole event much more enjoyable 
thecolemans rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 27 Jan 2024 Team size: 2
value for moneyimmersivegreat hosting
We loved this escape room, really enjoyed the various puzzles you had to solve to move on to the next bit. We would definitely recommend. The room layout and decor was very realistic, making it an immersive experience
Ceri Thomas rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
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Reviews by escape room review sites

Alcatraz is a padlock-heavy, very linear game with a tendency towards fairly numeric puzzles. A good first impression was somewhat let down by some weaknesses of the game.

First of these was a puzzle where the clue for the answer was ambiguous, giving two possible answers only one of which would work. That's a design weakness, and was entirely avoidable here. It was compounded by the context, which involved a communication element that made the ambiguity harder to detect. (While discussing the ...

A round-up of a couple of trips through Glasgow. Mostly poor experiences with the one highlight being Escape the Past at Pollok House, a room that would stand up reasonably well even if it weren't in a heritage site.
A hard room for inexperienced teams who aren’t confident on their communication, and annoying for experienced teams who like good rooms

Alcatraz is a well-produced room with good puzzle diversity. The overall experience is ultimately let down by the sub-par hint system, but the room itself is good quality. I’d recommend this room for larger teams that have a few escape room victories under their belt – you’ll need every brain in the room!


Time penalties were given for each clue given which is the only downside for Escape Reality, however, we escaped within the 60 minutes we were given, so I'm taking it as a win. 

A good looking room, with good puzzles, this was the last of 4 for us, I thoroughly enjoyed it, we could have, and probably should have made it easier for ourselves, but despite that we got through. The iPad with time penalties for clues is probably the only downside for me. 

See also