Escape Reality Manchester: Alcatraz

Good room but I hate the clue system!

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.

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!

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

One player does all the work. The other just gets locked in the cell for more than half the time.

This game was fun, but I don't have much more to say, as it was unoriginal and fairly dull. As a first escape room I bet this is great. It's definitely immersive and I like the team elements, that require everyone to work together. I just don't have much to say outside of that. There was one massive red herring that had us lost for a while! But I don't necessarily ming that. It was just a bit dull of an experience. We were expecting a scary room too, but actually, this is just "Prison" themed and doesn't quite live up to the expectation set up by naming after the notoriously famous Alcatraz Prison.

Great use of space with excellent atmosphere. Very linear but puzzles (especially at the end) required more brain power than other rooms but with a satisfying conclusion. Great introduction from Stephen (GM) with a clunky help system (via tablet) that we didn't end up using at all

Edinburgh Escape reality's hardest room and we happily made it out with their 6th fastest time this season!

Typical prison escape… could’ve been much more original especially when themed (I use that loosely) around the most famous prison in the world! 

Split into 2 cells (standard). I had actually completed the room from my own cell before my team mate had actually got out of their. Poor puzzle plan if that’s always the case. GM had to enter the room to explain a rather poor thought out puzzle and even after explanation, I still don’t get how it was supposed to be completed. Not a great venue…. Will not return 

Solved puzzles were not always telegraphed well, but still a fun enough room to play.

This game (in Cardiff at least) is huge, which really aids with the immersion. Game flow is linear so would suggest a smaller group. Please note the hint system is TERRIBLE.

Alcatraz room was nothing special but still fun to play.

Really didn't enjoy the clue system (via ipad) We didn't have an actual host/GM watching us so once we got stuck, we were stuck for the remainder of the hour and couldn't move forwards at all

This was my first ever escape room and it was amazing - being separated at the start immediately makes you work as a team. There were some easy parts and some much more difficult parts. We made the rookie mistake of letting a door behind us lock, other than that we didn't need any help from GMs. Would 100% recommend!

Overused theme with cheap props and unusable tablet hint system. No GM interaction apart from actually having to come into the room to do something. Easy puzzles bar one incredibly frustrating supposedly obvious action. Do not recommend. 

This is a tough game. We didn't get out, but it's a good type of tough.

Got to the last puzzle in 35 mins.... last puzzle spoilt it. Even with the guy in the room explaining to us how to do it we were still a bit like ‘that makes no sense’ apart from that cannot fault the team or the place whatsoever. Brilliant!!