Escapologic: Butcher

By | March 20, 2019

by Escapologic (website)

21 Castle Gate, NG1 7AQ

Nottingham

2-5 players

Languages: EN

60 minutes

now closed
Anna and Max have the kind of relationship everyone pretends to find annoying. But really, their friends are just a little bit jealous. Because you can see how much these two people are meant to be together. They just-fit.
Anna is daring and inquisitive, Max is sensible. She encourages him to try new things. He stops her from doing stupid stuff.
USUALLY.
But not today.
Maybe it's the sunshine. Maybe it's the wine. Because today, when Anna finds a randomly-unlocked shutter on a random side street, Max isn't quick enough to persuade her not to go inside. His mind is on the picnic they've just had, the kisses they've shared. So what if Anna is intent on seeking out some new dark and gloomy pace to scare him with. It's just Anna being Anna, right? This is why he loves her.
It's just an adventure. A dare. It'll be OK.
And then the shutter bangs down, and everything is very far from OK.
13utcher is the fifth locked room puzzle created by our resident mad genius, and it's one of the most impressively-realised yet! No expense has been spared to recreate the atmosphere of the butcher's lair in all its gory details. If you had to make a comparison with the movies, it'd be the set of Saw or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The original, of course, not the dodgy 2003 remake...
Outside, in another world, the sun is still shining. But in here, amidst the buckets and the blood, things have taken a decidedly dark turn! You'll need to work fast to solve the puzzles and break out to freedom. Because there's no telling when the butcher might come back...
13utcher is the bloodiest of our Nottingham escape rooms, we'd definitely say it contains scenes and images some may find upsetting. With mental and physical puzzle elements to conquer, and a deliciously tactile set design, this is part classic escape room and part test of nerve. Can you see past the blood, and concentrate on the solution?
PLEASE BE AWARE THIS ROOM IS 18+
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Overall rating

Rated between 3.5 and 4.5 out of 5

based on ratings from 30 users
combined with 8 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
abooth expert rated this:Rated between 20 and 20 out of 5
Played: 21 May 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 42 Outcome: Successful escape!

Sadly a miss for us. Probs the one we were most hyped for but our host just didn't seem into it, it wasn't remotely scary (and we'd been really scared by Howitz) and the interventions by the butcher went on forever. There was also a lack of things to actually do. Just a lot of searching for stuff to put in the right place, assumedly as you're supposed to feel tense about the butcher coming back, but we just didn't.

Sarah Sim rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Failed πŸ™
Daniel Dano Waite rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Durkules rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Outcome: Failed πŸ™
Manix84 rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 12/05/2018 Team size: 5 Outcome: Failed πŸ™

It scared by bother in law so much, that at one point I turned to see him holding the door closed.

🦑cipherdelic virtuoso rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
SiSitAndWait rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Team size: 4 Time taken: 45odd Outcome: Successful escape!

This is more of a scare game than an escape puzzle room. There were a couple of great puzzles, but one stuck out with poor lighting and made it much trickier, but not the fun tricky. It's a game worthy of doing thoug to see how different escape rooms can be..

Fiona Smith experienced rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Played: 7 Aug 2021 Team size: 2 Outcome: Failed πŸ™
originalimmersive

It was ok.. think this one really depends on the game master and on this occasion ours didn’t immerse themselves as much as it sounds like others have, so it wasn’t that scary. Fun experience though and would recommend to some others.

Escape Enthusiast expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Mark Greenhalgh expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 22/08/16
Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivegreat hosting

Really fun game. I don't really get scared in escape rooms but felt the host did a really good job. He really freaked my jumpier friend out! Less puzzles but very well done for a horror room with an actor.

flyingoctopus expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivegreat hostingquite easy🧟terrifying

My first horror room.  I found this absolutely terrifying. 

This game is very light on the puzzles and more time is spent being part of the experience rather than solving puzzles.

Great hosting yet again. 

Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Team size: 4 Time taken: 60:00 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivegreat hostingintenseπŸ’€extreme fear
The Monkey expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Outcome: Failed πŸ™
intensequite difficult🧟terrifying

I personally laughed the whole time at the player I was playing with. Played after Covid so live actor wasn't in the room which took away some of the room. Was escaping as the game ended. Would have probably finished in 60:10. 

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 12 Jan 2019 Team size: 6 Time taken: 55.00 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveintenseepic
TheSinger expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveannoyingπŸ‘»scary

Don’t get me wrong… I am a self admitted wuss when I comes to playing a scary room. I normal day to day I would not choose to play this room over any others at the venue however I was here so I HAD TO. 

The room was ok… in my opinion, I felt like I was playing a game of hide and seek for 60 mins rather than trying to work out how to get out. To me it felt much more of hindrance to go and hide rather than the feel to want to. It got slightly annoying toward the end. But I can see why this room is getting the love that it is. 

Adam Bravery expert rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Played: 6 Aug 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 40 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveintensequite easyπŸ‘»scary

Certainly immersive and scary, but perhaps the fear aspect was a bit overhyped. The puzzles were mainly searching. Our host was good

Alex Olney rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 2019 Team size: 4 Time taken: 58 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivestory-drivenπŸ‘»scary

I found this escape room really immersive. The puzzles felt relatively basic but it was more about this experience and horror theme. I would recommend 

kman expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 22 Oct 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Failed πŸ™
πŸ‘»scary
BenMill experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 25 Aug 2022 Team size: 2 Outcome: Failed πŸ™
immersivegreat hostingintenseπŸ‘»scary
gimiabreakout experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 4 Oct 2020 Team size: 4 Time taken: 40ish Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveintenseπŸ‘»scary

Our first horror escape room and it didn’t disappoint. It was very immersive and intense, not as many puzzles as other rooms but in this instance it worked because the horror aspect was enough to keep you from working as quickly as you normally would! Definitely an experience, one I’d recommend just for the fun of doing it as a group and giggling at one another in fear. 

Anonymous expert rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveintensevery easyπŸ‘»scary
Wesley Mead expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 14 Feb 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 51m Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivegreat hostingintense🧟terrifying

Our GM Pagan was fantastic and really made the experience.

tev rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
loughboroughescaper experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
immersiveπŸ’€extreme fear
gandalf29 rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 9 Apr 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 59mins
great hostingintensescaryvery difficult🧟terrifying
excellent hosts we did this on 2 occasions first time we failed second time we escaped with seconds to spare. it's a very phscological game, very intense. 
Chantelle Goddard rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 10 Aug 2023 Team size: 4 Time taken: 58
immersivegreat hostingintensequite difficultπŸ‘»scary
Loved it! Amazing host (pagean) Scary kept on our toes. Hated/loved the darkness 
browngate experienced rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Brian experienced rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Failed πŸ™

Reviews by escape room review sites

Escapologic's 13utcher/Butcher game is somewhere between infamous and legendary. On any visit to the venue whether you're due to play it or not, you're likely to hear stories of how extreme it is, how it's the only 18-rated escape game in the UK (which is not quite true, there's at least one other), and of how many players bail out mid-game or even during the initial briefing. That reputation was enhanced for us at least from the previous time we'd visited Nottingham and played Curio - th...

A must do for fans of scare attraction. If you're of a particularly nervous disposition then I'd stay well clear - the puzzle pay off isn't worth the stress you'll go through during the game. For those of us in between, I think it's the sort of game that you'll like appreciate more than enjoy - and as an enthusiast that was more than enough.
This room is not one for the faint hearted and if you’re of a nervous disposition it’s probably one to avoid. However, if you want a room that it a bit different and will not only challenge your mind but also your bladder control, then give it a go!
The third and final escape room from Escapologic that we played.
When it comes to horror escapes we are always intrigued to see what is on offer. Escapologic has 8 rooms in total in their repertoire and can be found just off Castlegate, a short stroll from Nottingham Centre and at Β£80 for a group of 4 its also great value for money. Now being held captive with devious puzzles and a time limit is always fun but when you add scares into the mix, well this is why we do these things. And 13utcher at Escapologic Nottingham does it so damn well. The backstory told us of a couple "Max and Anna" that went missing and we were following in their ill-fated footsteps after hearing screams within from the street. Now it was our time to be trapped in the Butchers Lair, A dark and dank chamber resembling a personal abattoir. Of the hour that you have in Butcher, it takes very little time for the anticipation and trepidation to build causing some guests "we were told" to safeword in the first 5 minutes. So how did we fare...
It’s a scary and tense room as you rush to complete the puzzles before the Butcher returns to his lair. This game is all about anticipation and immersion.

This caused much discussion between our group. Did we feel that the room had enough of a fear factor to offset the fewer puzzles? For some of our group it was clear that the balance was right but I felt it light on content because the scares weren’t as much as I hoped. 

I want to re-iterate that this wasn’t a bad experience in the slightest and I’d recommend that anyone do it but, if you are a more hardcore horror fan who may have been to a number of scare attractions in the past, you may find the level of scare a little disappointing. Nevertheless, it has certainly made me want to get back to Escapologic and try out everything else they have to offer.

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