Escapologic: Contraption

21 Castle Gate, NG1 7AQ

2-5 players

60 minutes

Strange machinery breathes in the stillness of the laboratory. Bubbles rise in a mysterious green liquid. Cogs tick. Gears clank. And in the air, the unmistakeable sound of fear...

As your breathing stills, and your pulse slows to normal, you take a look around. What happened here? It looks like the previous occupant of the room has left in a gg hurry. But why? Your eyes grow used to the dusty light, and you begin to make out the discarded pieces of arcane mechanisms. There has to be a pattern, a code, something to show you the way out.

Contraption was the first of our Nottingham escape rooms, and its fiendish ingenuity has given it legendary status! Can you put the clues together before the clock hits zero?

You'll need a combination of wits, nerve and inspiration to beat the machine and find your way out. With false steps and wrong turns waiting to confound you, the only way to outwit Contraption is to work together. Use your team's skills to solve physical and mental puzzles, crack cryptic codes, and unravel the secret escape route left behind by the mysterious inventor.

Will you solve the riddle of this fiendishly-designed Nottingham escape room? Or will the last sound you hear be the cogs of the lock, as they turn and seal you in forever?

Join the intrepid souls who have tried to defeat Contraption. Many have attempted the challenge. But this room is smart. Some might even say... it's alive...

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Overall rating

based on ratings from 3 users
combined with 7 pro reviews

Player reviews

Escapetopus experienced says:

A couple of equipment fails prevent this room from scoring more highly for me.

A clever central concept and a fun steampunk-laboratory setting (complete with on-theme clues) tie all the puzzles together. The original room at Escapologic but it (mostly) belies its age.

Matthew Canner rated this:

Tim Cooper experienced rated this:

Reviews by escape room review sites

Contraption is Escapologic's original game, the first of what is now eight different escape rooms at their Nottingham location, and it's clear why the venue made a splash from the outset. The game is a steampunk-y fest of cogs and pipes and machines that dispenses with padlocks in favour of an array of imaginatively different mechanisms.

Your first task on entering the room is to turn on the lights. It's not pitch black, fortunately (there are enough metal doodads around that the room might be ...

A game that turns the usual escape room setup on its head by having a smaller number of larger puzzles. As with most Escapologic rooms, don't expect a plethora of padlocks but instead a mass of mechanisms - in fact, as the name suggests, expect even more than usual!

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7 / 10

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Like most of the rooms at Escapologic this was a linear room with very strong set design. Don't get distracted by all the funky items and you should be fine

We’d heard such good things about Escapologic, hence a Nottingham trip to play five of their games, starting with their very first: Contraption. Or Con-trap-tion as it’s styled in the logo. And it was good. It was fine. It was al-righ-t.