Escape Reality Edinburgh: Alcatraz

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!!

Well themed with some fiendishly difficult puzzles coupled with some really easy ones, the prison environment looks good and this is a split start game.  

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!

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!

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

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.