Cryptology Nottingham: Daylight Robbery

Fifth room of the day ended up being my joint favourite of the weekend (with Orbital).

We've done many of these "try to nick as much as you can" games and this is one of the better ones, if not the best. 

Great use of tech - and even better because the tech worked like it was supposed to and I did genuinely at times feel like I was really breaking into a vault. Not a massive fan of the beginning but once we'd got through that then the fun started. So. Many. Puzzles. We like to play as small groups but I wish we'd been a 4 or a 5 for this. 

Part of me wishes we'd played this earlier on in the day as you need a lot of stamina - both physical and mental to get a score that an enthusiast would be happy with. We were a bit dozy through some of this and it probably cost us about £300k+. In fact there's one element we missed out on which would have given us buckets of loot that I've kicked myself daily for missing ever since. 

Fantastic room. 

Accessibility: Steep stairs down to the room (which you then have to come up). One person needs to be dexterous. I think there's one instance of ducking but there were ten rooms in the weekend and I can't rightly remember...

We enjoyed this and it's made great use of the original features of the building. I just wish the host would have explained the concept in more detail before we started so we fully understood some of the features. Definately a game that could take 6 plus players. As a family of 4 with two younger players we could have done 2 hours!

Very enjoyable collection-style game - loads to do means you're sure to get your money's worth - our team of five was kept busy for the full hour, with a good variety of puzzle types, and some fun use of tools and props to make it feel like you're performing a bank heist.

Excellent (energetic!) hosting, and clues were delivered to nudge us along which meant there was never a time any of us didn't have something to be actively working on. Family friendly (although access was somewhat tricky for anyone with mobility issues), and it was a pleasant surprise to find that kids under 15yrs old were eligible for a reduced-rate ticket.

There is so much to do in this room, so much that I'd love to go back and do the puzzles I missed or didn't personally complete, and maybe have some time to appreciate some of the details you don't see when trying to grab as much loot as possible! (As you don't have to "100%" the room in order to "escape").

Theming, layout, scoring mechanism, unique elements, puzzle variety, humour - all great, plus our host was a delight. We had at least one first timer on the team and the experience left her hooked.

(Only thing I will say about the venue is there are a lot of awkward stairs to get to the room, particularly if you first need to visit the bathroom before you start!)

The best room I've ever done. So much fun solving all the puzzles to steal all the artefacts, so much for everyone to get stuck into at once, a laser maze to clamber through (my favourite part!) and such a great variety of puzzles including some very hands on ones which was great, and a type of lock I've never seen before! And very satisfying to steal all the artefacts, money and the diamond with over ten minutes left and run out the door with the swag bag!

A great room with a large amount of puzzles with a different way of measuring you success. Really enjoyed this one

There is so much to do in here that it's difficult to know where to start! This is an excellent room that provides challenge after challenge. We loved the sheer volume of puzzles in here and absolutely loved the concept of getting as much loot as possible.

The adrenaline was pumping for the entire hour and we were really pleased with our haul (including the elusive diamond) as well as our step count!

A whole vault full of fun. Highly recommended... although bring 3 or 4 people for maximum heist-ing!

Fab Room 

This was the best bank heist room we've ever done and one of the best rooms we've played recently. There is so much to do in this room, we didn't manage to solve all of the puzzles. The puzzles ranged in difficulty which made it fun and you can take on the room in almost any order you want. We definitely recommend this room for big teams as there is so much to do. The team at Cryptology were really awesome and we enjoyed the complimentary doughnuts for taking on all of your rooms. We hope you create more rooms at this site!

Absolutely fantastic room that lives up to the hype. Jam packed full of puzzles with some interesting tools. A must visit if in Nottingham.

Loads to do! 

There is sooo much to do in this room - guaranteed to have the full hour of fun. Really enjoyed breaking into the vault and trying to obtain as much loot as possible - we were only the 3rd team ever to have gotten it all! If there wasn't an over-reliance on one particular puzzle this would be an easy 5* for me.

A fantastic room, one of my favourites. You are collecting loot rather than trying to get out as fast as possible, there are just so many things to do, that you will never be standing there idle. Highly recommended.

There was always something to do and at no point during the game did anyone in our group feel like they were just stood around waiting or feeling useless. The staff were all really friendly and our host James was incredible- he remained in character throughout and really added to the experience of the room. He was good fun and a great games master. 

Absolutely fantastic. There is no shortage of puzzles to solve and follows a non-linear pattern - split up and solve as much in the allotted time to get the highest score. Great replayability, I've played it twice and will almost certainly be back again! 

By far, to date, my favourite room I’ve EVER played. When you step back and look at theming it’s nothing out of this world but… the gameplay…. Amazing! 2 players. Non stop solving … so much fun… I really want to go back and redo the room just to see what we’d missed first time round! 

This game really does live up to it’s reputation. 

The best of 119 escape rooms I've done. Can not beat it ... so far.

Really enjoyed this game, set design is great, loads to do, especially for a team of two.

Having played many escape rooms this one is by far my favourite! Excellent puzzles and so many of them, great atmosphere and theming and we managed to get our hands on £1,673,178.47! Unmissable! 

After playing Cryptology’s other games we were pleased to see another instalment and it was brilliant! There was so much to do, lots of different puzzle types and difficulty levels, great fun for the whole family! 

We made it out with £1,503,123.68.

I am usually not a fan of non-linear rooms, but i thoroughly enjoyed this.

There's a reason this room has such an amazing reputation! We spent the full hour totally immersed and solving non-stop puzzles which were really fun and varied. Theming is great, and the tension this room creates left us buzzing! We escaped having found all but a pair of well hidden items. GM Cerys gave useful nudges when required and the ability to look back at hints on the screen was really handy. Probably the most fun I've had in an escape room. 

Great use of space and good value for money. Usually require a minimum of 3 players but they were accommodating to us as a duo. Good flow to the game and a sense of urgency throughout. Lots of forward and back with loot to the required area so make sure you’ve got your trainers! Easy enough to work through puzzles independently or in pairs, either way it’s solvable. Some puzzles required resilience and a bit of trial and error but doesn’t take away from the game; adds to the sense of urgency. Some puzzles didn’t feel in keeping with the theme but if you’re not one to delve into the storyline then it won’t bother you. Other puzzles seemed to require illogical leaps to solve but hey, that’s what hints are for I suppose. Would recommend a group of 3 or 4 if you want to take full advantage of the space as there was some loot left that we did not recover. Good GM who stayed in character and was happy to walk us through the last couple of puzzles. 

#68

Loved this. It has quite a reputation and definitely delivers. The room is enormous and similar to UI-55 or Copplestone’s in its concept. We played as a two and still had a few puzzles left, you’d still be busy with 4 of you though. So many different things to do, you won’t have a second to stop!

What an absolutely superb game. We didn't come up for breath for a minute of the whole hour. Easily one of the best I have ever played.

This is my favourite room in Nottingham.

I love a game where there is a side quest and you can play for the full 60 minutes

This game is fully immersive. I don't think I stopped for breath for 60 minutes. 

Highly recommended!!

So much thought and effort has gone into this high-budget game. There's a multitude of puzzles to keep you busy for the full hour - and have loads of fun! Very, very well done. Amazing game.  

This room is quite simply a whole load of fun. It's chock-full of brilliant puzzles, with a lot of variety present. It's quite challenging and there's an absolute ton of puzzles to get through. Thankfully with the score system you don't have to solve everything, so you can complete the room without a huge group. This is definitely a room that every escape enthusiast should visit. I simply can't stress just how enjoyable it is! 

Room uses a score system, based on the amount of loot you escape with - with harder side puzzles leading to better value loot. Cryptology have used this as an excuse to have some down-right impossible puzzles. I also dislike that the room is set-up in such a way that it is impossible to 'escape' with more than 5 min remaining - a mechanic clearly used to create artificial pressure on some easier puzzles.

Never-the-less, the room is still enjoyable, though my view may have been soured slightly by an unenthusiastic host, who admitted afterwards that parts of the room had not been properly reset, leading to an impossible (optional) puzzle.

The best game we’ve played - it felt like being in oceans 11. Would definitely recommend for anyone who usually enjoys a heist room! 

Loved this game. Made me smile the whole way through. The suspense and need to do more was exhilarating. Really deserves all its hype. I wouldn’t say it was extremely polished but that could be forgiven for all the fun looting the safe! 

This is a great game - on a common theme, but still immersive, and you are unlikely to run out of things to do. If you like puzzles, they are all here, and you will get to use your full time doing them. Non-linear and many choices to be made! 

Absolutely awesome game.  Designed to have too many puzzles, so you will NOT finish every single thing in the room, and designed to take the full hour.  A definite must play. 

Loved this room, as it illicits that most fabulous escape enthusiasts reaction of "oooo.... so many lovely looking puzzles... I dont know which one to do first!"
Its the well used theme of the bank heist, but its brilliantly built and gameplay is well well executed, which makes this room an instant classic (well, it does in my book!).
This is one of those rare rooms that everyone can get a full hours gameplay from, regardless of team size. Plus is designed so that everyone can solve. A vast array of puzzles with something to suit everyone from tactile and spacial challenges to math and cipher puzzles... theres something in there for you!
Its a MUST PLAY! Go book now!

Having been impressed with the other games cryptology had, we had read great things about this game and were excited.
This is the escape room enthusiasts's dream! Every type of puzzle we can think of was there and none of us stopped for a moment. We were just off getting £1 million, it's just so good!

WOW WOW WOW.

IM not really sure what other words can be used to describe this room. INCREDIBLE. 

Some Escape rooms have different formats... 

1) Get out as quick as you can

2) Spend the full 60 minutes but get as much loot as you can

3) DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

I say this because this room combines multiple different elements, a traditional escape setting followed by a frantic free for all. But on top of that, having to judge the time because you still need enough allowance to actually escape. 

I was physically out of breath after completing the room because there is SOOOOO much to do and you need to get as much as you can. a team of 8 would not be able to complete everything in this room so bear this in mind when you play. It has total replayability 

The puzzles were great, logical and varied. they covered something for everyone. Logic, Math, word, physical, observation, hidden secrets, technological. you name it, it was there. 

THIS WAS OUR 54th ROOM AND IT EASILY TOOK OUR NUMBER 1 SPOT