Breakout Manchester: The Emporium of Magic

By | September 29, 2019

by Breakout Manchester (website)

51 Church Street, M4 1PD

Manchester

2-5 players

60 minutes

The Emporium of Magic is home to the weird and wonderful - full of rare spells, potions and magical artefacts. There are rumours that the alchemist who owns it has been brewing a potion which will give the user unlimited magical powers and the ability to see the unseen. You have entered The Emporium after hours to seek out the recipe and the ingredients.
As you break in, you trigger a spell which traps you inside. With the potion brewed, escape will be within your grasp. Without it, you will be bound to The Emporium for all eternity.
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Overall rating

Rated between 2 and 3.5 out of 5

based on ratings from 9 users
combined with 1 pro review

Your review

Player reviews

ashpf experienced rated this:Rated between 25 and 25 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
Emma Macedo experienced rated this:Rated between 25 and 25 out of 5
Played: 14 Jan 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 51:00 approx Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivegreat hostingfamily friendlyquite easy

This was my second Breakout game I've ever played and now I have realised why the 1st wasn't very memorable. This game had potential to be better but similarly to Vacancy in Chester, the Emporium was a game that heavily relied on padlocks. For newer escapees this may suffice but for experienced players there doesn't provide much variety or excitement in solving puzzles etc. It was also frustrating that for a couple of the number sequences it wasn't obvious which order to use the numbers in. This took away from the game, in my opinion as I like things to be a bit more logical. 

Theming was ok, host was very enthusiastic which helped set the scene.

Overall, a fun game but probably more suited to newer players to the world of escape rooms.

MerseyMarauders expert rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivenpoor hostingunoriginalquite easy
Ksen experienced rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Played: 2022 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivequite easy
Simon (The Overthinkers) expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 15 Apr 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 36:32
family friendly
Sabrina (The Overthinkers) expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 15 Apr 2022 Team size: 3 Time taken: 36:32 Outcome: Successful escape!
family friendlymagical
Mark Greenhalgh expert rated this:Rated between 25 and 25 out of 5
Scotus0 expert rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5
Played: 09/06/21 Team size: 5 Time taken: ~50:00 Outcome: Successful escape!
plainunoriginal

More Potion Prepping

It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of being locked in a room for an hour, and what better way to get back into the swing of it than a medium-difficulty, magical Breakout with friends?

Story

Sneaking into the emporium to seek the owner’s most powerful potion has triggered a spell, trapping you inside. Brew the potion to escape before they return.

Puzzles

The variety was good, but we didn’t come across anything mind-blowing. They weren’t sequential, which was ideal for our team of 5 since we could split up and work on different things. Players new to Hogwarts-themed rooms will be more impressed by the Emporium of Magic’s puzzles than experienced escapers. We often needed a hint to keep us on the scent (which I blame on the big gap between playing caused by Corona of course). We’d also solved two puzzles without even realising and there were one or two occasions where we (I) hadn’t entered the codes properly…definitely some more post-lockdown rustiness going on there, aha.

Mise-en-scene

The theming left a lot to be desired. More could be done with the space- a couple of dusty bookcases, a desk and an old-looking suitcase does not a magic shop make. The ‘potion-brewing’ corner was nothing more than a bedside table.

Final Comments

This is the fourth magical-themed room I’ve done, and it was by far the weakest.

magicalbacons expert rated this:Rated between 30 and 30 out of 5

Reviews by escape room review sites

Overall a good game but certainly suffering from a confusion amongst the story lines when we played

See also