Breakout Manchester: The Emporium of Magic

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.