Can You Escape – Operation Odyssey

Can You Escape – Operation Odyssey.
Location: Edinburgh
Game Date 31/01/2017.
Team: Amy & Ian

A great deal on travelodge meant us booking a trip to Edinburgh for a couple of days, as I’d heard so much about how good the rooms were up there! We hadn’t originally booked “Can you Escape” but spotting it as we drove into the hotel car park… I couldn’t resist seeing if they had any spaces left… luckily they did, so a last minute booking was made!

Theme:
“As space cadets on the International Space Station you must race against time to ensure you fix the escape pod before it’s too late. Houston received your distress call and has concluded that it was a meteor shower that struck the main ship a short time ago. The escape pod has also been damaged so you must first restore all of the systems before attempting an escape.

Cadets, you need to hurry! The next meteor shower is predicted to strike in an hour so there is no room for error!”

Theming was stellar (or should that be interstellar!) and immersive, even down to having to keep track of your own lighting through a very novel method (Simpson’s fans will love this reference!) The finish of the room was to a very high standard, and was detailed, with a few fun nods which gave the room a sense of humour, breaking the “4th wall” – but in a really good way! The room was a brilliant mix of padlocks and technology, only using each when it fitted the puzzle/theme.
Theming was carried through in the briefing of the room, with us each getting items vital to our mission before going into the room! Our host even got in on the act too, with his official Commander One jumpsuit, and he stayed in character throughout!

Game Play:
A rather open room, in terms of gameplay, but the computer monitoring system meant that you always knew in which direction you were heading and how many tasks you had left to do, the order in which you did them was entirely up to how YOU play the game, which I loved!
The puzzles were all perfectly logical, fun and had the well sought after “ah-ha” moment. A good mix of puzzles, with a tendency to lean towards observational. There was one puzzle that I especially liked, when the penny dropped I was so excited, as it played to all of my strengths (including my singing, who’d have thought!)
The sense of progression when playing the room was apparent thanks to the computer monitoring system and the encouragement from our Game Host when completing a task!
I have to mention the final puzzle, it was a LOT of fun, and whilst something I have seen before in a room, the use of the feature and execution of the puzzle was jovial and a great finale!
A very logical and solid game that will get newbies thinking, and please enthusiasts with its clean logic and fun puzzles

Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a Walkie Talkie & Onboard computer screen!

Game Host:
Our game host, and owner of “Can You Escape” was excellent, I can’t put into words how well he ran our game, picking up on the minute details of our gameplay and delivering perfect nudges in the right direction, whilst keeping the theming and “role play” of commander one!
He was very friendly and I’ve no doubt we could have stayed a lot longer to chat about escape rooms, his passion for the games was clear!

Did we escape?
Yes, in 46 minutes!

Website: http://www.canyouescape.co.uk/edinburgh
Price:
2 Players £40
3 Players £55
4 Players £60
5 Players £70
6 Players £80