Breakout Chester – Excalibur.
Location: Chester
Game Date: 09/11/2017.
Team: Amy, Ian, Michael.
Theme:
“You and your fellow knights have been kidnapped from Camelot and are being held captive in a tower whilst the intruders allege to be you. You’ll need to find a way out of the tower and make your way back to the round table and prove you are the true king by removing the sword from the stone…”
Theming was very good, with some impressive set pieces and decoration.
It says on the website that the room is up several flights of stairs, this is no lie, but cleverly, Breakout have used these stairs to their advantage and it sets the tone of the room and creates immersion before you’ve even begun.
The room itself is large, and although the beginning may be a tiny bit cramped at full capacity, the game soon opens up.
The contrast between the two areas of the game is lovely, with the cell being gritty, dim and bland, which then gives way to the “round table” that is lush, expansive and luxurious.
The decor is finished to a high standard, and there is a marked improvement on some of Breakout’s older games/locations. They are constantly improving and upping their game which is wonderful to see.
Personally, I struggled with the light level in this room… I wouldn’t say it was too dark, but there was a lot of glare from perspex in certain places, which is where I found difficulty in seeing (this may have been different if I was wearing my contacts, and torches are provided as standard, one per player)
Game Play:
A linear game, with a good selection of puzzle types. Maths, Word, Logic, Observation, and a touch of physicality (nothing strenuous).
The puzzles were all sound in their logic, and enjoyable.
The penultimate -puzzle in the room took a long time to come to the Ah-ha moment, this is the type of puzzle that will either stump you, or you’ll get it straight away. It can be perceived as quite a head scratcher! (Which led me to think why Breakout had penned this on as a 3 star difficulty, we felt like it was most definitely a 4 star, and this has been reflected on the website as of this morning!)
Once we had it though it was clear and logical and came to a good conclusion, it was the also teasing us all the way as I knew exactly what we needed to progress onto the final puzzle, but just “couldn’t see the wood for the trees”!
The flow was lovely, with each puzzle being seamlessly linked to the previous, and there being clear indications to where codes where supposed to be inputted, clever and slick game design.
An enjoyable game which would satisfy enthusiasts with on theme puzzles, and impress newbies with its big set pieces, and taxing puzzles.
Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a screen
Game Host:
Jack was our game host, he was lovely, friendly and welcoming. Even though Excalibur was technically still in testing when we played (we were the final test group) he ran the game well and delivered clues when we were well and truly stuck!
Did we escape?
Yes, in 55 minutes!
Website: https://breakoutchester.com
Price:
2 Players £34
3 Players £42
4 Players £52
5 Players £60
Brit of an Escape Habit 
1 thought on “Breakout Chester – Excalibur”