Incarcerated – Conspiracy, Agenda 21 – Brit of an Escape Habit

Incarcerated – Conspiracy, Agenda 21.
Location: Swindon
Game Date 19/04/2018.
Team: Amy & Ian

Our plans on Thursday had been to go to Thorpe Park for the day, before heading to Swindon to play Co-Decode. Well, those plans were thwarted when I gave myself whip-lash, so was suffering immensely throughout Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games! Ibuprofen helped a lot… anyway, change of plans and we ended up going to Chessington World of Adventures… and it was dead, no lines, no people, bliss! We got all the rides done and dusted by about 2pm, which left us to be 2 hours ahead of schedule… leaving us a nice gap to slot another game in! A quick phone call to incarcerated and we were booked in! (Please bear in mind that Conspiracy is normally a 3 player minimum)

Theme:
“After seeing a story online about a YouTube Conspiracy Theorist who has concerns about a UN research facility, you have been following the story and his updates. One night you see a live feed on his Facebook account which leads you to believe he has been captured. Ever since the live feed there has been no updates to any of his accounts. Was it all a hoax? Is there something more sinister going on?

Roll on 6 months, you and your friends no longer speak of the YouTuber and life goes on as normal. One morning you all receive individual letters from the Supreme Court asking you to report for “Jury Service” at The Old Bailey. The letter states you must not tell anyone that you have been called in, the case you have been assigned to is extremely serious and the person on trial is a huge threat to national security. The letter also states that all Jury candidates are required to attend by law and any leak of information will lead to prosecution.

Further instructions ask you to arrive at the ‘UN Research Facility Northwood’ as secure transport will be provided to ensure all Jury members are kept safe on the way to the trial.”

A full story that was delivered to us in the brief, and further continued before the game started, which really set the scene and reminded me a bit of “Terminator 2: 3D” – y’know the kind of dystopian video proclaiming how the future is bright because of said company then it all goes to pot… the storytelling here was very good!
The room itself started off fairly small, and dim, but soon opened up into a good sized room. The latter stages of the game were a lot better lit and require some crawling from at least one player.
The theme continued through the room, and there was good attention to detail, yet nothing that could be misconstrued as a red-herring or misdirection.

Game Play:
A linear game, with some really neat puzzles. Logic, observation, physical, science based (no spoilers but a really cool puzzle!) with a little bit of searching.
All the puzzles were straightforward in their logic, with clear answers and conclusions. All being lovely to solve, the Ah-ha moments were nice, and whilst (for an experienced team) there wasn’t anything off the hook, all the puzzles were on theme, interesting and engaging.
The flow was very good, with dicta-phones placed in strategic places, which gave more insight to the story, and provided clear signposting. This was a novel and much appreciated touch.
A room that for enthusiasts will flow and almost play itself (I would suggest playing in as small a team as possible) and for newbies, I think 4 would be a perfect number!

Clue System:
Clues are delivered via a walkie-talkie

Game Host:
Simon was our game host, and he delivered a good brief and we enjoyed chatting to him before and after our game! We used no hints within the game.

Did we escape?
Yes, in 30:31, setting the room record!