Co-Decode – Professor Dunstan and the Search for the Ancient Statuette

Co-Decode – Professor Dunstan and the Search for the Ancient Statuette.
Location: Swindon
Game Date – 19/04/2018.
Team: Amy & Ian

Theme:
“Despite travelling the world over to lead excavations, Oldervik usually finds time to keep in touch. However, it is has been almost six months since you received his last letter.

Strangely, after enquiring at the Ministry it appears that nobody knows of Oldervik’s current whereabouts. All you can find out is that he had been tasked with locating and excavating the tomb of an ancient ruler. According to legend, the burial chamber contains priceless artefacts including a mysterious statuette, which the Ministry is keen to acquire.

When a letter from Oldervik finally arrives it is unusually short and to the point, requesting that you attend his study to look after his cats. As far as you know, Oldervik does not have any cats; something is definitely wrong.

And so it is that you venture to Oldervik’s private residence in search of answers…”

An greatly detailed story, which is only delved into further during the brief and the game, the continuity of character and story is one that is delightful and so immersive.
Inside the room is absolutely beautiful, hand crafted but finished to such a high standard, for complete, total immersion.
The room really captures the adventures the Oldervik went on and the amount of stuff to look at is immense, yet never distracting from the game. Perfection.
The attention to detail in the room is outstanding, and it’s clear from the build quality that Alex is passionate and a perfectionist. There wasn’t anything out of place.
The interaction with the room was excellent, and it almost felt as the room came alive during the game.
There’s just one word to describe this room… Perfection.

Game Play:
A linear game (at times with branching paths), which has a unique element. You’re able to play this game in levels! There are 6 levels, which increases the content of puzzles and makes the game slightly harder. Alex is very good in recommending which level to choose dependent on team size and experience. We chose level 4 (matching the same level as Ken from The Logic Escapes Me and S2+Dean from Escape Review)
The puzzles in Professor Dunstan were plentiful and varied, word, maths, logic, physical, codebreaking, pattern matching. There really was something for everyone and in most teams, every person will find their time to solve & shine.
The execution of the puzzles is sublime, with new takes on the usual which left us wowed at many, many points in the game. Each and every single puzzle was flawless in its logic, and the solutions were clear and concise and CLEVER. Alex by trade is an archaeologist and this shows through in the puzzle design and room story.
The flow was impeccable, with some of the most subtle, yet clear, yet unobtrusive signposting I’ve ever seen in the game. It was a delight to play.
All the puzzles were perfectly in theme to the story and implemented perfectly to the room and space, interacting with certain elements in the room in novel ways, bringing the puzzles into the room and the room into the puzzles.
I would play this with your regular team and let Alex choose a level. A must play, we came out of this room on a massive high and didn’t stop talking about it all the way home!

Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a screen

Game Host:
Alex was our game host and was lovely, friendly and very welcoming. He is clearly so passionate about his game and has such humility too. He ran our game extremely well, only delivering clues when we really needed them (I think we only had 1 or 2 nudges)

Did we escape?
Yes, in 48 Minutes!

Website: https://co-decode.co.uk
Price:
2 Players £40
3 Players £60
4 Players £76
5 Players £85
6 Players £90