National Forest Adventure Farm – The Escape Maze: Agent Academy

National Forest Adventure Farm – The Escape Maze: Agent Academy.
Location: Burton Upon Trent
Game Date: 19/07/2018.
Team: Amy & Ian.

We were kindly invited to the National Forest Adventure farm to try out their brand new venture, the Escape Maze: Agent Academy, we nipped over amidst a heavy day of escaping to give it a whirl! The National Forest Adventure farm sure looked different without all the decoration for Screamfest!

Theme:
“To prove yourself as the next top spy you need to graduate Agent Academy! Solve a series of mental and physical challenges to collect the lock combination you need to escape the maize maze. Watch the video below to receive your mission…

You’ll navigate 3 miles of paths, bridges and viewing towers to find your way out! The maize will grow to 2.4m (8 feet) over the summer!”

Considering there was no overt theming as you were in the maze, the puzzle stations and pre-maze briefing area were cohesive and slick in their theme and branding, add in some cool music and the Agent Academy is a fun, unique twist on an escape room!
I would term it more of an escape adventure, with it not just being yourself in the maize you may come across other players! There are duplicates of all the puzzles to keep wait times down (such a good idea) and the puzzle stations can be tackled in almost any order.
Light levels weren’t a problem, (as it is all outdoors) – and the maize is huge… be prepared to walk, and walk, and walk some more to find all those puzzle stations. Be prepared for this, with sunscreen, drinks and sensible footwear.
There is a refreshment station half way through the maze, with some picnic tables to rest weary feet for a little bit!
The maze isn’t timed, I would expect to spend 1.5 to 2 hours tackling the maze without rushing.

Game Play:
A very clever mix of a puzzle hunt combined with the challenge of navigating through a maize maze! Puzzles were an excellent mix of logic, skill, physical, observation, word, & math.
The level of the puzzles for seasoned players may be a little easy, but this is a game wholly designed for families and it achieves that with excellence, with puzzles being engaging enough for adults, and not too hard for kids to get stuck in and help too (and at the perfect level to not deter them either)
The puzzles were all on theme, logical and clear cut. The ah-ha moments were fun, and the mechanics of logging your answers is a great addition and each puzzle contributes to the final end goal!
Whilst this game didn’t flow as a normal escape room due to the maze aspect, the puzzles all made sense and were very enjoyable. A perfect addition for the NAF and a great fun couple of hours for families!

Clue System:
At each puzzle station there is a phone that you can use to call HQ for help if you’re completely stuck solving the puzzle!

Game Host:
There is no specific game host, but there is a staff member watching over the maze in a tower who can help you out if needed – Jack was about whilst we were roaming round the maze, he was very helpful & friendly!

Did we escape?
Yes, we escaped the maze and solved all the puzzles in just about an hour!

Website: https://www.adventurefarm.co.uk/
Price:
The Maize Maze is included in the price of admission to the National Forest Adventure Farm:
Adults £11.25 online (£12.50 on the door)
Children (2-15 years) £7.50 online (£12.50 on the door)
Senior Citizen & Disabled £9.00 online (£10 on the door)
Children under 2 go free