Cryptology Sheffield – First Contact

Cryptology Sheffield – First Contact
Location: Sheffield
Game Date: 16/09/2018
Team: Amy & Ian

Theme:
“You have been tasked to find out what has happened to a stranded Tayson Research Vessel ship just off Mars.

You soon realise that what you have discovered will change the course of history, but in which way?

You must choose your path and the path of all humanity for better… or worse!”

The room looked great, with the decoration being immersive and finished to very high standard. The decor was perfect for a stranded research vessel with a touch of humour, not to dis-similar to Red Dwarf. This humour carried through the room, and brought a light jovial tone to a room that could have easily become too serious!
There was plenty to look at, and the room had a great sense of exploration and intruige.
The room was more than large enough for 6 players, and the lights were atompsheric but did not impeed on gameplay.

Game Play:
An open game throughout that was packed full of puzzles. Word, observation, teamwork, skill, physical, tech.
There was a puzzle for everyone in this room and all the puzzles were on theme, intrinsic to the world and story and had an impact on what happened around the room and within the story itself.
The puzzles were excellent in their logic and excecution and there absoloutely no ambiguity in the answers or methods to the puzzles. All the ah-ha moments were forthcoming and delightful
There was a wonderful interactive element in First Contact which is clever, and when the penny drops as to what you have to do, it’s sure to make you smile!
First Contact is interesting in that it asks you to make a choice in the game, this choice is up to your team and will take you on a slightly different journey, and underpressure it’s a hard one to make!
The flow of the game was excellent, even with it being an open game it felt methodical and coherent, yet fast paced and frantic! It really got the blood pumping!
Signposting was excellent, yet subtle enough that we missed a few things around the room!
A great game for bigger novice teams, and a frantic challenge (in the BEST possible way) for smaller, more experienced teams.

Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a screen

Game Host:
Mark was our game host – and is also the owner of Cryptology. His hosting was excellent and I’m sure we could have talked all night about escaping, such is his (our) passion! He delivered us well-timed clues to help us along our way in the game.

Did we escape?
Yes in 51 minutes

Website: https://cryptologyrooms.co.uk
Price:
2 Players £50
3 Players £60
4 Players £76
5 Players £90
6 Players £102