Guest House – The Extraordinary Study of Professor Wilbanks

Guest House – The Extraordinary Study of Professor Wilbanks
Location: Leeds
Game Date: 22/02/2019
Team: Amy & Ian

Theme:
“You are dear friends and previous students of Professor Wilbanks. Wilbanks has been taken by his life long enemy, who has been envious of the career and success of Professor Wilbanks since they were children. His motive is to steal Wilbanks’ important artefacts, which in the wrong hands could be detrimental to mankind. All he needs is the key to open the safe which is in a secure location. You’ve got word that he is 60 minutes away from Professor Wilbanks’ study and its upto you to find the key before he gets there, otherwise… he’ll be taking you with him.”

The room was well decorated, with a charming and old world feel. It had plenty of kitschy character and interesting things to purvey but nothing that distracted from the game itself.
It wasn’t the largest of rooms, 4-5 people would be fine, 6 at a push if you like all the people you’re playing with! There is a nice sense of discovery throughout the room with a could of nice secrets and surprises along the way.

Game Play:
A linear game, with a good range of puzzles that leaned more to the classic style of play, with word, logic, searching, teamwork, codebreaking, observation and maths.
The puzzles were all standard escape room fayre, executed with interesting twists and challenging aspects added to make them stand out from the norm.
The logic in the puzzles was good, with no massive logic leaps and nice clear ah-ha moments (although enthusiasts may fall into overthinking!)
Signposting ranged from non-existent to exemplary, and in-between, almost every puzzle has its own level of signposting separate from the overall level throughout the game.
The flow was good, with ultimately no sticking points thanks to the excellent cluing from Dan! I can imagine had he not been on had we’d have totally missed a couple of things!
Wilbanks is a good game, and from what I’ve heard has gone through many changes in its lifetime with this being its latest version and it feels like a game that has been tweaked and honed.
I can imagine Wilbanks being a tricky game for beginners, and its low success rate does reflect this! Although we personally don’t think it’s too hard for enthusiasts!

Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a walkie talkie

Game Host:
Dan was our host, and was excellent, his passion for escape rooms was clear and this is reflected in his enthusiasm and precise game hosting.

Did we escape?
Yes, in about 51 minutes!

Website: https://www.theguesthouseescaperooms.co.uk/
Price:
2 Players £50
3 Players £60
4 Players £72
5 Players £80
6 Players £96