Red Herring – Mudley Quest

Red Herring – Mudley Quest
Location: Carlisle
Game Date:  01/06/2021
Team: Amy & Ian
Duration: 60 Minutes

Theme:
“GHOSTWAR the Mudley Quest. An ancient spell has gone awry releasing the power of the Dark Lord into Edema Hogs the village for wizardly folks ….Start in the Muddles house and get into the old study; your quest is to find the clues and spells to help you open the final chest and recover the goblet of time – where past, present & future reside … turn back the clock & ye all will be well.”

Mudley Quest started of inconspicuously enough, in a living room setting, which was decorated quite nicely, but it was once we got though into the study that this room took on its magical charm. This space was PACKED with all sorts of trinkets, art, furniture and everything else you could imagine!
There was just SO much to look at, and until you get into the game proper, it can be hard to know where to look and what to search the space is a smorgasbord for the eyes (with one of the most beautiful tables I’ve ever seen)
The nature of the decoration does give and immersive feel, a wizard’s office wouldn’t be a stark affair, I’d imagine there would be a lot of things from the Wizard’s life and travels and Mudley Quest represents this well.
The space isn’t massive, but a team of 6 would fit in fairly comfortably. Lighting was good, and we had no problems seeing.

Game Play:
A linear game that compromised of logic, word, searching, observation, math, & light physical puzzles.
Puzzles were mostly in theme, with a few standard things that most enthusiasts will have seen before. BUT we enthusiasts are not the target audience, especially for this room. This is a room which is perfect for families and beginner escapists.
Puzzles had good ah-ha moments, with a few requiring a bit of critical thinking, but there were not logic leaps and ambiguity was kept to a minimum.
Flow was good once we got going the game ran smoothly and concisely.
Signposting. This is where this game, in any other situation would have fell down, as the signposting was DIRECT. So direct at times it felt slightly instructional. However, this was a room that had so much to look at, this direct signposting was much needed, had it not have been so explicit, we would have had NO clue where to input codes, what to use or how to move around the room. The signposting made this game very playable, and whilst it was very on the nose at times, it would (again) serve a family, or newbie team perfectly, as this room really teaches you how to play an escape game.

Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a disembodied voice in the room.

Game Host:
Our game host was wonderful, chatty, yet professional and she ran our game well (even coping with a small reset error with grace)

Covid19 Safety:
All covid guidelines were adhered to, hand sanitiser was provided, masks worn and social distancing was kept at all times.

Did we escape?
Yes, in around 36:41… we were NINE SECONDS away from the room record. Infuriating eh?

Website: https://www.redherringescaperooms.co.uk/
Price:
2 Players £44
3 Players £60
4 Players £72
5 Players £80
6 Players £90