Escape Time – The Bank Heist

Escape Time – The Bank Heist.
Location: Sutton Coldfield
Game Date 24/07/2017.
Team: Amy & Ian

THIS GAME HAS NOW CLOSED

Theme:
“Security is extremely tight at The People’s Bank, with the banks jewels, valuable paintings and cash stored in a secure overnight safe area.

Having studied the security patterns for 12 months, Mike Henry has instructed you that you will only have 60 minutes before the security change over is complete and you must be clear of the overnight security area.

Do you and your team have what it takes to complete the heist of the century and take a cut of the profits from the resale within the criminal underground world?!”

Theming was impressive from the start, with the game beginning in a back ally outside the bank! We’ve not seen this before so it was a novel start to the game! Theming continued throughout the game, and was done to a very good standard. Immersion was good, and there was attention to detail within each area. The rooms aren’t huge, but there are plenty of areas to explore and criss-cross between so a larger group won’t feel like they’re getting in each other’s way.
There is nice use of tech and soundtrack within the room, and there was a great use of walkie talkies within the game!
The room does contain a fair bit of bending/crawling, but once the initial tasks have been completed and you move on, if anyone in your party has mobility issues, it wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t go back.
A really good room with creative use of space!

Game Play:
The game was strictly linear. There was a good selection of puzzles. Logic, maths, word, observation, physical. All standard escape room puzzles that were executed very well, at times with small twists that meant we needed a couple of hints (overthinking is a killer!)
All the puzzles were logical, and encouraged communication. They all had nice ah-ha moments.
The flow was good, with not many sticking points… we felt very relaxed in the game!
There was a “jigsaw” puzzle, which we were pre-warned about… it was used in a nice way, it wasn’t time wasting. I just left Ian to do it (which is what I am going to do from now on!!!)
There was one thing I didn’t like in the room. It’s hard to say without spoilers, but it blurs the line between places that we shouldn’t look in… and could encouraged people to look there in other rooms, which causes me a bit of consternation.
With that aside, the room really is lovely. Plays well, is logical and a lot of fun!
Enthusiasts, take a 2! Newbies, a 4 would be perfect for this room.

Clue System:
Clues were delivered via a screen

Game Host:
Dan was our host and was ace. Really friendly and chatty, delivering us plenty of clues when we were over thinking, and never leaving us to get frustrated!

Did we escape?
Yes, in 44:44!

Website: http://escapetime.co.uk/
Price:
2 Players £44
3 Players £63
4 Players £76
5 Players £85
6 Players £90