Cryptology – Dreamscape

Location: Nottingham
Game Date: 22/05/2019
Team: Amy & Ian

Theme:
“Dr. Lucy Dee set about attempting to conquer the art of lucid dreaming. She has become lost in her own dreamscape and we have asked you, and your esteemed colleagues, to unravel her troubles and step into her shoes… or should we say head?

Your team must navigate through her dreams and unlock and find the Dream Keys to help recover Lucy from The Void.

You tune into her brainwaves and enter freefall, the world around you has morphed into view. All has become random and uncontrollable, will you rescue Lucy from her thoughts so she is able to finish her milestone research?

It’s time for a nap of epic proportions.”

Dreamscape looked great, it’s a game of very varying “dreamscapes” and each one was unique and well decorated and vastly different from the once that preceded it.
I won’t talk too much about what the themes were, that bit is better left as a surprise, but the creativity and variation in all the themes were charming and immersive.
Since it was set in a dream, the themes were almost subversive and a little bit off-kilter, with saturated colours, sights and smells.
It’s standard across all of Cryptology’s rooms that you can feel the love, (and blood, sweat and tears) that go into the creation of these rooms.
The space was large, with each individual dream being more than big enough for 6 players, although one space did have something rather large occupying most of the space.
Lighting was excellent and never impacted our game play.
There was a  surreal atmosphere in the game, which was cool and very unique. The idea of “dream” was captured very well in a thoroughly immersive atmosphere.

Game Play:
An open game that was very similar in terms of mechanics to “celestial chain” – which was great, more objective based than time-based (although you are still against the clock) – with a maximum of 20 dream keys available to collect over the entire hour, in segmented dreams of 12 minutes each. The amount of these dream keys are the “key” to your success at the end of the game.
The puzzles were incredibly varied, and covered every aspect. Math, Word, Sound, Observation, Code Breaking, physical, logic, skill… I’m sure there’s more I have forgotten! The puzzles seemed never-ending and the open nature meant that there was never a moment where we were stood around (and honestly rarely did we work on the same puzzle!)
The puzzles were all excellent in their logic, and perfectly in theme with each theme to the dreams. The limited time in each room does mean you may have to move on without completing each puzzle but this never impacts on game play.
The ah-ha moments were on point and there was such a joys sense of discovery throughout the game that culminated in a “best of” room at the climax of the room
The flow was excellent, with each dream having a different feel yet there being an overarching smooth feel to the entire experience.
Signposting was perfect, with subtle nods and signs allowing the puzzles to almost solve themselves.
There was one moment I have NEVER seen in and escape room before. I’m not quite sure if it’s insanity or genius but it was a LOT of fun and added a lot of charm to the dream we were playing in at the time!
A brilliant game that is very different, and challenging, definitely one for experienced players who really want to test their puzzle solving abilities, and believe me there are SO many puzzles ranging from super fun and easy to fiendishly difficult! Brilliant. A truly exciting and fast paced room.

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

Game Host:
Jake was our game host and he was great, delivering a thorough brief and engaging story along with subtle hints with excellent timing!

Did we escape?
Yes, collecting 16 dream keys and escaping in a time of 57 minutes

Website:
Price:
3 Players £60
4 Players £76
5 Players £90
6 Players £102