I suppose you are wondering how we came to be in Swindon. It’s a long story concerning our friend, Professor Oldervik Dunstan, and his lack of cats……….
Despite travelling the world over to lead excavations, Oldervik usually found time to keep in touch. This time, however, it had been almost six months since we received his last letter.
Strangely, when we inquired at the Ministry, nobody knew Oldervik’s current whereabouts. All we could find out was that he had been working on locating and excavating the tomb of an ancient ruler. According to legend, the burial chamber contained priceless artefacts including a mysterious statuette, which the Ministry was keen to acquire.
When, at last, a letter finally arrived from Oldervik, it was unusually short and to the point. It requested that we visit his study to look after his cats. As far as we knew, Oldervik did not have any cats, so something was definitely wrong……
And so it was that we set off to Oldervik’s home in Swindon in search of answers….
After a few problems with the SatNav, we arrived at Co-Decode in Swindon. Luckily the website gave additional directions – “look out for the light blue BSS House signs (there is also a large blue ‘ATS Euromaster’ sign next door, which is hard to miss).” – And checking google maps before we left showed we needed an Industrial Estate not the residential area favoured by SatNav. The large cog on the Co-Decode front door showed we were in the right place.
There was cosy waiting room, decorated with clocks, and a selection of escape-room-in-a-box available to buy. We sat chatting to some fellow escapers while we waited for the room to be reset.
Our game had the option of additional puzzles. Although we’ve played quite a few games, as a couple we elected to only have one additional puzzle as we wanted to make it out. With a bigger experienced team it may have been good to have more to solve. Not sure how they would have fitted in more puzzles, as the room definitely wasn’t lacking things to do.
We were given a copy of Professor Dunstan’s letter asking us to look after his cats and shown to his study. A beautifully decorated room with custom made props and puzzles.
The puzzles themselves were varied and did not rely on combination locks. A treat in itself.
There were some intriguing physical puzzles. We particularly liked some of the props we’d not seen anywhere else. A lot of thought has obviously gone into the room and the puzzle design. The attention to detail was outstanding.
The room kept us fully engaged throughout the game. We needed a couple of nudges, via the screen, to keep us on track and manged to escape with 4 seconds on the clock.
One of the best games we’ve played. Recommended.
Staying in Swindon
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