Just when you least expect it, an urgent call comes in requesting your help to save the world (again).
Professor BlackSheep had been up to something sinister and the City Adventurers were needed to stop his nefarious plans. We immediately gathered our team and awaited instructions from cluequest.
This time our mission began at Cannon Street Station. So, Professor BlackSheep was expanding into new areas, we thought. Not only that, but this mission would be outside. More of a treasure hunt than an escape room, as we’d have to scout out locations to solve fiendish puzzles rather than search a building.
The team headed to the City of London with our spy gadgets (aka our phones) ready for the challenge. Signing in to the Clue Quest app we were informed that someone code named “K” had important information for us.
It turned out that Blacksheep’s technology had been causing glitches across London. Things that looked normal at first glance, but showed a glitch to an experienced operative such as ourselves.
And so began our exploration of the City of London in search of Glitches. We became the Glitch Hunters!
Review
Spy gadgets (aka our phones)
This game is played on the phone. We had been sent a game link that could be used on everyone’s phone. With no master phone, everyone could input the answer to move on. We liked this, as we each had access to the clues and could hunt out the answers, sharing information. Once we had agreed the answer we could hit continue and move on. The app told us when someone had hit continue, so we knew if someone was ready to move on ahead of us. Or had hit continue a bit quickly. That way we all moved on at the same stage of the game. (No solving without telling your team mates and racing ahead of them….. )
We started the game with four phones, but one stopped working early on. Packing an on-the-go charger would be helpful (although that didn’t help in our case)
So then we were down to three phones. This worked fine until the last puzzle when two of them lost internet!
However, with our one remaining phone we were able to input the final code and save the day…and the World.
Mission completed in: 02:54:15
A treasure hunt around the City
As noted above the game is more of a treasure hunt than an escape room. But unlike Treasure Hunts In London ( sorry for the quick plug) we were not looking for Blue Plaques to extract heritage facts. No, this time we were expected to find codes that progress the Mr Q v Professor Blacksheep story. The game lead us through the City, past some iconic landmarks such as the Gherkin, the Sky Garden, the Monument and Leadenhall Market.
Although the action is centred on an iconic area of the city, and we were visiting on a Friday, the area was not as busy as we expected. However, if you want it really quiet, it is probably better to visit at the weekend.
Taking a break
We were pleased that you could pause the game at any time. We took the opportunity to pause for a drink part way through, then restarted the timer when we set off again.
Walking
This hunt is not a race. It says you can take as long as you want to complete it. That is great, but it would have helped to know how far we had played through the game. Were we about to take a rest when we only had one more clue to solve? Were we half way through the game and could stop for lunch, knowing it may take us as long after lunch as it did before to complete our mission?
The hunt is supposed to be about 3km (1.86 miles) although the authors acknowledge this depends on how much you wander around solving certain puzzles! After the hunt I noticed that the website also suggests it takes about 4,000 steps completing the mission.
In our case it took us just under 3 hours on our feet (plus rest time to grab a drink) and, according to Google maps, we walked 1.5 miles. While we set off at a cracking pace, by the end we were very tired and in need of a pizza.
The Route
The route is accessible, although we did end up going down a small flight of steps. Maybe we took a wrong turn, as it is supposed to be step free. We were also pleased to see an alternative route offered in one area that had a steep cobbled hill to navigate.
To get to each location the app showed photos of the route to take. We liked this idea and it made a change to trying to follow a map. Some of the photos were a little unclear, but you could zoom in for a clearer look.
The puzzles
Like an escape room, everything you need is included in the game. No need for outside knowledge or googling the answer. Having said that, however, we did look as the photos for our planned routes and, being Londoners, said “oh it is sending us to X” a few times.
There were a mix of puzzles. As you would expect some were harder than others. As we were looking for glitches there were a lot of observation and spot-the-difference type puzzles…..Which were often harder to solve than you might think.
Hints and Clues
We didn’t really need the hints but tried one to check we were on the right logical path. They worked well.
Conclusion
A fantastic day out. Really loved exploring this part of London and seeing how things have changed since we last visited the area. So much building work takes place in the city that there is always something interesting and new to see.
The app was good, although our internet cut out for the end. The photo idea for the route was well liked.
As usual, a lot of thought appears to have been put into the story and follows the characters used in the other Clue Quest adventures.
Be prepared for a fair amount of walking, but remember you can pause the game if you want to rest at any point.
We look forward to another treasure hunt, I mean outdoor escape game, from clueQuest.
Recommended.
Check out the clueQuest games on their WEBSITE.
Disclosure: We were lucky enough to be invited to play this new game by clueQuest. This does not affect the nature of our review and all our opinions remain our own.
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