Escapologic: Curio

By | March 20, 2019

by Escapologic (website)

21 Castle Gate, NG1 7AQ

Nottingham

2-5 players

60 minutes

Be careful what you wish for
An Englishman's home is his castle. Or his curio if he's a treasure hunter who's spent a lifetime collecting trinkets from all four corners of the globe. Alexander Curio was a true eccentric. A legendary explorer who left no stone unturned in his search for gems and gimcracks. To him, life was a gamble, with fate to be decided on a whim or a flip of a coin. A mysterious loner who loved to raise the stakes until they could be raised no higher.
Alexander's life was one big puzzle. Only a select few ever got beyond his front door. You're about to join their exclusive ranks. At first glance, Curio looks like the home of an explorer whose passion for chasing treasures has taken him from the Thames to Timbuktu. But the clue lies in the name. Secrets lie within her seemingly innocent walls and trinkets hold the key to untold riches. Fortune favours the brave but riches come at a price.
Who is the man behind the enigma? Was his death the result of some cruel, cosmic irony? And does he really want to share the treasures hidden away within the labyrinth he calls home?
This is no ordinary home. Alexander is anything but an ordinary man. Now he's inviting you into his world. But once you enter, there's no going back
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Overall rating

Rated between 4 and 5 out of 5

based on ratings from 91 users
combined with 12 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

liam and rosie experienced rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Team size: 2 Time taken: 56 Outcome: Successful escape!
clevergreat hostingmagicalquite difficult
Awesome room 
flyingoctopus expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalgreat hostingbroken tech

A very 50-50 review.

This room has a big reputation dating back many years.  I understand why because it is fairly unique.  However, it does feel very run down and in need of some TLC. I think it was probably in a league of its own 5 years ago, but it definitely needs some updating. Broken props and tech. Some bits we were told just to ignore as they were part of an old puzzle that wasn't part of the game anymore. 

We did have an amazing host and there is a great clue system in this room. 

Spanishfleas experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 13 Nov 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalimmersive

Great concept for an escape room and like no other we have escaped. Really enjoyed it. Some puzzles were behaving badly as we had the right idea just puzzle design letting us down. Worth a go if in Nottingham. 

β˜•Joe Brown expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 11 Sep 2021 Team size: 4
Perhaps the room was slightly overhyped by other enthusiasts and a bit poorly aged / badly ran but we left this room a bit disappointed. The core element was still pretty special and unique, but it definitely felt like it needed a revamp
πŸ†Annagramma expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 30/08/2021 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techoriginalclever
Mark Greenhalgh expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 16/06/17
Anonymous experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techgreat hosting
abunai expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
🀘The Pick of Destiny expert rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: 13 Mar 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 58mins Outcome: Successful escape!
originalimmersiveepicquite difficult

This was an awesome escape room experience - a must do for enthusiasts!!! and for anyone really!! SO much fun - great hosting from Ed too!!

Exotic Turtle experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 21 Sep 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
quite difficult
Showing most recent only - see all ratings & reviews

Reviews by escape room review sites

One of the challenges of writing reviews of escape rooms is giving a clear impression of the experience while avoiding spoilers. There are some rooms where this is particularly difficult because that means I can't talk about a core element of the room, the most memorable and unique thing about it. Curio is one such game.

What I can say about it is that it's a high quality, original and satisfying game from start to finish. There's a particular style of decor you often see in escape rooms...

The single most impressive moment I've ever experienced in an escape room combined with obvious progress, good puzzles, a beautiful set and, that most intangible of things, "flow", made this one of my all time favourite escape rooms. "
This room delivers something that you probably won't have seen anywhere else. No spoilers - a fun room with some very impressive room design and definitely one you won't forget
  • A very quaint living room in a 1920s mansion is your first port of call. Vintage furniture, artwork and decorations are perfectly chosen to make this room seem of a bygone era.
  • This room has the most amazingly clever mechanisms and twists and turns. Literally!
  • The puzzles in here are physical manipulations, information hunting and communication. Very good communication is required between team members which adds to the feeling of co-operation.
  • There is a nice flow to the room and you can see what progress you have made via very obvious means.
  • Puzzles include some clever use of objects that I hadn’t come across before in a room. Think outside of the box!
  • We head to an eccentric treasure hunters house in Nottingham which is hiding quite a few secrets. Can we escape with the riches?
    Curio has a gimmick. And at some point that gimmick was probably an amazing and exciting surprise. But as with most escape rooms, as more and more customers come through the doors, the game briefing gets longer and longer to cover all the stupid stuff customers sometimes do. I won’t give away the gimmick directly, but will tell you what was said before we even started the game: we were asked if anyone had severe motion sickness or vertigo, told that if we wanted to get out of the game it could take a little bit longer than in normal games, and there was a special door that we could only go through when a green light was on, under no circumstances try and open the door when the red light was on, and the door might go to different places at different times.
    A very special room – it has a completely unique element, lots of puzzles and so much variety. This is my favourite room I’ve played and it will take something very special to beat it.
    This is such a unique room and going into it now little about it just makes it all the more special. Escapologic have created a fully immersive experience that is full of twists and turns. It is their hardest game to date so expect to spend some time having to really think about what comes next but it’s worth it for the pay off of what you get to experience. To really stand a chance of completing the room, you really need a minimum of three people.

    Stop what you are doing right now, go to Nottingham, and play this room. Play it before you get spoilered about the special twist. Play it before you play any other escape rooms. And most importantly, play it before drinking – not afterwards!

    Lists

    This game is part of the following user-created game lists:
    • Best UK escape rooms 2022 by Escape the Review virtuoso
      These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2022, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended. 
    • Best UK escape rooms 2021 by Escape the Review virtuoso
      These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms (out of 1600) in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2021, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended. 
    • Best UK escape rooms 2023 by Escape the Review virtuoso
      These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2023, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended. 

    See also