Bewilder Box: The Bewilder Box Initiative

By | March 20, 2019

by Bewilder Box (website)

The Brunswick, 1 Holland Rd, Hove, Brighton and Hove, Hove BN3 1JF

Brighton

2-6 players

Languages: EN

60 minutes

closed
You and your team are new recruits, tasked with completing the Bewilder Box assessment and locating the missing Dr Wilder Sr. Do you have what it takes to answer this unfathomable challenge with a hearty laugh and a self-assured thumbs up? Can you complete the various tasks, challenges and brain tickling puzzles before the time limit expires? Will you uncover the secret of Dr Wilder Sr’s mysterious disappearance back in 1989? You have 60 minutes to find out… Good luck.
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Overall rating

Rated between 4 and 4.5 out of 5

based on ratings from 27 users
combined with 7 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

John Neale rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
StaceyF expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 12 Sep 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
funnygreat hosting
Jose Adrian experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: Team size: 2 Time taken: 9:13 Outcome: Successful escape!
Angela Styles rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Spanishfleas experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!
🌡Juliette B expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 20/12/2019 Team size: 2 Time taken: 57:00 Outcome: Successful escape!

Amazing hosting from Doctor Hasselhoff who stayed in character more than any other GM I have come across, and who deservedly mocked us for failing to lock a door before the game had even started. Some genuinely enjoyable moments featuring Hugo Myatt and some nudges towards Knightmare. Agreed with the GM that strictly speaking there is one item that is not really single use but to be honest it did not really slow us down too much. Great hint system with DAVE. You can also take your drink in. Considering this game has been around a few years, the fact it is still so good shows the quality of the story and puzzles. Very enjoyable. 

Chelsea O experienced rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Played: May 20th 2019 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
stairs expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 5/11/2018 Team size: 4 Time taken: 48:00:00

This is a charming room, that feels "hand-made" in the very best way - there's a lot of love gone into making a variety of unique puzzles and props, an overall feeling of light-hearted fun and a genuine sense of childhood enjoyment, and the entire experience aided by a fantastic, attentive host.

🦑cipherdelic virtuoso rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
β˜•Joe Brown expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 18/9/20 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
great humour and story with solid puzzles made this a decent experience
Anonymous rated this:Rated between 50 and 50 out of 5
Anonymous rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 2019 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!

We were so lucky to try The Bewilder Box initiative as we were over Brighton on a very tight schedule and couldn't make it in their available slots. The fantastic team at The Bewilder Box managed to squeeze us in in their schedule and we ventured the amazing pub where they are located before being joined by what seemed like one crazy laboratorian.

TummyTubes, if I remember his name correctly, was in full character and absolutely loving for his job, he really made the experience beyond enjoyable, without forgetting D.A.V.E of course, which was the robot giving you tips and hints throughout the escape (not that we needed that many! I believe we only had one or two nudges).

The room itself is not linear but it doesn't seem messy or disorganised as soom unlinear room would, it was very much clear what we were supposed to do and we could understand our progress in a very smoothly maner. The puzzles themselves were really smart and enjoyable, most of them which we had never seen any similar puzzles in 100~ rooms.

Unfortunately, we had a couple of puzzles that were broken when we went, one that we managed to troubleshoot ourselves (the headphones were not working but needed to be press in a certain location to work), and another one that needed the host to come and fix it for us, which he explained had been broken by a group of hen dos who came before us. This should have in theory broke the immersion of the room but our host, Tummy, entered the room in character and fixed it promptly for us which we are grateful for even though it was a part of the last puzzle which is one piece of wonderful design and fun! It's completion is very rewarding and got us gagging the whole way through.

The story itself is not memorable but it's fun and well narrated throughout the whole hour. A must do if you are in Brighton, really good room. πŸ™‚

ratsontour expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 28 Sep 2019 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivegreat hosting
Wesley Mead expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 16 Mar 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 56m
hi-techgreat hosting
c2creviewer experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
matt_keds expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 13 Aug 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 44:48 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalfunnystory-driven
Ronnie Meade experienced rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 17 Aug 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 48:00 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalgreat hosting

Some original elements/puzzles to the room which were clever. Host was great and stayed in character the whole time. Was lacking a wow factor and puzzles that flowed with the theme. Great location as the pub had a great selection of beers/drinks

T McGarry rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 23 Nov 2019 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
funnyimmersivegreat hosting

This was my first escape room. Loved the actor who set the scene and he provided the perfect amount of assistance. Fun, well made puzzles.

AubreyB expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Team size: 6 Outcome: Successful escape!
essentialatom experienced rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 13 Oct 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 42:53 Outcome: Successful escape!
clevergreat hosting

A good variety of clever and satisfying puzzles, with a well-integrated method of delivering hints in the DAVE character. The intro speech did drag on a bit - as dedicated (and deeply, deeply in character) as our host was, it could have stood to have been rather shorter! But once we got into the room, we had a fantastic time. 

Adam Bravery expert rated this:Rated between 45 and 45 out of 5
Played: 2 Nov 2022 Team size: 4 Time taken: 28:34 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalfunnyimmersive

Much like Judgement DAVE, this is an excellent, well themed and enjoyable escape room that is just great to play. Puzzles are unique and well signposted and the game flowed well. The set is excellent - this seems to be an improvement on the old venue based on reviews here - nothing felt out of place and it fit the story well. Our host Barry (the owner) was excellent and our interaction with AI system DAVE were a lot of fun. Well worth playing

jakea256 expert rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Jess_keds expert rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techgreat hostingfamily friendly
benny1664 experienced rated this:Rated between 35 and 35 out of 5
Played: 4 Jun 2023 Team size: 4 Time taken: 45 Outcome: Successful escape!
story-drivenpoor hostingpoorly reset

We have waited years to play this game and finally the stars aligned. 

The GM was great on briefing and fully into character.  The room seemed good when we were inside and we were flying along but then we got completely stumped and could'nt for the life of us work out what to do.  We spent 5mins going around and around and nothing so we asked for some clues.  Nothing at all from the GM.. so we asked some more and some more and after 5mins we finally had a response from her!  It turns out the previous reset had'nt put something back into the room that we needed.  As soon as we got that missing part we flew along again but multiple times after that it as like the GM could'nt see properly as she asked us what was happening or what we had done and she should know surely?  Very frustrating in that we literally lost 10mins faffing around through no fault of our own and you really expect a GM to be on the ball.  There seemed a few other little tech hiccups later on as she asked us to do things multiple times.  Otherwise we really enjoyed the room, 2 puzzles (the 2 right hand silver box challenges) were definitely not our thing but all in all it was a good mix of types of task and nice theming.    Loved the GM character, just wish she had been more present when needed.

So all in all, a good room but just feel like it was let down by the poor reset/GM'ing. 

MightyMidds experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5
Played: 23 Aug 2023 Team size: 4 Time taken: 45 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalgreat hostingfamily friendly

Great room for our 75th, kids' 30th. Done with hubby and our 6 and 9 year olds. Plenty for the kids to do and some really clever puzzles. Brilliant GMing too πŸ™‚

Ratchel experienced rated this:Rated between 40 and 40 out of 5

Reviews by escape room review sites

I am of course late to the party here - anyone with sufficient interest in escape games to read this site regularly is likely well aware that Bewilder Box in Brighton has a sterling reputation, frequently appearing in enthusiasts' lists of favourite games. But better late than never, and I was delighted to get a chance to finally try it out.

The Bewilder Box Initiative is hosted in a pub, and instead of a normal lobby area you sit down and wait to be collected. You'll have no trouble spotting t...

That rare gem - a room genuinely worth travelling for. Excellent introduction, games masters, puzzles and theming combined to make this a really enjoyable game.
If you’re like us, and putting off a visit to Bewilder Box, stop right now, and find the time to just do it! The Bewilder Box Initiative instantly became a favourite of ours
We have to complete the Bewilder Box assessment and locate the missing Dr Wilder Sr in this escape room above a pub in Brighton.
Attention to detail. It’s often what separates a good game from a great game. If you’ve seen any of the publicity around Bewilder Box, they make a point of featuring Hugo Myatt in the briefing videos for the game – Hugo played Treguard on 90s kids TV show Knightmare and so holds a special place in the hearts of those of us a certain age. It’s a good start already: niche nerd appeal plus the fact they’ve actually gone to the effort of hiring an actor rather than having the owner put on some cringe-worthy performance for the camera.

Lists

This game is part of the following user-created game lists:
  • 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. 

See also

Other versions of this game:(Different copies of the same game sometimes have significant differences.)