Ladylusiphur

I have mixed feelings about this one. The room itself is really beautiful and makes the setting quite immersive, however it really needs a lot of TLC. Two things broke when we were in the room, one skill puzzle didn't deliver a piece we needed for another task, and then a bigger thing didn't work as it was supposed to requiring us to leave the room while they fixed it. I think the former was probably the most irritating thing as we were a bit confused looking for something that we should have had but was obviously stuck inside. We were given free drinks afterwards to make up for our trouble. 

Two puzzles I was also not sure if we'd actually completed successfully as we didn't seem to have done what we were supposed to do when the actions were triggered. For example one thing we had to search for four things and put them in place, we only found three but the door opened anyway. I always feel slightly cheated when things like that happen as I don't feel like I've fully achieved what I needed to. 

I can't imagine this is a good game for bigger groups. Much of the early time was just spend looking for a few things, and after that it was quite linear and didn't really require a lot of extra input. A team of 6 would either spend a lot of time just waiting for something to do, or find the parts so quick that the game would be over in no time. 

After saying all that, I did think it was quite a nice room. I haven't done an Aladdin theme before so it felt quite different, and the overall look of the room had clearly been built with a lot of love. I think now it just needs an overhaul with some newer puzzles and a bit of tlc to just add some sparkle. 

Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. 

I have to say that the people of Wakefield are very lucky with their escape room options. I live in Leeds and have an abundance of rooms and companies there to choose from, but none of them have left me on a high like Outatime, Seance or... The Great Loudini! 

Loudini is different to your average escape room, in that it incorporates an added element of magic to the mix. Often something like this, such as live actors in other games means that the puzzles feel a little less important to the narrative, but this room seemlessly blends the two, adding a trick or two only when the time is right, and focusing on the gameplay at other times. The simplest tricks are sometimes the most magical when seen up close, and while some might be a little familiar, it's just lovely to see them performed so beautifully and incorporated into the story. One or two times we were left thinking 'what?? when... how??' 

The puzzles were a mix, some quite easy, others left us scratching our heads a little. The clue system is very cute, and (I think due to the number of puzzles) there is a clear linear structure that points you in the right direction throughout.  At first I thought it was a bit TOO obvious, but as time ticked away I was genuinely grateful. I don't know that we'd have escaped in the 75 minutes otherwise. You don't want to be worrying about the clock in this room, it would take away from the enjoyment of the story and surroundings. 

The introduction is lovely, with the story beginning as soon as you enter the building. I don't know if it's altered for different teams, but we weren't given a run-down of how to use padlocks etc like we'd normally expect. (I did see padlocks on the table so perhaps that's something that is done sometimes if teams make it known that they're not experienced). I was glad not to have to be told how to use a directional lock for the 74th time as it really did keep the immersion to just get on with things. The intro has a lot of story and fun though, so make sure you arrive in good time to be able to enjoy it! 

Just based on this and Outatime, I can only imagine where this company is going to take us next. I can't wait to see. 

I'd wanted to play this room for a long time because I'm a Doctor Who fan, and also the higher price and minimum three players made it seem like it was going to be something special. I think when it first opened it was something like £33pp for a minimum 3 people, so at £100 a game that was more than we'd usually pay and we expected something premium. 

Since then it's come down to £27 each for 2 players, so we decided to give it a go. 

The first part of the game involves a bit of a celebrity voice cameo, which is a good start to the game and lets you know that this is an officially licenced room, and not just a homage. Unfortunatley that's about as exciting as the official stuff got. The first area of the game is quite nicely put together, and evokes the right mood for what it is. It does look pretty premium, though not especially exciting in comparison to other similar rooms. It took us a little while to get going after missing some fairly obvious clues, but we got through it eventually. 

The second area is a bit... boring? It's kind of hi-tech, but also pretty plain, with some random puzzles laid out. Some of these we found quite easy (we were told that we'd done of the harder ones quicker than most) but then others were a bit frustrating as we kept trying to solve things we hadn't quite got enough parts for yet, or just couldn't quite work out. That's perhaps us being rubbish though! haha

The Doctor Who decor is ok, but nothing that really blows you away. A Couple of obvious props as part of puzzles don't really make it feel like this was done with love. Take those away and this could have just been a generic scientist room. 

If anything, it just lacks a big finale. Either filmed, some special effects, or with a live actor invading the space, you'd expect something a bit more exciting for a premium priced room, but it just finishes the same as any other. Even 'Their Finest Hour' at the same location has a good final moment, and that's much more low key. 

I should have been put off Doctor Who rooms for life by this, but thankfully we did the Dalek room in Birmingham and really enjoyed that. It's small, but fun. 

There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been covered by previous reviews, but I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this room. 

You can tell that whoever put this together really loves the genre, and also really cares about the experience of the player. The addition of a couple of little tricks, good music, and authentic nods to the eras made it really feel like you were immersed in your own little movie, not just going through the motions of puzzle to puzzle. Several times we were looking at each other and saying 'how cool is this??' And really, sometimes it's the simple things that really make the difference, and a lot of escape room companies can learn from that. 

The puzzles were mixed level, nothing I thought was particularly difficult but often just required thought to find the right clues and link the right pieces together. I think we managed it with only one or two hints to point us in the right direction, no time lost scratching our heads in frustration. 

The final section was definitely the most fun, and it's a shame we couldn't just stay longer and appreciate the effectiveness of it all. I was in my element. 

Hosting was great, very friendly guy (sorry I forgot his name but he's a big fan of Cabaret!), gave the right help when needed but otherwise left us to it. Clearly loves his job. 

Definitely one of my top 3 games ever. 

My first thoughts about this room are more about the company in general. I don't like to say negative things about individuals, and I wonder if the staff member was new, but this felt like the least welcoming company we've been to. The lady seemed really shy so I felt a bit sorry for her, but it just felt very unusual to arrive at a venue and have very little discussion with the host. We had a little bit of direction about padlocks, weren't asked the usual things like if we'd like to use the bathroom or escorted to the room. We just got told it was at the top of the stairs and left to our own devices. Similarly, after it finished there was no offer of a team photo, just 'you did very well' and hardly any conversation. It just felt very impersonal, and if it's staff inexperience then they could at least give her a bit of direction about how to welcome players and what their needs might be. As it was, we felt a bit awkward in the communal areas and couldn't wait to get out of there.

The room itself feels a bit dated. It reminds me of the older rooms we've played, maybe in need of a bit of tlc but the bare bones of something nice is there. The train theme works and it does feel a bit like you're in a dining carriage. The storyline works somewhat, but lacks a bit of a wow factor. Despite that, the puzzles are mostly fun and logical, and if you like old-school padlock rooms then this should be fine. At times we did feel like we'd missed things and were wandering around looking for things, but an occasional hint pointed us back on track. The last couple of puzzles look a bit newer and added something different. 

This one could be reworked and updated maybe to add a little mild scare and pizzazz, but it's ok.  

Absolutely beautiful, immersive and fun room. 

I'm not a massive fan of the theme, but it would have hard for the most miserable muggle not to smile and enjoy this lovely room. A lot of money and artistry has been put into making this room look both authentic and magical. The first area feels like you've stepped onto one of the book covers, and just gets better as it goes along. 

We did the game on hard mode, and with a couple of hints managed to work our way through everything, as all puzzles flowed well and there were hardly any leaps in logic. I think anyone who is stuck might just need to look again at some of the things in the room and see if anything makes sense. Even the hints we received were more to point us to something we'd missed rather than telling us how to solve anything. To me that's a good room as you really feel like you're doing everything yourself rather than being hand-held the whole time. 

Puzzle-wise there are a few things I hadn't seen before, but one in particular was magical and really fit the theme. My Husband was particularly fond of it. You can tell the people who designed this room really thought about player experience. 

The host was lovely and chatted to us for a long time about escape rooms, the sign of someone who loves what they're doing. 

I think my opinion of Operation Moonshine would have been slightly different had we been a bigger team. There is a good reason that the game has a difficulty warning for teams of 2 on the website, although as usual we ignored that and booked regardless! 

The puzzles are a mix of difficulty, with some fairly obvious finding items, some more physical puzzles, and many logic based. The biggest problem is the sheer number of them. We took a bit too long in the first area on some admittedly easier puzzles due to not paying enough attention, which meant that as the game progressed we were given a lot more clues than we've normally required, I suspect just to shift us along or we'd never have got to the end. It became a little frustrating as on one hand we want time to be able to consider and find solutions ourselves, however if the gamesmaster hadn't done that we'd have been nowehere near finishing. A couple also seemed to have been made a little more frustrating than really necessary, but I don't think that it would have been as much of an issue with more pairs of eyes searching. 

The setting is gorgeous, and a massive room which makes it feel like a real environment, rather than dressed up warehouse space. I think anyone might believe they're really in the 30's. (Although one plastic prop could do with being replaced with something more authentic looking, even if it's just a wooden/painted prop one rather than anything real)

The gamesmaster was very friendly and because we were almost at the conclusion we were allowed to finish the game about a minute or two over the time limit. Definitely one for very experienced teams if you're short on numbers.  We did a room in Beverley recently that offered medium and hard options, I think something like that would benefit this room. Maybe just skip a couple of padlocks for smaller teams to speed things up. 

Would definitely return here. 

I'd wanted to play this room for a long time based on excellent reviews that i've seen, and it didn't disappoint. It's probably the most immersive escape room we've ever done, and definitely worth the reputation. 

Firstly, it's scary. I consider myself to be quite a down to earth person, and jump in the right places, but generally laugh it off afterwards. This room though, it turned me into a nervous wreck! haha. I don't know if it's the build-up, or excellent decor, but as the scares built, I just got more and more 'in the zone', and probably screamed more than I ever have in my life! It's all in good fun though, the screams are usually followed by laughter, and a bigger determination to follow through with the story. 

The puzzles are also excellent. I'd say pretty much all of them keep to the theme, and help to tell the story of the seance. You feel like a character trying to banish demons rather than a regular person off the street just solving puzzles. The props and clues all fit in to build that. 

We didn't find it too tricky, but I think it's about at the right level. You need to think, but if you're spending too much time scratching your head it would take you out of the experience. We ended up getting one hint, but that was just to help us find something we already knew we needed but just had a little trouble pinpointing it due to the dim light. Otherwise everything flowed beautifully. 

Can't praise the GM enough, he really set the scene and played his part well. The room also has a private waiting room that's mostly in theme, so if you need a break from the scares you can pop out without completely losing the magic.  Thankfully we didn't need to but the option is there. 

I've read through the bad reviews of this room and can only say I guess different things appeal to different people. 

We booked this one not expecting a huge amount, we're big Doctor Who fans, but found 'Worlds Collide' in Leeds to be one of the least enjoyable rooms we've ever done.  (They were charging significantly more than an average room when it first opened, and it was just a pretty standard set-up with a couple of Doctor Who props thrown in. We expected more)

This one was very small, but the decor and soundtrack really helped to set the scene and keep the story going. They've made it quite high-intensity by having occasional moments where you have to stop what you're doing due to a 'threat', so it keeps the adrenaline up. 

Others have said some puzzles didn't make sense, we didn't find this to be the case. We only needed one or two hints throughout, and managed to work out the answers to the majority of puzzles from the information given. Some are logic based, some are more physical. If you can't work something out, just re-read the information, it's all there. 

The major let-down is the upkeep, it does need a bit of an overhaul. When we went a piece of one puzzle was missing (presumed stolen), and others looked like they needed some general repairs. New gloves would be good, and securing some of the floor pieces, as I tripped over some floor tiles. (It appeared that the floor tiles might be part of a puzzle, but they weren't so could just be glued down properly) 

I think because we weren't expecting much we enjoyed it more, but it's a nice little game for a couple. I agree it wouldn't be suitable for bigger groups, but 2-3 is perfect. 

I believe we were the first members of the public to try Secret of the Leopard People when it first opened, and I somewhat regret that. It'd be nice to wipe my brain and try again once (hopefully) some of the minor issues we had are ironed out. 

Firstly, it looks gorgeous. Clearly a LOT of money has gone into this room, and it's paid off. It's one of the best looking escape rooms we've done in a long time, with plenty of lovely puzzles to explore. The theme is exquisite. Often these kinds of rooms look very tacky, not so here, it mostly looks authentic.

The room doesn't have any written clues, and while this was fine at first, as the game wore on some of the visual clues weren't quite as successful. It wasn't always clear what we had to do, and some games had similar symbols so working out what related to which puzzle was confusing on a couple of occasions. I could sense the GM becoming a little frustrated with us, but I suspect as more people play the game they'll spot if it was just our brains at fault or if they can add things to make it all a bit clearer. 

One bit of the room wasn't quite set right, and reset itself during the came which confused us, as I wasn't sure if we'd triggered something. I think it was just a door going back to where it should have been all along though. Similarly, we accidentally triggered something in the latter stage which completed something far too early. Again, it's a learning process and that will hopefully be worked on to make it impossible for future teams to do that. 

I think after the game has settled in and the team can tweak any issues it'll be one of the best, it just needs a tiny bit of work. (That may have happened already, it's been open a couple of months now) 

The second room we did at Kanyu Escape was Lightning in a Bottle, we failed to escape in time (finished about 3 minutes after the ending) but both agreed this was our favorite room. The room decor, as always with Kanyu is excellent. The puzzles all fit the theme and some are pretty hi-tech. Plenty of puzzles i've never seen before in other venues, and everything was a challenge. 

I think we'd have benefited with an extra person in this room, which is not something we normally say. Usually the two of us is about right. Still loved it though. 

Follow in my Footsteps was our first room at Kanyu escape, and we really enjoyed it. You can tell that they put a lot of investment into the rooms, with beautiful high quality decoration and props. You really feel like you're in the actual setting, which helps to feel immersed in the story. This is probably the easiest of the three we have done at Kanyu escape, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a challenge. It took a little while for us to get into the swing of things and notice a couple of clues, but that's all part of the fun, isn't it? 

The host was great, and sat with us between our games and we chatted about general escape room stuff.