Citydash - Fire hazard, 5th April

I guess cos solving clues in a locked room isn’t enough for me, I decided to sign up to a similar thing but one where you’re chased. That’s right, there are guards protecting the very thing you’re seeking and they WILL pursue you to stop you getting your goal. It’s terrifying and exhilarating and the hardest running I’ve done outside since I was a child.

So, the premise – there are, hidden around a certain (and rather wide-ranging) area, various checkpoints – in our case, cos it was Easter, they were little eggs. These eggs had codes on them. The aim of the game is to get the most points out of all the teams playing. Each checkpoint has a code and when you enter it to the web page for your team, you collect the points. The clues you have to solve help you figure out where these checkpoints are. Smartphones are essential. But that’s all very simple and this game is not. No – there are extra points for being the first team to reach a checkpoint, and checkpoints have different amounts of points allocated to them depending on how easy they are to either find, or just get to. You see, points are deducted if one of the guards (in our case dressed as bunnies because Easter, again) spots you and ‘catches’ you. When you start the game you pin individual codes to yourself and if a guard enters your code into their web page, you’re ‘caught’. You’re not out of the game, but as well as points being deducted from your team, you get frozen out of that zone and can’t collect anymore checkpoints. So, when you see those guards, you know what you do? You RUN! And run and run. And then you cautiously creep back to where that checkpoint is, and they’re still there! And they’re after you again! And you’re pelting it away until you can be sure they’re not on your back. Me and my team got trapped like this for what felt like an age early on when we’d actually found our first checkpoint but couldn’t go to the next one without a guard being in the way.

But, you can get your own back a little. Each guard also has a code pinned to them and if you enter that then you get points as well. This is actually a key thing to remember. My team happened to be spotted quite frequently and we forgot to take advantage of entering our guards’ codes when we had a chance.

This is a really fast-paced game – you get given a set of checkpoints to find at the start but as the game keeps going more and more open up – you need to constantly be planning and strategizing on the fly to get as many points as you can. Your original strategy may go completely out the window, especially if you’re frozen out of a zone.

Now, this happened to us frequently. We’d get to a checkpoint only to be told the code we’d entered wasn’t counted – we’d been spotted again. More accurately, our over six foot friend wearing the bright red top had been spotted. We were caught so much we actually won a prize for it at the end. When us two, smallish girls in dark clothing stood up with our giant red teammate, everyone laughed because it was immediately obvious who had cost us so many points. However, he was also our secret weapon because he lived in the area we were running around and knowing the area was invaluable in figuring out where the checkpoints were. He may have cost us lots of points but we probably also only got as many as we did because of him. Knowing the area is a huge advantage.

This sort of game is quite physical so it’s not for everyone but I found all the running around to be a blast, even though I didn’t exactly enjoy being chased. Next time we’re coming back faster, stronger, and stealthier!

I think one reason I might have enjoyed all the running is that it made me feel a lot less guilty about going to the Fry Hard pop up straight after where we indulged in lots of deep fried goodness – my friend and I shared deep fried: cheese strings, cherry bakewell, slice of lemon cake, Tunnock’s caramel, pickle and a fudge. So incredibly bad but oh so good. Probably good it was only there for a weekend.  

Agent November, 12th July

So, for all you puzzle lovers and treasure-hunt enthusiasts, you’ll be pleased to know there’s another game afoot in London. Brought to you from a Hint Hunt ex-employee is Agent November – a game where you must use your wits and ingenuity to save London from a catastrophic explosion! Born of the same stable as Hint Hunt there are similarities, not least in the time frame and having to race against the clock. There is also a similarly constrained area in which to solve the puzzle, though this time you’re outside rather than in. Everything you will need for the game is provided, unlike with Door in aWall, where you wouldn’t get very far without a smartphone.

I went along to the inaugural game so we were very much the guinea pigs, meaning there are probably some things that will change or run more smoothly as it finds its feet. But we still had a really fun hour and a half and, I’m happy to report, we also managed to solve all the clues and save London from imminent disaster! Of course, I can’t say too much as I don’t want to spoil any surprises or give anything away!

You get about twenty minutes at the beginning of the game to be given the backstory and get a few initial clues together before being lead over to where the ‘action’ takes place. Some things are straightforward tasks to complete but others require a little sideways thinking, and of course there are a few red herrings along the way as well. Even seemingly unrelated things, though, were hidden clues, that made us all go ‘aaahhh’ at the end once we’d figured it all out. A couple of things in particular I thought were ingenious but obviously I won’t say what they were!

Agent November was on hand throughout to help should you get stuck though there aren’t any other characters to meet or interact with. I had a few seasoned puzzlers with me, and we would have preferred a bit less help. Some of the hints were some that seemed to appear out of nowhere when we would rather have figured something out. And, considering we did solve it with several minutes to spare, we wouldn’t have minded a few extra riddles or puzzles to solve, or spending some more time on solving clues ourselves rather than having a hint or clue given to us. I#d probably pitch its ease at a little below that of Hint Hunt, which doesn't help if you haven't been to Hint Hunt! Having said that, there was a point about halfway through where I really thought we were no way near figuring it all out and that time would run out before we did. You never know whether the next clue will pull it all together or lead to something else to solve, and of course it depends on the order you manage to find them in.  We had a full team of 6 which worked well but if you had less I think you could still manage to find everything within the time frame if you don’t mind a bit of running about!

This is a great way to spend a couple of hours, giving your brain a work out with some likeminded friends. If you've already done Hint Hunt or a Door in a Wall, and are looking for something new, or if you're yet to try them and want to see what these live puzzle adventures are all about, then Agent November is your man!

HintHunt, 30th July

And so I come to the final challenge of HintHunt - writing about HintHunt. Without giving anything away that is. And while that might be frustrating for the reader, trust me, if you're going to ever go (and I really think you should) you'll appreciate not having seen any spoilers. 

You know pretty much nothing when you go into the room other than being told not to smash things open in order to find clues. Apparently some people in their excitement/desperation go a bit too far and start breaking things. Which led to the next hint - if you see something has sellotape on it, don't unpeel the tape, thinking something is hidden under there. The tape is just evidence that someone got a little carried away on a previous visit.

It's easy to see why. They told us the main thing they can tell you to help is check everything. Then check it again, and again. But when you feel like you AND all your fellow hunters have done just that but seem to have come to a hiatus you do start to wonder if you haven't gone far enough. Is something inside that innocent-looking object? But it doesn't open! It will if I smash it on the floor! Happily, we didn't get to that stage of delirium, with another look round we always seemed to find another clue, and we did escape the room. Well, sort of. We found all the clues with one second to spare but had one final task to finish before the door would open and so we were kindly given an extra couple of minutes to do that.

I was 'anxious' even before we went in, already ramped up on adrenaline released by going into the unknown and wanting to conquer it. I love these sorts of things and have done quite well on them in the past (ahem, almost winners of A Door in a Wall) and felt my own pressure to succeed. Then, once you're in the room you are racing against time with the clock on the wall ticking off each second which rather piles on the pressure. The room is by no means large but everyone was moving around so rapidly in it, I actually got a bit sweaty from exertion!

It turns out we got the hard room - the Zen room. And it IS hard compared to some of the other clue-based things I've done. You definitely need a lot of mental agility to unlock some of the clues. However, part of the game is to be given hints along the way. I honestly don't think you'd get to the end without them. So, one of the girls sits in a cubby hole and watches the action inside unfurl via CCTV. This could be a little unnerving but they're on your side. Yes, they are watching to make sure you're not vandalising anything but mainly they are there to give you hints when you've got as far as you can and need something to nudge you in the right direction. This was invaluable when we'd actually solved some of the clues but for some reason weren't getting the right result. It was great to have someone say, 'no, you're right, keep trying' before we abandoned that line of thinking. 

We had five on our team which is the maximum number of people. Four is the optimal and I think it might have been slightly better like that as with five of us there were moments where one of us was at a bit of a loose end while the others figured out one of the clues. I would say there are definitely elements of working as a team (another hint we got was to communicate and listen inside the room, yeah, I know, big hint), but if you're going to get out you do all have to take individual initiative. There are so many clues to solve, some of you need to be working on some while others work on something else. You do need to be vocal and somewhat methodical, letting everyone know what you've found that might be needed and keeping track of it all. And on top of all this, there were plenty of red herrings and we definitely wasted time with some of them - it only really becomes obvious what were dead ends right at the end. Until then, everything could potentially come of use.

While it did feel a bit treasure-hunty, it's a unique experience. And deserves the praise that has been heaped upon it. It's quite an exhilarating hour and I wish I could tell you more about it. And of course, photography and filming were strictly forbidden so I have no images to share. The girls that are on hand to set you up and keep an eye on you are fabulous - very friendly, very funny, help you out just when you need it but not before. I cannot wait to go back and try the John Monroe room. I wish I could do it for the first time all over again. Honestly, get a team together and get down there!

A Door in a Wall, 17th March

To say I'm a big fan of treasure hunts would be to grossly understate my enthusiasm. Especially if those treasure hunts have an interactive element.

Having had my first taste of such a thing in New York, completing Accomplice, I then did a couple of treasure hunts in London, one with Hidden City for some real cash money ( which I didn't win) as a prize, and one just for fun.

A friend of mine told me about A Door in a Wall and it sat patiently on my List for a good while until we found out about the 'abridged' version they were doing in Boxpark and its environs.

Normally more expensive and lasting upward of four hours, this one was about £10 and the hunt lasted 2 hours. There was an additional hour for you to ‘make your case’ and for the winner to be decided.

We gathered at the arrival time and were presented with our press packs. The premise was that, as a new fashion company were about to launch their new line (and we were the journalists covering the launch) the chief fashion designer was murdered! We had to uncover the culprit.

Press pass for launch

The packs gave you pretty much all the information you needed, but then we had to sit through a press conference in which it was all repeated, just itching to get out there and get an advantage. We had our approach mapped out and everything. Finally we were set loose on Boxpark to discover what we could about the crime.

We only just about completed in time. What at first seems like not many things to solve is deceptive – you are given six starting points and each starting point leads on to about four further clues which culminate in collecting or noting some evidence. Is it a red herring? You can only really tell once you have followed each and every lead. If you weren’t able to finish and get to each clue, you could easily end up making the wrong deduction.

Clue taking you to Redchurch Street

The clues also lead us further than I was expecting – all the initial clues started in Boxpark but some lead you all the way up Curtain Road and to Arnold Circus (forgive me if you don't know the area). With the clock ticking, to cover all this ground did require some actual physical exertion on occasion! Along the way you might meet some characters who would ply you with the information you needed, though mostly it was a case of guessing the next location, and keeping your eyes peeled and your wits about you once you were there to find the next hint.

A weblink to follow...

The exceptions to this were a recorded voicemail you had to listen to and a couple of YouTube videos that pointed you in the right direction. In this aspect it was very similar to Hidden City where you can complete the trail with no human interaction (you solve clues texted to you to guide you to the next destination where you then answer a question you can only answer by having got to the right place). The addition of some characters along the way was more similar to Accomplice.

But A Door in A Wall differed from both of these by the finale. Once you have gathered as much evidence as you can, you have a sheet to fill in – you say why you have come to the conclusion you have (both why for the culprit, and why not for the other suspects). Then the organisers look over it all and announce a winner.

We were feeling confident. We knew we’d found every clue and had covered all of them in our report. What we hadn’t done was perhaps leave enough time to write this as elegantly and eloquently as possible – we had favoured a bullet point format while scoffing burritos. And that was our downfall. As the winner was announced we were told that it had been very close, very close indeed and in the end had to be decided through articulation. They then gave ‘A Dior in a Wall’ (our hilarious play on words team name – prizes were given for that and we only got an honourable mention) another honourable mention and we knew we had lost.

Next time… next time…

Actually the ‘next time’ is already sold out so…

The time after that… the time after that…

I really, really enjoyed this. I worried at first that it would be too easy but after finding the first one, that fear was blown out the water. No, they got the level of challenge right. The other thing I worried about was that there would be so many people playing that any personal ingenuity would go to waste as you ended up just following other people from clue to clue. That was also a fear quickly dismissed.

I cannot recommend this enough in fact. Take some companions who can think laterally and are willing to put the effort in and you won’t be disappointed.

Now all's left is to do Hint Hunt!