Hint Hunt, London – Zen Room
We returned to HintHunt some five months after playing their other room, John Monroe’s Office. As I write this now I’m wondering how the hell I’m going to keep up with visiting all the rooms that open in London and the Midlands, let alone further afield. So it’s funny to think back to how we waited five months in between games because only two existed, and we didn’t want to over-do it!
The Zen Room was certainly more aesthetically interesting than the previous room, with a Japanese design and feel. It had the first ‘wow’ moment we’d encountered in an escape room, and also a fun toy to play with at one point. It uses the same hint system as their other room, with hints shown on a screen within the room, but they felt less necessary here. Unlike John Monroe’s Office, there were no puzzles that we felt we would never have been able to solve without a hint.
It’s worth taking a moment to note how great the hint system actually is at HintHunt. It might sound silly, but having the rooms wired up with cameras and mics, and feeding hints to the players via the screen is so, so much better than having players ask and receive hints via walkie-talkie. Part of what I love about escape rooms is the feeling that you and your friends are alone in a space for an hour. A space that is entirely yours to play in and explore. Obviously, it never is. Someone is watching making sure you don’t break anything or go miles off track or get horribly stuck. But as long as you never have to see or speak to that person, the illusion remains. Whereas if I have to pick up a walkie-talkie and speak to the guy who gave us the briefing ten minutes ago, then I’m not going to feel immersed in the setting or story.
Result – escaped with time to spare!
Date played: 5 September 2013
Team: Dean, Jess, Katherine
Website: http://hinthunt.co.uk/
Summary: Another solid yet unremarkable room from HintHunt
3
Solid
About the Author
Dean Love Dean is a professional writer who has worked for The Mail On Sunday, The Digital Fix, MicroMart and others.
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