Live Magic And Puzzles - The Great Loudini Review

Having played many escape rooms all around the country, you would assume that we have seen it all and can’t be surprised by a room. But that was before I played The Great Loudini at Escapable in Wakefield. This room has been on my radar for a little while. It got escape room enthusiasts talking when it opened and has been widely received in such a positive way for its clever blend of magic and escape room, but nothing can truly prepare you for the utter joy you get whilst you play the room. The room sells out quickly and I’ve never been able to get the timings right for when I was in the area but finally the universe aligned.

From the minute you walk in you are treated to the joys of magic as your GM/Host (in our case Tom) treats you to some sleight of hand tricks. He told the story of the room whilst you participate in his tricks. His comic timing, mixed with the tricks made for a very brilliant first impression and set the stage perfectly for what would come in your 75 minute game.

Other than knowing that magic was involved, I went into this room blind as I didn’t want it spoiled and it’s the perfect way to go into this room, so I won’t reveal anything of what happens inside the room puzzle or otherwise. What I will say is this room has a lot to do, but it is very doable. The puzzles are the right level of difficulty. It has some tricky puzzles that you will have to take a moment to think about, puzzles that you have to work together on, and even some that are just pure magic. Everything happens in one room, but it never feels trapped or forced. It all fits and works with this room and has countless surprises that will make you stop and go that’s pretty awesome.

There are two ways you could get help. The first is a bird that lays eggs that will give you the slightest nudge if you’ve worked out the majority of a puzzle, or through a phone if you need a bigger hint and i felt this was the perfect system. Sometimes you just need a little nudge and for those who do get really stuck, the phone offers a more direct approach. Tom, our host, was really good in working out when we needed a nudge and if we needed a more direct approach and the phone only rung once when we struggled to read something properly.

I can’t really go into any more detail about the room without giving some massive spoilers, so I won’t. The room is brilliant. I can fully understand why it’s been so highly rated. It was just pure magical joy the entire time and kept us enthralled and engaged the entire time. We played this room as a 2 and I wouldn’t go more than 4 in it if you really want to see and experience everything. It was an extremely fun room and one that had me amazed and surprised for the entire experience. But did we escape? The room is 75 minutes and we escaped in just under an hour!