Mindworks Smuggler’s Ruin Spoiler-Free Escape Room Review
Well the weather of the school holidays in 2023 was not as good as we hoped. Which found us scrambling for things to do during our staycation. Crazy golf, waterparks and obstacle courses had all been ticked off. On my last day off with my boys I wanted to do something memorable, but equally had hit a blank for ideas.
The idea of doing a family escape room suddenly popped into my head. I have always been keen to try another after the success of Escape Plan’s Adventure Begins, but I wasn’t sure if my boys would be old enough. The price tag was a little off-putting. It would be more so, if they wouldn’t feel involved. We hunted around for availability and struggled as we had left it to the night before. We emailed Mindworks to see if they could squeeze us in. Lo and behold they could.
We arrived and were cordially greeted asked for a team name, which was the first difficult challenge we had to contend with! We opted for the Game-arrghs because of the smuggling pirate theme and our board gaming background! The back story was told and a short instructional video followed. After this, we were immediately launched into the escape.
We worked fantastically as a team. Our co-operative board gaming background did us proud as a family. I was super-impressed with my boys and even the host at the end commented how we were unlike a lot of families that visit!
The escape room followed a lovely logical progression, where solving one clue lead neatly onto the next. We were flying in time and confidence during the first two parts of the escape.
We stumbled with one puzzle at the end, misinterpreting the action of a clue, but that was all on us and we were close! A quick hint and we were sprinting for the finish, which had an interesting quandary to discuss at the end.
After the debrief we got to add our names in chalk to the wall of fame and get an introduction to another of their rooms which sounded untypical and interesting. Maybe something for another rainy school holiday day as it was an excellent and exciting way to spend an hour with my family! The boys all said it was a highlight of their holidays, I agree, it was fantastic!
Key Facts:
Location: Worthing, West Sussex
Time: 1 hour
Clues required: one
Team: 2 adults, 3 children (ages 15, 12 and 8)
