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What Makes a Good Escape Room?
What makes a good escape room? something that offers a sense of mystery, adventure and irresistible challenge. Getting that perfect mix of theme and enjoyable puzzle mechanics requires no small amount of attention to detail. Any out of place element or overly perplexing clue can ruin the fun.
Storytelling draws people in. That’s why movies, books, shows and video games are multibillion dollar businesses. With escape rooms, we use the narrative hook of storytelling to motivate curiosity. Finding that next clue becomes more important if you learn why the clue was left in the first place. Also, creating characters and backstories for the challenges offers extra subtext to guide your next decision.
Fun can come to a screeching halt when you get stuck on a puzzle. Of course the puzzle should not be too easy, but running people into a dead end only leads to frustration.
To find the right balance of challenge and guidance, most escape rooms have multiple clue threads laying around. Participants who get stuck on something can work on another loose end until it leads them somewhere else. Sometimes, a clue found in the beginning will not even make sense to a group until towards the very end.
Lakes Escapes Ltd have mulled these balance issues carefully and try to give participants enough to chew on so they do not get stuck but enough obscurity that they cannot solve puzzles just by trying the first thing that comes to mind. After all, solving a problem is so much more rewarding when it requires effort.
Themes admittedly pull people into puzzles better than any other design element. We have active imaginations, so getting the chance to pretend we are super sleuths in training ups the immersion and the stakes.
Creating a cohesive theme involves countless hours of planning. It also required us to go out and find props, furniture and decorations that fit 100% in theme.
At the same time, we want to guide participants in a consistent way, which means not making something that is supposed to be a predictable prop look like a clue. Naturally, there are times for exceptions when a hint is telegraphed in an unexpected way, but participants should never feel cheated by an unexpected jump in logic.
All of these elements make a fun, colourful and memorable theme one of the hallmarks of well-designed escape rooms. You can enjoy all of these qualities as well as friendly service any time you visit Lakes Escapes Ltd in West Cumbria.
Throw yourself into an exciting, fun, and engaging new experience today, and challenge your mind and your skills and BOOK your escape room today!
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What is an Escape Room?
An escape room is where we put your team in a themed room and you must try and escape by solving puzzles and challenges. You will have 60 minutes to complete the mission. Each game is for 2-6 people however Casino Heist and Diamond Mine can accommodate up to 8 players.
What is the Diamond Mine experience?
The Diamond Mine is different to our escape room experiences as instead of you all going into one room and playing the game together you will take on mini challenges. The mini challenges are in different themed spaces and the games are 1 or 2 players and range from 25 seconds to 5 minutes each. The full team will participate throughout and take turns to encourage and advice (or abuse and mock) their team mates. The games are a variety of skill, physical, mental and memory and is suitable for players 7 years and above. Teams under the age of 14yrs need an adult with them at all times.
Do you have a customer car park?
We have a large, free car park for our customers so you don't need to worry about finding somewhere to leave your car or having charge to pay for parking.
Do you organise corporate team building and private events?
Yes! Our experiences are perfect for team building exercises and group fun.
Who can experience the games?
The experiences are for people of all backgrounds and genders who love puzzles and interactive challenges. Please note that children under the age of 16 will need to be accompanied by an adult in the escape games and children under the age of 14 will need to be accompanied by an adult in Diamond Mine. We do not allow anyone under the age of 7yrs.
What are your opening hours?
We are open from 10.00am to 10.00pm, Mondays to Sundays. Booking in advance is required. If its less than 2 hours before the game please call us to check availability.
What do I need to bring and what should I wear?
We would recommend you to wear comfortable clothes and shoes you can move around in.
When should I arrive and where is it?
We recommend teams to arrive at the time they booked ready for your briefing and introduction.
How much would it cost and how can I book the tickets?
Our prices will vary per person depending on the size of the group. The more players in a booking, the cheaper it is! Bookings can be reserved through our online booking system and will require a minimum group of 2 people to a maximum of 8 people for selected rooms.
I am claustrophobic; can I play?
All our games have good size rooms with a reasonable ceiling height. Players are also free to exit the rooms at any time during the game. Speak to any member of our team if you have any concerns.
Are your escape rooms hard?
Each of our rooms is designed to be a challenge, but they are not unbeatable! Every room is solvable if you work as a team. We recommend that players who are new to escape games do not play the most difficult rated games until they are familiar with the concept.
How does the game end?
Either you are successful and you achieve the game objective or you run out of time and the game is over.
Are you wheelchair accessible?
We are delighted to advise that we can accommodate wheelchair users. There are ramps available to enter the building, so please ensure you let us know of your needs, and there are permanent ramps placed at all fire escapes.
Some of the activities in the Diamond Mine are not suitable for wheelchairs but many are and players can still participate in the experience.
Do you have somewhere I could wait whilst others play?
In order to provide the best possible experience for all of our customers we run with staggered start times and we do not mix groups. We're afraid we do not have a waiting area for anyone who isn't playing one of our games.
| # of Tickets | Price |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 | £66 |
| 4 | £80 |
| 5 | £90 |
| 6 | £96 |
| 7 | £112 |
| 8 | £128 |