Hailing from the motherland of escapism, joint directors Akos Viktor Oldal and Martina Oldal-Horvath have brought with them all the tricks of the Hungarian trade. They’re confident in their designs and if there’s a puzzle sequence they haven’t seen before, they’ll eat their blindfolds.
Found inside a historic property in the Rocks, this suite of escape rooms has two themes, Military Bunker and Supercell 117, with another one on the way. There were no qualms about which one we’d take – it had to be the real-life Prison Break offered in room 117. Anxiety levels skyrocket as all four players are handcuffed and escorted into the darkness.
Sixty minutes on the clock. Two players in one cell, two in another, our first challenge is to locate the one key that’ll free us all so we can continue the game. There are padlocked cabinets, exercise equipment, lads’ mags and a chessboard – red herrings? Or the keys to freedom? There was only one way to find out.
The key to unlock our handcuffs was easy enough to find and we found a way to share the success with our neighboring cell. Noisy and reckless, we yell long numbers around like traders at the New York Stock Exchange. If there was a three-digit number in the room, we found it and used it, no matter how useful it turned out to be. Each unlocked puzzle generated more mess and more noise. Were we getting closer, or going around in circles?
Unlike other rooms we’ve experienced, the only way to signal for help in this escape room was to look as desperate as possible and hope that the games master was feeling generous. We looked desperate. Clattering down a makeshift shaft, a dumbwaiter delivered scraps of paper to nudge us in the right direction: “Brick wall!” “Wooden box!”
Paniq Room have incorporated as many varied challenges as possible, and though each one was much deliberated by our team they were all achievable tasks – the test was whether or not you could solve them all in time. Sadly, we couldn’t.
Outcome: Failed
Atmosphere: ✮✮✮✮✮
Creativity of puzzles: ✮✮✮✮
Difficulty: ✮✮✮
Fun: ✮✮✮✮✮
Best quote: “Maybe the answers are in the Bible?”
Our tip: Communication is key. Talk with the players in the neighbouring cell and share as much information as possible.