There’s a murderer on the loose and it’s our job to catch him before he kills again. Into the police offices we go with guns and maps and evidence, oh my! The Forensic room at Escapism (Strike, King Street Wharf) is a lot of fun and easily accessible for all kinds of players – young and old. Strike’s string of escape rooms are a commercial way to ease yourself into the form while still enjoying a high-quality room and experience.

As their hardest room with a low, 15 percent escape rate, Forensic is appropriately challenging but not impossible. Use the phone you’re given to communicate when you feel completely stumped. Your supervisor will guide you along without blatantly ruining the fun. Our group of four escaped with .05 seconds on the clock, with adrenaline running high! Twice we were at a loss of how to solve the puzzle but twice we were also misled by placement of files. Note that sometimes it doesn’t pay off to just start picking things up and inspecting them if you can’t replace it back in its precise spot. Precision is key in this room. Put things back in their place. That’s my big tip.

The variety of puzzles keep you on your toes, and you’ll need to use a combination of lateral and inventive thinking. Favourite quote of the day by a teammate, on seeing a chest of guns, “Make way, I play COD. I’m all over guns.” Note: COD proficiency will not help you with this task!

One final tip: Beware of the green escape buttons. Press them and you’ll get to the next room without cracking the codes (which is cheating, so not recommended anyway) but you’ll also get locked out of the room behind you. Something that isn’t ideal considering you’ll want to have all doors open to grab tools you may have left behind.

This room is also good value for money with a big group of people (you can pay as little as $17 per person). Smaller groups have to fork up a lot more (up to $75 per person).

SCORE

Overall: 7.5/10
Fun: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Difficulty: 7/10
Creativity of puzzles: 7/10
Foyer: 8/10 (Bar and food are a win. Plus, there’s bowling downstairs)
Value of money: 9/10 for big groups. 5/10 for small groups.

For more information or to book, visit: www.strikebowling.com.au/escapism or call 1300 787 453. Escapism is located 22 The Promenade, King Street Wharf, Sydney. They’re a 10 minute walk from Martin Place Station.