Review: Beat The Room - 221b Baker Street

RATING: 3 Key RESULT: Win REMAINING: 4:22

One of literature’s all time greats is in need of some help. Guys, I think this officially makes me Watson!

Story

Your team, a consulting detective agency, is working on a case with Sherlock Holmes and Scotland Yard. You’ve been summoned to Sherlock’s apartment. Sherlock says he’s cracked the case of the Bridge Street murders. As per usual, he wouldn’t tell you any details over the phone. You arrive and find the door is unlocked and Sherlock is missing! Time is of the essence! You’ll have 50 minutes to unravel the mystery and save your colleague.

This is that story, we all know this theme is done in almost every city with an escape room because honestly, who doesn’t want a chance to solve mysteries or puzzles like Sherlock Holmes? This theme is tried and true, and much like the Sherlock Holmes books were a great introduction to literature, 221b Baker Street is a great introduction to escape rooms.

This is not your normal escape room in that your only task is to find your way out. In this situation you are given a map and told you must figure out what map location Sherlock is being held and who kidnapped him. Normally I am not a huge fan of the “task” style rooms but this story fits better for that type.

Scenic

As our game master opened the properly decorated door to 221b Baker Street it became clear we were in fact standing in what was unmistakably Sherlock’s study. The room was decorated beautifully with furniture and wall decor that fit perfectly into the late Victorian era. The long curtains were thick and covered the large glass windows and really made the entire room feel authentic.

Around the room there was items that fit perfectly into the storyworld including a very nice looking chess set. My personal favorite part of the scenic is hands down one of the best clue systems I have seen.

Sitting on top of a desk in the corner was a small Victorian telephone. We were told that anytime we needed any help to just pick up the phone and someone would be happy to assist us.

OK, cool – basically like the walkie talkie system right?

Wrong.

Whenever you called on the phone it rang and someone on the other end would pick up and in their best British accent answer the phone by saying “This is Scotland Yard, how can we be of assistance?”

How awesome is that?! Such a neat little twist on the same style of clue system being put out by venues all over the country!

Puzzles

Even in his hour of greatest need Sherlock would never just outright tell us the answer. There was always a build up of small pieces of information that eventually led to the reveal of the answer. True to Sherlock’s nature, small clues were left in the form of puzzles around this room for us to solve and gain small bits of information to lead us to the culprit of this scandalous crime!

The puzzles, much like the scenic, fit the theme, were logical and were not overtly complex and difficult. This kind of puzzle experience really makes one appreciate how even puzzles that would be considered simple by some enthusiasts’ standards, can be some of the most rewarding and fulfilling to complete.

There is a small amount of technology employed in this room to the point where you have a couple of small “wow” moments that you may not have expected.

Overall

Overall, 221b Baker Street is a solid 3 key game. This game, much like the others at Beat the Room, is the PERFECT game for someone to be introduced to the escape room industry with. The scenic is absolutely gorgeous on the inside, the puzzles flow well and most importantly make sense.While there are no huge “Wow” moments that leave you wondering what you just witnessed it does deliver an exceptionally smooth experience that gives customers a great idea of what a quality room looks like.

Games like this are so important to the industry as a whole. Beat the Room is doing a great job of delivering consistent experiences that customers love.

Beat the Room has been building a solid brand here in the Sacramento area. With a new location in Vacaville, CA and their original Rocklin location still going strong, I suspect we will continue to see growth from both a business perspective as well as a gameplay perspective as they continue to produce experiences for players to enjoy!