Antiquing in New England.
Location: Portsmouth, NH
Date Played: December 16, 2017
Team size: 2-10; we recommend 4-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $28 per ticket
REA Reaction
This was an entry game.
Westower’s Study was a basic escape room of searching, locked compartments, and a few more layered puzzles. It worked well, but didn’t present anything novel or exciting for experienced players.
Who is this for?
- Beginners
- People whose day won’t be ruined by a little math
Why play?
- Cozy, classic escape room gameplay
Story
World traveler and antique dealer Ian Westower had been kidnapped on his latest journey. The kidnappers had demanded a one-of-a-kind necklace from the man’s collection. His family was willing to part with the necklace if only they could find where it was hidden.
Our team of investigators was offered a reward if we could search Westower’s study and find the necklace that could also be the key to its owner’s freedom.
Setting
The large room contained antique furniture and a travel trunk. Art decorated the walls. The space embodied the classic escape room study aesthetic.
Gameplay
Westower’s Study was a beginner’s search-focused escape room.
Much of the clue structure was well hidden among Westower’s possessions. Everyone could get involved in searching and making connections between found objects. Most puzzles led to a lock with a few more innovative opens.
Standouts
We were shocked by one late-game moment that was as surprising as it was low-tech.
Later in Westower’s Study we uncovered more inventive and exciting puzzles.
The puzzles flowed logically to move the escape room forward.
Shortcomings
We spent a lot of time searching a rather large gamespace. When we stalled, we were failing to discover an item.
Search was complicated by the many items marked out of play… which could still have a game component tucked away inside them.
Westower’s Study included a few process puzzles: once we knew how to solve them, it still took a bit of time to work out the solution. One of the more involved process puzzles was a one-person task that felt like homework. It appeared late in the game when there wasn’t anything left for the rest of the team to work on. (At that point, everything had been found.)
Tips for Visiting
- Don’t forget your order of operations.
- Google Maps directed us to the entrance of a plaza… that we almost didn’t notice. Turn into the plaza and drive toward the back to find Portsmouth Escape Room. They have a big parking lot, so if you can’t see their door from where you parked, you’re in the wrong place.
- MoJo’s BBQ Grill & Tavern in the same plaza was pretty good.
Book your hour with Portsmouth Escape Room’s Westower’s Study, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Portsmouth Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.
