Breakout Bar & Escape Rooms - The Future Review (Wollongong)

 

Hi all

In January 2023, my family took a holiday to the south coast of NSW with friends of ours.  On our way back, I managed to convince everyone to check out Breakout Bar and Escape Rooms in Wollongong.  I had known about BB&ER for years, but had never found my way down to Wollongong to play their rooms.

There were 8 of us on the day – 4 adults and 4 kids.  The room we decided to play was called The Future, the summary of which is as follows:

The Professor has received a mysterious note instructing him to go to the future. Could it be a clue to Tessa’s disappearance? You must go for him, but what will you find, and will you be able to return? Who knows what the future holds…

The Future was my 216th room to date.  Here is what I thought of The Future:

·         there was a good variety of puzzles in the space, some of which were solved by the younger members of our team before I had even walked across half of the room;

·         the theming could have been stronger – there were some elements that were used well, but the theming was not at the same level as the better venues in our major cities;

·         one of the slightly annoying elements though of The Future was that there was a lot of irrelevant materials that we had to review – I appreciate a small amount of red herrings in a room, but having to open and scan through tens of books soon became a chore;

·         there was a backstory to the experience, but it could have been stronger.  In fairness to BB&ER, their rooms are linked by a story (and we did not play their first room); perhaps this would have been stronger if we had played in order;

·         the props and mechanisms were ok, perhaps a little on the “gen 1” to “gen 2” side of things; and

·         the room was definitely family-friendly and suited our group.

We had fun in The Future. There were no “wow” factors, but it was a solid room.  There was also one puzzle which, despite solving it, we didn’t really understand, but otherwise the puzzles made sense and the room had a satisfying conclusion. 

Where:                       Breakout Bar & Escape Rooms

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                     5 rooms

Cost:                           $35 per person

Overall Rating:           A solid room with a gen 1 feel

More details:              https://breakoutbar.com.au/