Escape Coalville - "The Coal Mine"

Updated: Mar 20

LOCATION:  Coalville, United Kingdom

Photo above is property of Escape Coalville

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: The Coal Mine
📅 DATE PLAYED: August 5, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Sensory, Dark
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 3 ppl): 9/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-5 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: £18-22.50/PP (pending on the group size)
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

Coalville was historically a coal mining town until the pits were finally closed in 1983. Despite records showing there were 3 collieries, whilst there was work going on in the area the entrance to a secret, fourth colliery, has been discovered.

Local historians investigated and believe that there may be some undiscovered artefacts in this mine. Eight miner’s lanterns belonging to the team that worked here are somewhere inside, and it is up to you to locate and retrieve these.

However, with no light inside the mine and none allowed at the risk of damaging the integrity of the mine, you will have to use everything except your sense of sight to find them.

Oh, and did we mention that readings detect a high level of Carbon Monoxide in there too? You have about 60 minutes in there before it is no longer safe to remain…

(Beautifully themed room)

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

Firstly this is NOT a scary, horror or jump-scare room. It is simply played in an area where there is no light whatsoever, to the point you cannot see your hand in front of your face and must rely on feeling your way around. There is nothing to be frightened of, and you are being constantly monitored by cameras to make sure nothing bad becomes of you!
You start and end in a dimly lit area to get you used to the change of brightness, and are given helmets and other gear to help you inside and keep you protected.
The initial exploration was cautious and slow as we felt our way around, describing what we felt and apologising as we gently bumped into one another or felt a teammate’s arm rather than a prop :)
Your imagination can run wild while you try to envisage what the room layout, props and surfaces look like, and try to remember where you found something earlier that you need again!
As well as collecting the lanterns (which are all hidden within the puzzles of the room) there is something else to collect so be on your guard (especially if you drop something - if you do, good luck!!)
Hints, if required, are delivered over a tannoy by the site manager, all very in-keeping with the game.
Perfectly works with the history of the area, and has been very carefully crafted and designed to provide the perfect in-the-dark experience.

(We loved this puzzle, which kept us guessing for a while)

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

There is one puzzle which relies on scent, which was fairly difficult plus the smells weren't that pleasant!

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

A brilliantly unique idea which explores the use of different senses to work together and figure out what’s going on. Possibly the first escape room playable by fully blind and visually impaired people (and tested as such). Commands great teamwork, communication and focus. Would be excellent for small team-building experiences. The great thing is that everyone, no matter their experience of escape rooms before, is on a level playing field as your normal instinct to search the room and look for patterns and clues is removed, so it adds a layer of complexity which even seasoned escapers will need to work against. So don’t be scared, as even if you do feel panicky you can leave at any time, but the reward of triumphing against the adversity of lack of sight is massively rewarding. You can ask to see the room as it really is once you are done (i.e with the lights on). This can be a revelation to see how it has been designed and built, but on the other hand you might want to not see it, and keep the mystery and your own internal vision of what you experienced. The choice is yours!

(We particularly liked this feature!)

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

The venue has multiple physical rooms, portable escape games and even a puzzle-hunt around the local area, so you could easily spend all day here enjoying what they have to offer.
And if that’s still not enough they have a range of online games to play!
On a high-street so no immediate parking but the shopping centre has very affordable car-parks within a few minutes walk.

BOOK NOW

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Escape Coalville for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.