Escapism Nanaimo - "The Sorcerer's Study"

Matthew Lui

Aug 4, 20212 min read

Updated: Apr 22, 2024

LOCATION:  Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Photo above is property of Escapism Nanaimo

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: The Sorcerer's Study
📅 DATE PLAYED: August 5, 2021
🎬 GENRE: Medieval
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 Players): 8/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-6 PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: CAD $30/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: YES

📖 THE STORY

Queen Magdalena believes that Vesputin, the royal sorcerer, has stolen her jasper amulet, a powerful family heirloom. As her royal scribes’, she has tasked you to search Vesputin’s study to find the amulet and expose his treason.

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

For a location that doubles as a bowling alley, the set design blew me away. They definitely pulled out all the stops to make it feel like a medieval room. I honestly felt it had a Disney theme park feel to it (as the owner said they worked with a former Disney designer to help create the room). Even all the locks were old brass padlocks.
I was worried a little at first that we were only allowed “3 hints” but the GM was fully dedicated to us and monitored us through the game. When it looked like we were stuck, they would send us some nudges on the hint screen to get us on our way.
The puzzles fit well into the theme with a lot of tech, which made the reveals more exciting. They also paid attention to a lot of small details that really made a difference.
The fanfare and effects that went off at the end definitely made us feel like champions!

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

There were searching puzzles in the room that seemed tedious and difficult for a low-lit room as well as hiding key items in spots of the room that did not seem obvious to search.
There was a puzzle that required some outside knowledge to complete. We felt that a majority of people would know the information required but for those that do not, it would be nice to have a clue to guide them.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

The Sorcerer’s Study is a game that will be a fun experience for any enthusiast, but use caution if you use this as an introduction game for people who have never done escape rooms before as some of the puzzles seemed on the difficult side. The fact that there was some fun, “I can’t believe that just happened!” reveals really made this room stand out. We would suggest this room for about 4 to 5 people as the puzzles were fairly linear but it did have a puzzle that could be worked on right away that was needed at the end (just make sure you search EVERYWHERE in the room). If you do end up with a larger group, you could also take turns playing the escape room as the others are bowling.