The Great Big Escape - "The Barber of Pope Street"

LOCATION:  Dorchester, United Kingdom

Photo above is property of The Great Big Escape

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: The Barber of Pope Street
📅 DATE PLAYED: May 13, 2023
🎬 GENRE: Thriller, Mystery
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5.5/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 3-5 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: £50-93.33/PP (pending on the group size)
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

One night, while working at the local alarm company, the alarm goes off at "Seventh Seal", a local barbershop that is also a bakery. You decide to go check it out. Upon entering, you can hear a humming sound. Suddenly, the phone rings...

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

The collaboration between a local business (in this case Seventh Seal) and an escape room to create a unique game for the area brings players an experience that they will not be able to find anywhere else in the world.
Upon entering the room, there's a sense of eeriness lurking in the air. It makes us wonder, where and what kind of secret is hidden within this normal-looking barber shop.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

The decor of the second room didn't meet our expectations of the "fear" that we were anticipating.
One of the puzzles might be more recognizable by local people in terms of what the puzzle is looking for but we had no idea what kind of solution it was aiming for.
The room has a good amount of reading that feels irrelevant to the puzzles. Some also feel like red herrings which can be eliminated.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

The Great Big Escape aims to create escape games with local businesses to make a one-of-a-kind experience that you'll only be able to find here. Since this is a family business, their production value can't really be compared to high-budget companies. Their customers are mostly beginners and therefore the puzzles are also on the easier side. This room had little tech involved but the creator put a lot of thought into the back story. We think with some help with the puzzle design, they will have something special for their community in the future.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Located in Brewery Square surrounded by restaurants and shops
Paid Parking lot across the street from Brewery Square
Bus stop and train station are both behind the Square
No seats in the lobby

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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 The Great Big Escape for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion of the review whatsoever.