Sliding across the floor to unlock the final door! – An Interview with An Enthusiast

It’s October, and a new month brings a new chapter of An Interview with an Enthusiast! In this series we chat to some of the UK’s (and the world’s) biggest escape room enthusiasts to talk about some of their favourite and most memorable experiences.

Meet Georgie, the escape room reviewer behind Discomlogicated!

Tell us about yourself!

My name is Georgie – I’m originally from Wales, but moved to London a few years ago. By day I’m an analyst, which probably plays into my love of puzzles! I started by escape room review blog (discomlogicated.com) around room 50 – I’m now on over 120! I am also a pretty active member of the “UK escape room enthusiasts group” on Facebook, which is where I met the inimitable Mairi!

Escape Rooms, Board Games, Video Games..? What’s your poison?

I grew up on board games, dice games and card games thanks to my mum, so they’re definitely in my blood! Video games too – Monkey Island was a big favourite of mine, which I think all laid the foundation for my escape room addiction! 

The million dollar question – how many escape rooms have you done?

Current count is 126. I don’t count virtual rooms because I haven’t done many…because they just don’t hit the same.

Which was your very first escape room?

My very first room was the secret agent room at Puzzlair, Bristol. It was for my 21st birthday (I’m coming up to 27 now), with a couple of friends. It still ranks quite highly for me – it had a secret room I didn’t see coming, quite a sneaky puzzle and was non-linear. It also had lots of the classic puzzles you’d expect, so was a great taste of things to come!

Looking back, the set design was extremely basic and it’s probably a below average room now given what’s on the market, but at the time it definitely ignited a spark.

And how about your favourite escape room?

For the last 5 years my favourite room was by TimeRun (if you know, you know), which also closed 5ish years ago.

However, they were recently bumped by the amazing “Locked In Edinburgh” this past summer! You can read all about it on my blog, but essentially they hit alllll the points I look for – set design, immersion, staff, and puzzles (quality, quantity and individuality). Both the rooms we did there blew me away.

I truly believe this room (The Cutting Room) is an absolute work of art with how perfectly everything fit together, and should be used as an example for other budding room designers.

Review of The Cutting Room, Discomlogicated

What are some of the most memorable experiences you’ve ever had in an escape room?

I’ve had to refer back to my list to remember, which probably isn’t a great sign! Most of mine come from either near-misses (sliding across the floor to unlock the final door when we had less than a minute left in Professor Dunstan at Co-Decode Swindon) or just walking into an amazing set for the first time (most rooms at The Panic Rooms).

I also get really excited about hidden rooms, especially ones I don’t see coming – shout out to Ctrl Alt Escape in Margate for this!

My most memorable experience was probably at Spacescape there – we’d discovered a hidden area (woo!) which had quite an exciting challenge, we had limited time left so I was rushing perhaps a little too much…and absolutely faceplanted off a couple of steep steps (imagine the stort you have to scramble up). At the time I was high on adrenaline and walked it off, but I remember my knees, elbows and chin being pretty banged up, and the GMs were very concerned!

Desk, plant pot, picture frame – which do you look under first?

Oh desk absolutely – rip those drawers right out and check the back straight away. I tend to absolutely destroy those sort of rooms.

If I gave you a blank cheque to create a dream ‘experience’, what would it be like?

I would love a vertical room, so rather than unlocking hidden rooms horizontally, maybe you discover a ladder, or a trap door. I’d also add some replay ability there – you have to make a choice at some point which locks you out of half the room.

What are you most looking forward to in the next 3 years?

Getting back to life! I’ve got a list of escape rooms across the country I want to go to, and I’ve made more friends in the community to play with. I’m also in the process of buying a flat, so looking forward to creating a home.

Can you give us a short puzzle for us (and our readers) to solve?

I’m more of a puzzle-solver than puzzle-creator, sorry! However, this is one I remember hearing when I younger (like, 10) which I think explains my sense of humour and enjoyment of puzzles:

1. How do you fit an elephant in your fridge?
2. How do you fit a giraffe in your fridge?
3. You’ve been invited to a party in the Savannah and all the animals will be there. You’re running late, but to get there you need to cross a river where the crocodiles live and there’s no bridge! How do you get across?
4. Phew! You reach the party, but someone is missing! Who is it?

Answers (Highlight to Reveal!)

1. Open the door, take out the food, put the elephant in and close the door.
2. Open the door, take out the elephant, bend the giraffes neck and put him in and close the door.
3. You swim – the crocodiles are already at the party
4. The giraffe – they’re still stuck in your fridge!