CSI: Time’s Up Review | You and your team of detectives have been called to a local bar, A murder has been committed and we need you to solve the case.

Date Played: 2019
Team Size: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Mythologic Escape Rooms have two locations which are based just off Gillingham High Street, one in an upstairs unit above some retail outlets. With a blacked out front door, with some cool graphic design explaining what to expect inside, and large Mythologic sign, the unassuming building houses two escape rooms which really pack a punch. The other a large double fronted shop with HUGE Mythologic sign, certainly making it difficult to miss!

Greeted at the door by the owners/designers Michelle and Chris, the welcome could not have been warmer. Both waiting areas are open and airy, with a comfortable reception area, we are offered a comfortable seat and somewhere to lock away our belongings. Water is readily available and there is well appointed lavatory area (which also has a number of essential personal hygiene products, such as deodorants etc. which is a lovely personal touch)

A briefing commences within the reception area and the disclaimers are all signed on digital tablets (which makes the hassle of pens and paper disclaimers feel like a distant nightmare)!

It is clearly evident from chatting to the owners that they are passionate about their rooms and obviously their customer service, which was faultless. We were made to feel at home with their personal yet professional touch.

Time to Release Your Inner Detective!

Its time to release your inner detective! Lets face it, television and movies are packed with awesome CSI murder mysteries, so why not be part of your very own. This is a really strong outing from the Mythologic team which we massively enjoyed!

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The story (I will be as vague as what is presented on the Mythologic website so that there are no spoilers!), is that the HQ have called and given you and your team the lowdown on a murder. All you have is a crime scene, a chalk outline of a body, a missing murder weapon and no idea of who committed the crime. Can you crack the case?! When we read this before visiting it really got the imagination juices flowing wondering what we were going to be presented with. It’s safe to say we were not disappointed when the door opened and we went inside. Again, no spoilers as to what your crime scene actually is! You’ll just have to play it yourself and find out.

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Walking in, apart from the initial great surprise about our setting, the first thing that hit us was the apparent simplicity of what we faced – as many of our reviews have mentioned before – do not be fooled by what appears to be simple! Those that have this initial simplistic approach are often the best games – and that is certainly 100% true of this game! I am pretty sure when you walk through the door you’ll say exactly like we did – “Where the hell do we start?!”

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Armed with a clever piece of tech, and a clipboard, your mission is to utilise your detective skills to locate the right pieces of evidence to build your case and present this to HQ in order to solve this murder. What we really liked about this approach is that the game brilliantly combined an old school murder mystery with some classic escape room puzzles. Its not purely a case of locating the evidence at face value – there are strategically thought out puzzles which pace this room really well. The game evolves really well, and the evidence is presented in a way which doesn’t allow your team to jump to any conclusions until the final piece is located.

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Puzzling Through the Crime

All the puzzles stuck brilliantly to the theme in this room. Nothing was out of place – it was a real highlight of this fantastic room.

In terms of the puzzles another huge positive is that this game is accessible to all. There is no big, elaborate, over thought-out puzzles in this – everything is punchy and pulls on the old school methods of number locks, letter locks and keys. There are a few tech related puzzles but these really enhance the whole gaming experience.Given this, its certainly a game that families and those newer to the world of escape rooms would love, as there is nothing too advanced. Likewise, enthusiasts will thrive on the excellent combination of escape room and murder mystery with a well established, ever-developing story line.

Its very easy to be complacent in this room – it doesn’t feel hugely pressured in the early stages but that does mean its really easy to let time run away with you. About 20 minutes in we glanced at the clock and was shocked about how little we felt we had achieved. I’d suggest being strategic in this room – communicate with your team and teamwork is certainly the key to success here. Once we had come up with a better game plan as to how to tackle this room, we really got into the flow!

What we really liked about this game was simply how the game flowed. The right evidence at the right time. The evolving and increasing depth of story is very strong. How you collect evidence is done in a really clever way and you would be forgiven to feeling like a pro detective by the time you’ve finished!

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The Verdict

The Mythologic team continue to develop a brilliant and diverse set of escape rooms and this is no exception. We all agreed that we would highly recommended this room to all. With a brilliant combination of murder mystery coupled with old school styling, really strong puzzles and a great theme – make sure you add this one to the to-do list. Very different from many other escape room experiences, this is sure to be one you wont forget.

Would I recommend this room?

Certainly! A really clever mix of murder mystery and old school escape styling

Who would I recommend it to?

Newcomers and families will be sure to love this. Likewise those more advanced will certainly appreciate the outstanding creativity that has gone into this.

How many players would I recommend?

4 is a great team number for this game as there is generally plenty of space to play and enough to keep everyone occupied.

Suitable for Children?

Yeah, completely fine. Understandably there might be some things which are slightly too advanced for younger guests to appreciate, however there is nothing scary or offensive

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CSI: Time’s Up can be booked by heading to Mythologic’s website here.