Riddlr: The Brunel Enigma

A telegram from good old Isambard Kingdom Brunel sets us onto a trail of clues leading to a mysterious machine – will we solve his enigma, or will it all go up in a cloud of steam?

Riddlr

• Location: Kingswood, Bristol
• Players: 2-6
• We played: February 2019 as a team of 5

Great things about The Brunel Enigma

• This room employs a good range of tasks and objects that are interacted with in diverse and fun ways. Although you progress along a linear path to a clear final objective, there are a couple of nice surprising moments along the way.
• Many of the puzzles and tasks in The Brunel Enigma are designed in a way that demands solid teamwork to solve them. No one person can have all the necessary information in front of them, and good communication proves essential. This is important in a linear room, where less experienced team members could otherwise be left with little to do.
• This room’s Victorian study theme is effectively created through good attention to detail in the décor. A few little anachronistic elements don’t upset the overall atmosphere of the room, and a couple of impressive props make the room memorable.
• On our visit we were met and looked after by the founders and designers of Riddlr, Justin and Tom, who made every effort to make our time there enjoyable and worthwhile.

On the other hand…

• Riddlr are clear about the fact that their rooms have a linear structure, and our host suggested raising the difficulty level by hiding (at least to begin with) a sign indicating the order of tasks. This was a good idea and did indeed make the room more tricky, but it had a downside: solving a task often left us with a number code, several potential ways to use it and no indication of which one to go for. This could be overcome by using symbols, colour coding or something else to subtly link puzzles to the locks they open, which would still allow for the added challenge of not knowing which order to approach things in.

Who should try this room?

You don’t need to be an engineering genius to enjoy this room. We’d recommend it to any groups of friends or family who want a well-designed and immersive experience in Bristol.

Rating – 8/10