Present, in December 2023, were: The Ant, Teenage Avenger, Aunty Ant

Tulleys in Surrey has long been on our destination wishlist, but distance (just too far for a day trip and all the games) and the recommendation to take a larger team has stopped us. However, I have no such excuse for not visiting their partnership at Hatton, being that much closer and their two simpler games – except that, given their reputation, I was waiting for a special occasion. Christmas Eve and my 150th room seemed like destiny.

I didn’t really know what to expect from our venue of Hatton Country World – a mix of shopping village, theme park and garden centre. Having been there now, with the signs for the Potato Shindig, bridal shop and Christmas craft market, I’m still not sure. We didn’t venture far into the complex, just the loos and hot chocolate/bacon rolls (very nice, apparently) from one of the market stands. Wish we’d had more of a nose around. But stepping into the Escape Room building, we were immediately sure we were in safe hands. They have a lovely spacious lobby, with drinks and snacks available, and a warm welcome from our host Vee.

Mutiny is a classic pirate game of find the treasure and escape the ship before the evil captain catches you. We’ve done a few like this. But none actually like this – Mutiny for us was a whole new level.

The set is beautiful, and absolutely massive. No spoilers, but the extent of it, over an hour did astound (and slightly panic!) us. One of those “OMG, there’s another room” games, with the added joy of a complete environment transformation halfway through.

Puzzles were absolutely bang on the pirate theme with some totally unique tasks amongst the more classic favourites. Searching is a kicking-off point in each section, but that then resolves into clever and entertaining puzzles, so it didn’t feel as much of a chore as searching sometimes can (we still sucked).

There is quite a physical element to much of the game, which really adds to the piratical immersion – all very climb the rigging, hoist the mainsail, hard to starboard. It is quite non-linear and even as an experienced three there was a lot for us to do (some solutions I didn’t see at all) which added to the exertion and adrenaline rush. There’s one section where teams of 4+ might have a spare part or two, but that’s an exception.

I adore an animal companion hint system and we were ably abetted by Polly Parrot, who added wonderfully to the jollity by seeming to enjoy our game as much as we did. Vee had obviously understood the essence of our team instantly during the briefing and was totally on point with nudges and occasional mickey-taking. Loved it.

Mutiny was more than deserving of a 150th landmark game. We escaped in 53 minutes, but it felt much longer, in a very good way. An absolutely epic adventure.

• Storyline: Find the treasure and escape the ship, narrative logic a bit shaky in parts but pulls it all together in the end.
• Theming and Set: Stunning, absolute quality.
• Searching: Need both eyes open for this, but definitely secondary to puzzles.
• Puzzles: Classics mixed with some innovative stuff.
• Physicality: A fairly full-on room, where at least someone needs to be relatively agile.
• Scare factor: No actual scares, but gentle warning for pirate-style bones, bugs and bangs.
• Company Age Guidance: “There are no restrictions on age, however, the puzzles may be too demanding for those under 12 so they must be accompanied by at least one adult in the Escape Room”
• Age suitability: Kids in a mixed team would probably have a good time in here. Would not put off 7+.

Hatton website