Present, in November 2023, were: The Ant, Aunty Ant

Scary rooms, especially ones with live actors, aren’t really our thing. We do Escape Rooms to puzzle, not to wet our pants, and so tend to avoid those with darker themes. However, a couple of games on our Kent binge have done quite a lot to change our preconceptions on this genre of room.

The m.o. at Unsolved Mysteries is to offer a more interactive, immersive, story-based experience, set in their historic, atmospheric location of Fort Amherst. We played Advent Alley here, which is a more traditional game, but The Cabin is Chapter 1 in their new games bespoke for the venue. Reviews I’d seen prior to booking varied from mildly creepy to actually scary, but we had to try it (although bottled out of Chapter 2, The Basement).

The Cabin is a little tricky to review without a bit of a spoiler, so forgive me – please look away from this section if you don’t want to know more.

We’re in classic serial killer territory, exploring the remote hideaway of a suspected psycho in attempt to find a missing person. The difference here to most rooms is that you do actually find them (in our case, the lovely Charlotte) and they become an active part of your game. Part gamesmaster, part team player, part living prop, this really is a fantastic twist on a “normal” experience.

The set is brilliant quality and expansive in all the right, unexpected, ways. It is genuinely easy to believe that this is a real cabin in the woods and the immersion in the game follows naturally from this. Props are strongly interactive and perfectly on theme. Enthusiasts may also spot some familiar ER fan names being used, which gave us a chuckle! There is an impressive use of tech but also clever deployment of some much more basic items.

It isn’t the easiest space to negotiate and wouldn’t suit a large team – I can’t imagine having a six in here. We had a lot to do as a two though, so an extra body would have been handy. There is a significant amount of scrambling involved here, so ideally at least two team members need to be quite mobile. Us pair of crocks did manage though and were proud of ourselves.

For us, the balance of puzzles and fear factor was perfect. We don’t tend to take scares too seriously and the tone worked for us, with our “other” GM Roo playing up the campy threats role beautifully. We were laughing, but also very, very cautious every time we opened a door… I think the crew here are really good at judging how to give the best and most appropriate experience to their different players.

The teenagers would have loved a lot about this game but might have felt a little awkward around the live actor role (Phantom Peak went a long way to making me comfortable with this). I definitely wouldn’t put the wimpish off this experience – the story and puzzles are worth enduring a bit of creepiness and I would trust them not to ramp up the scares for a nervous team. And for anyone who loves the serial killer genre it is a chance to play something extra, original and immersive without requiring a change of underwear.

• Storyline: Strong narrative, beautifully executed all the way through.
• Theming and Set: Impressive and atmospheric.
• Searching: A little bit early on could have held us up, but not a major factor.
• Puzzles: Creative use of the surroundings to produce fresh and on-theme tasks.
• Physicality: As above, need some mobility in the space.
• Scare factor: You’ll be looking over your shoulder, not sobbing in a corner…probably.
• Company Age Guidance: “No one under the age of 12 will be permitted. Must be at least one adult (18+) in the room at all times”.
• Age suitability: Robust, older teens would be safe here, although any teams with youngsters will probably get an easy ride. My crew would have enjoyed it from 15 onwards, probably not before.

Unsolved Mysteries website