Bury, Apr 2022
Of Compendium’s (currently) four games, UI-55 stands apart, right near the top of enthusiasts’ rankings for best U.K. games. It’s also very different in style: where the others are well suited for an experienced pair, UI-55 is a score-based game where you’ll probably want at least three if not four, if you’re aiming to get through anything like all of it.
With my usual disregard for the finer points of the plot, I’d boil this one down to: you’re on a submarine, there’s a bunch of loot, get as much as you can before your oxygen runs out. But this is not in any case about the story, it’s one big puzzle-fest. It’s also entirely non-linear, with all 30 puzzles solvable immediately: where you start is up to your whim.
As submarines go, this one is pretty spacious. While that might not be the peak of immersion, it’s a thoroughly good thing for a game where you and your teammates are likely to be frantically rushing back and forth non-stop.
There are a couple of idiosyncratic twists. Firstly, each puzzle resolves to a numeric code, which can be redeemed for actual loot only via a multi step process that includes an arcade game style skill task. (The details are explained fully in the briefing before the game starts, but I’m keeping it as vague and spoiler-free as possible.) And secondly, there’s a short one-player finale that’s clearly inspired by The Crystal Maze.
The process needed to turn a code into loot could be a frustrating distraction that takes up too much precious time, but fortunately they’ve decided to make the trickiest part of it optional: if you’d rather ignore it in favour of the actual puzzles, you can do so with no penalty. That all seemed a little confusing in the briefing but rapidly made sense. The big advantage of the system is that if you’re playing with kids, or maybe just someone who’s struggling with the puzzles, they can take charge of this part of the game.
Make no mistake, this is a game for enthusiasts: there’s such a quantity of things to look at and do across the multi-room area that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That said, quite a few puzzles are self-contained in one spot, so it’s not at all hard to pick a place to start. As you progress, coordination becomes increasingly important too, to avoid duplicated effort; and obviously it makes sense to split up and work in parallel as much as possible, if you want to maximise your score.
Because of the game style, beginner teams may be better off trying some of the other options at Compendium first, for a more linear experience. But for enthusiasts there’s little question that UI-55 will be the highlight – not only are all players more or less guaranteed a full hour of quality solving, the open structure also means people can gravitate to the styles of puzzle that most appeal to them. With a variety that spans classic escape room ideas to more unusual tasks, physical to electronic, there’s a menu to suit most tastes. It’s even potentially replayable, since on a second visit you could focus on the puzzles you didn’t previously solve, or which were solved by a teammate. 