The Paradox Project: The Bookstore

This is my new favorite escape room--worth a trip to Athens all in its own, though the other two Paradox Project rooms are very nearly as good. We were in the room for a total of FOUR HOURS, which sounds interminable, but the puzzles and immersion are so good that the time spent feels exactly right. The start of the game is immediately immersive--no chatting with a host and dealing with payment and rules and all that, just open a door off the street, and you're in the bookstore. The use of space was creative, the sheer number of rooms was incredible, the puzzles were fantastic and many of them unique. In terms of logistics for the game: we played it in English, and there was access to a bathroom and the option to take a break midway.

This room is huge and a lot to do for a 2 (designed for 4+). 

Could easily be a 4.5 or 5 if they just made it shorter by cutting some of the weaker puzzles (or even entire rooms). 3.5hrs means it finishes with a sense of "thank god that's over", which is a shame as the room is so strong (just too long). We have done 6 rooms in a day before, but I think the regular short breaks help. 

This was the first time we ever failed to get out of a room in time in ~100 games, likely tainted my feeling at the finale. 

I would recommend this room to any enthusiast simply because it will offer something new and novel. 

This game is in my top-3 of all time. The sequel to a game that started their 3-hour USP, and this game really delivers.

I don't want to say much more, other than the hype around this game is justified. If you are going to Athens and can't play all 3 of theirs, just this one should be on your list - but if you can do all, then do them in order. 

We asked for a challenge by taking on this epic room as just a two.  What an adventure!  We did find it a little much with such a small group but they do recommend that you have a minimum of 4 players so that's really our fault.  I'm glad they let us do it as a two because I would have hated to miss out on it on our trip to Athens.

This was our favourite out of all the paradox rooms. As a 3 hour room, we were impressed by the progressing story and mass of puzzles. The mechanisms and tech used is beautiful, with spaces appearing out of what seemed like nowhere. We thoroughly enjoyed the puzzles and the set-design was beautiful. We completed this with good time to spare and managed to play the game without a break. 

Wow this game is simply epic in scale, but not only that it is also of a fantastically high quality.

To give an idea of the scale - they give you 200 minutes, yes 3 hours & 20 minutes!! It can best be described as 6 different rooms that you have to work your way through, and each of them is about the size of a normal British room, with nearly as much to do in each one as well. It is such a long game that they even build in a break half way through and they provide drinks and cookies to revive you.

The only thing which came close in UK was Lance of Longinus at Time Run, with its multiple rooms, but this is much bigger still, as it should be for something lasting 3 times as long.

One of the strengths of this game I felt was the distinct lack of padlocks. A large proportion of the game was solved through physically doing something - and amazingly they all worked, and only one of them was a bit slow to recognise our correct answer. To have such a variety of puzzles is truly incredible and this game will live a very long time in the memory.

Equally memorable was the way you get from one space to the next, I wont spoil the surprise but prepare to be amazed!

Our host spoke great English and the game is fully compatible for English speakers. The only slight downside is you have to get a bus or taxi from the centre for 10 minutes to get there.

If you are Athens I highly recommend you find the time to play this game.