Headlock Escape Rooms: The Pursuit for Red Beard’s Treasure

Among the many different models of "play-at-home" ER game that have emerged in the last year, the Pursuit of Red Beard's Treasure is the only one we've played that is a large-scale physical game delivered to your door (assuming you live in, or near Norfolk).

The hosts arrive at the location you choose (we played it in our garden, but I guess you could book them for any public location), and set up a very large pirate's chest and various other physical items, (all housed under a marquee in case of bad weather). They also stay on-site to act as gamesmasters/hint givers if required as you play, but otherwise stayed out of the way and let you get on with it. We played on a beautiful sunny day with two large families - four adults, six children aged between 8-15yrs old (and a dog!), and it was perfect for that sort of group - everyone could find something to do - and it was a novelty to be able to spread out outdoors while we played. The hosts were lovely, and stayed for a good chat afterwards and let you ask any questions about the game etc.

The puzzles are exactly what you'd expect from a pirate game - treasure maps, skull and crossbones, looking glasses, curses and sea monsters etc. And because this is an at-home game delivered in-person rather than through the post, there's some chunky artifacts and physical props to examine rather than just paper photocopies. It's basically comparable to many escape rooms, but they bring it to your house. There's no electronics, but there's still some satisfying purely mechanical tech as you interact with the chest and the items it contains. There wasn't any single particular item or puzzle that stood out as exceptional, but everything was solid and flowed together well, and all fitted well in the theme and narrative.

There was plenty of content, all of it family-friendly, and I think this would make an absolutely great activity for birthday parties or other family get-togethers where you want some entertainment that's a little bit out-of-the-ordinary, and where you want to accommodate 10+ players in a single game. Recommended.