Tbilisi, Jun 2024
Tbilisi used to have more escape companies, but the pandemic took a toll, and at time of writing I believe there are only two available. TTE Rooms is the closer one to the centre, and has just the one room, the name of which I only discovered after we’d completed it. If you’re trying to find this venue, be warned that there seem to be three building entrances with the same number on that street, and you’ll want the third one.
The story is that you’re attempting to steal some gold from a house, following in the footsteps of a friend? or boss? or rival? who previously attempted it but had to flee, or possibly got caught; and also the house is haunted. Perhaps the story was clearer in Georgian. But the gist was, solve puzzles, find some gold, watch out for a possible ghost.
This is not a high budget room – it’s very back to basics, a bit tatty and damaged in places, and feels cobbled together as a passion project by the owner. The puzzle sequence is linear and not too challenging, and has a bit of a tendency to do ‘key for a key’, where you open something and find just a key to open something else in turn. And one step used a three digit code in a four digit lock, which is a bit of a design crime.
And still – despite the damage, it gives the impression of being designed and run by someone who cares about the game. It’s a good sized space, and I liked the variety of mechanisms used, and the handmade construction style. The scare elements felt a bit tacked on, but still added to the experience, especially with the use of audio for extra drama. And the ending was a great way to finish strong.
We played a very mixed selection of escape rooms around Central Asia and the Caucasus. It’s safe to say that the standard was not up to what you might be used to in Western Europe or North America, though in some cases the biggest problems were with poor hosting or maintenance. TTE Rooms was definitely not the most polished venue we tried, and certainly had its flaws, but I found it surprisingly fun, and was probably my favourite of the rooms we played in the region. 
