Do you love puzzles and solving mysteries? Escape rooms aren’t the first activity that springs to mind during the pandemic, but there have been a fair few virtual or at-home options springing up over the last six months. And now there’s a new one you can print out for some fun this evening.
In light of Netflix’s new Sherlock-flanked detective adventure, Enola Holmes, escape room crew Escape Hunt UK has put together a fun little game that takes you across Victorian London on a hunt for the titular heroine, which you can play entirely within your own home. It’s a pretty fun way to spend an hour or so of socially-distanced puzzle-solving, but you’ll probably need a printer and some DIY theming to set it up.
The free game, which somewhat takes cues from the film’s narrative, comes in the form of a downloadable PDF, which includes a map, a copy of The London Gazette, and a series of clues and activities to solve on an answer sheet to find Enola somewhere in 1884 London — don’t worry, she’s not missing, she’s just recruiting for her own detective agency.
The game takes you to multiple locations across 19th century London, without having to move.
Image: escape hunt uk
It’s made for ages eight and up, and you can play the game with up to six players, which works for the new rule of six in the UK. But you can also just play by yourself. First, you nominate someone to read aloud, even if it’s yourself reading to your hesitantly cooperative dog Padfoot. Then, hunt around the house for a pair of scissors, a pin and a cork (shoutout to the cork-equipped, wine-drinkin’ lockdown crew if you have one on hand), as well as a mirror.
The only thing you might benefit from is a colour printer, so you can have all the documents in front of you, but I didn’t have one of those at home and had to use Photoshop to complete a connect-the-dots activity. I also couldn’t do a couple of the activities that required folding and cutting paper, so relied on the clues page. It’s not too bad working with the PDF, but you’ll get more out of it if you do have a printer. Speaking of, I’d probably save this game for an evening, and get a few candles going, to set a glimmer of a 19th century London vibe. For more theming ideas, hit up Pinterest.
Costumes are optional, but here are some ideas.
Image: ROBERT VIGLASKI / LEGENDARY ©2020
Once you’re all set up, you use the clue sheet to identify locations on the map, like London’s bustling Covent Garden or Sherlock’s fictional residence 221b Baker Street, then head to the numbered page in the pack to solve a puzzle at that spot. The game rules say you can only visit one location at a time, so take it easy. And if you get stuck, you can use the clues page (which you’ll need to grab a mirror for), or consult the newspaper.
It doesn’t take long to finish, so this might just be a fun way to while away an hour with your kids, family, or housemates during this ongoing time of Being At Home. You can download it for free here.
If you want to make a whole night of it, Enola Holmes comes to Netflix on Sept. 23.