Escapeleku – Sahara – Escape Room Vitoria-Gasteiz
Sahara /Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) / 2-6 Players / Price: 16.66 – 30 EURO per person / Rating: 8.5
Location: Calle Eskalmendi, 9 Pabellón 1, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Navarra
Date of Play: 07.10.2022
Team Size: 4
Who would have thought that we would once end up in the Sahara in northern Spain? Here we went back to the roots: No great technology, but authenticity and a lot of humor in Escapeleku. Read our review here.
Escapeleku’s Sahara is located in the middle of an industrial area, just two minutes away from Top Escape Room Project 2021’s winning Escape Room You’ll float. You can park right in front of the location on the lot.
Once again, we found ourselves in front of an unassuming door. When we rang the bell at the booked time, our well-dressed host, who was dressed as a Tuareg, opened the door for us and shouted a cheerful Salam Aleikum. At the same time, he invited us to take a seat in his small, oriental-style sitting area.
However, we were not allowed to step on the carpet with our shoes, as this was not appropriate. At the same time, he brought us a pair of slippers, with which we were to contest the later adventure in the Sahara.
It quickly became apparent that English was not necessarily our host’s forte. But that made the whole adventure even more authentic. So there was a conversation with many hands and feet, but also a certain wink. We rarely had so much fun, even before the game started. Our host was bursting with energy and charm.
When we were done with the pre-game banter, we were handed blindfolds. After putting them on, we were led one by one into the actual game and the adventure in the Sahara could begin.
Sahara
An archaeological expedition. A Tuareg treasure. A nomad camp. In the middle of the desert, they are usually hospitable, but… something is wrong, you are trapped in the SAHARA.
The room
After we were allowed to remove our blindfolds, we found ourselves chained up in what we thought was an authentic Tuareg tent. The furniture was procured by the owner from Marrakech especially for the game to give the environment the necessary authenticity. We didn’t find anything that took us out of the immersion of the game, especially at the beginning. The actual Sahara part was also quite successful so far, though of course somewhat limited by its size. Modern “Arabic” music was playing in the background. The story was told with a wink through some “comedic” interludes and became quite an entertaining adventure.
The puzzles
As you would expect, in Sahara you have to open various locks and discover numerical codes. Within the setting, however, this always felt authentic. Cognitive and haptic puzzles were varied and provided adequate variety in the adventure. The hint system is largely successful and the puzzles were appropriately comprehensible and logical.
The gamemaster
The efforts of our game master helped to tell an entertaining adventure. The tips came into the room over loudspeakers. Despite the language barrier, or perhaps because of it, his comedic style carried through to the tips as well.
Conclusion
Escapeleku offers an original adventure with the Escape Room Sahara, which we had not experienced before. Even though the story wasn’t always quite tangible and the puzzles were mostly quite standard, that didn’t detract from the fun. The centerpiece of the room is the Escapeleku owner. This, along with the authentic accessories, fills the game with life and made it memorable for us. Sahara can be solved well by an archaeology team of 2 to 4 people who may also not have too many expeditions behind them.
