Escape room experience Letsxcape comes to Kelham Hall
A new immersive escape room experience that tasks people with puzzles, challenges and riddles has opened in Kelham Hall.
Letsxcape is offering families, friends and businesses the opportunity to test their skills in the interactive game.
It has opened up the multi-room experience on the ground-floor of the hall, with realistic furnishings and atmospheric sound effects.
Mr Nigel Catt, director and founder of Letsxcape, said it was a fun activity that would hopefully appeal to a lot of people.
"As a family man, I noticed there was a need for something like this in Newark," he said.
"There is not a huge amount for people to do in the town.
"This offers an opportunity to escape from modern-day technology — families and friends need to communicate and work together to solve the challenges rather than asking Siri or Alexa.
"It has been six months of planning and three months of building to get this ready, but I am very pleased with the outcome. I cannot wait for more people to see it.
"This is still a young industry in the UK, but it has been growing rapidly over the past three years.
"Jonathan Pass (owner of Kelham Hall) was really excited about the idea, and the hall is a perfect setting for us."
The first challenge is based on the story of American oilmen based at Kelham Hall during the second world war as they secretly drilled for oil at Dukes Wood, Eakring.
Game-players become engineers tasked with deactivating a fictional oil well in the hall, which is set to explode if they fail to complete the challenges within the hour time-limit
Mr Catt said while it was an immersive experience, it would be different to traditional escape rooms as doors would not be locked.
A lot of the authentic furnishings were supplied by Charlie Palmer, of PW Well Services, Newark.
Mr Catt said it was important to bring local history into the experience.
"From the start I have always set the benchmark high, wanting to create a really authentic and immersive experience, avoiding the desire to simply throw a load of puzzles in a room and ask people to escape," he said.
"Feedback has already been that players do feel like they have stepped back into a 1940s dilapidated industrial workshop, and forget the outside world.
"There is a rich history here at Kelham Hall — a lot of ideas and stories for us to tap into and explore.
"It could have been based somewhere else, such as a space station, but I wanted to make it more relevant so people knew why they were completing it."
A couple and a family-of-four helped test the challenges.
"They were very positive about it and came out with smiles on their faces," Mr Catt said.
"It was interesting to watch. I have been able to tweak a few things, and when you can see someone figure something out it is great."
The final room designs were aided by members of a company that has worked on the Wolf Hall television series.
Mr Catt said if the venture was successful, there was the possibility of expanding.
"It could help businesses with the assessment of future managers, staff training and recruitment," Mr Catt said.
"I am keen to explore the notion of removing competency-based interviews, which require an element of faith in what people are saying.
"This could place would-be managers in such environments, where they can demonstrate leadership, communication and problem-solving skills."
Ideas for future games could be based on the hall’s past as a training college for the Society Of The Sacred Mission, as well as the place where King Charles I was held after surrendering at the end of the Civil War.
Go to www.letsxcape.co.uk for more details.
