With the nation under lockdown, the brains at Bewilder Box made it their mission to bring the joy of escape room games to homes all over the UK and beyond. Collaborating with Eltham Escapes, they’ve launched an online multiplayer game that allows up to 6 players to work together from various locations in Sector X: The B.R.U.C.E. Project.
Sector X: The B.R.U.C.E. Project will run on any browser, (Chrome recommended) from a PC or Mac desktop computer or laptop, and is available from shop.escaperoomonline.co.uk priced at £15.00.
The puzzles, which are synced across each players screen, have been designed specifically to require cooperation, so teams will need to drag, drop, solve and sleuth their way to victory, whilst communicating in real-time via Zoom or their chosen platform.
The game is heavily inspired by the point and click adventures that were made popular by Lucas Arts in the 1990s. ‘Point and click games evolved into the escape the room puzzle apps, which in turn evolved into real-life experiences’, commented Dave Middleton (co-founder of Bewilder Box). ‘Making this game feels like we’ve come full circle, though the original games were never multiplayer, which is the crucial difference here. Our online game is a shared experience; just like an actual escape room’.
Sector X: The B.R.U.C.E. Project is the latest in a long line of games developed by the Bewilder Box team including its own hit games: ‘The Initiative’ and ‘Judgement D.A.V.E.’ located in Brighton; ‘The Official Peaky Blinders Escape Room’ for Escape Live in Birmingham; and ‘Flight 338: The World’s First Escape Plane’ in London.
Dave Middleton and Dave Staffell (co-founders of Bewilder Box Escape Rooms) are leading experts on the UK’s escape room culture. They have been interviewed by multiple publications including The Economist; co-organised and have been speakers at the UK’s escape room industry conference attended by 500 industry members in 2019; and appeared on ‘What Britain Buys’ with Mary Portas, discussing the growth of the escape room industry.
