For the first time in a century The Interesting Times Guild, an august and downright fabulous secret society are opening their books. New recruits will be expected to prove their aptitude through a battery of tests. All designed to put body and mind under pressure and to deliver a crash course in the secret history of the world. Want to know what really killed Rasputin? Or what Nixon was actually looking for in the Watergate Hotel? Better sign up!
	30 minutes
	2-5 players
	Difficulty level not stated
	£21 per person
	Waterloo, London, UK
	vaultfestival.com
	Played by Jenny, Paul and Bharath
	February 2020
	Successfully completed
	This room is no longer available to play

Theming

6/10Having really enjoyed all the previous Mostly Harmless pop ups, I had high hopes for their new game. Unfortunately The Guild didn’t live up to my expectations. Whilst the host was great in their character and the secret society element of the challenge remained strong, the puzzles and game play felt a little weak. I feel the main issue with this challenge is the fact it’s held in the bar of the busy Vaults so it’s quite hard to remain focused and it’s quite difficult to move around.

Jenny

5/10This is held in an upstairs bar within The Vaults in Waterloo. The only theming really is from the story and from our host who was in character as a slightly eccentric guild leader. He acted this role out very well. There’s nothing in the bar itself, although this is supposed to be a secret mission so it does fit in with the fact we’re supposed to be blending in. So much so that we struggled to find the ‘room’ upon arrival as there was minimal signposting! I don’t recall being given any secret history of the world. There’s an inventive objective to piece together the secret handshake so that you can join the exclusive guild and receive a cocktail. This wasn’t as immersive as I would expect from a Mostly Harmless production though, and it didn’t feel that escape room-like either.

Paul

7/10[score only]

 Bharath

Puzzles

5/10We were put into a mixed group and had to all crowd around a box containing different challenges that would reveal the secret handshake. Having been mixed up, I only got to play three out of the six games which potentially spoilt the experience. This game is more of an immersive experience rather than an escape room. I did like one of the games I played as I got to interact with workers in The Vaults, whereas another game just made us stand like statues. I feel if we’d managed to get a private game then the experience could’ve been a lot better.

Jenny

4/10This starts off with one puzzle that you all work on together. This is where I felt most left out because there wasn’t enough space for all 5 of us to get involved so I was left on the sidelines. Once completed, it became non-linear with 4 separate tasks that needed to be solved to piece together the secret handshake, joining up the 2 parts that our host gifted us. We then split up into teams to work on them simultaneously. The 2 tasks that I completed worked on the same principle and were not that difficult. The others seemed different from what I could tell, but It’s disappointing that with only 5 puzzles, 2 were effectively the same. We then all reconvened to share our answers and perform the secret handshake which awarded us with a cocktail-filled test tube each.

Paul

6/10[score only]

 Bharath

Enjoyment

5/10Sadly this experience was nowhere near as good as their other games I’ve played at The Vaults. I feel the change in location and the crowded space we played in hindered the game. The main issue is that we only got to play a couple of games each. I’m hoping next year it’ll be back to a big room with more ties to an escape room.

Jenny

4/10Unfortunately I felt really underwhelmed by The Guild. The bar was set high because of our previous experience with Mostly Harmless, but this lacked both in escape room content and in immersiveness. We got unexpectedly grouped with 2 other people, making us a team of 5 which was too large for the offering. It meant there were times when I couldn’t see what was going on due to the lack of space around the small box of puzzles. This was made worse by the low light and having only 2 weak torches to share between the 5 of us. As our group split up to work on separate puzzles, it meant I only got to properly partake in 2 of them and was left a bit bewildered as to what was going on with the rest. The good acting and unique plot couldn’t save this for me.

Paul

6/10[score only]

 Bharath

Value

5/10This is only a 30 minute game, so this makes the experience a lot more expensive. You do receive a free cocktail, but I feel for the challenge you get it leaves you short-changed. The acting was still high, but the cramped space and not getting to play all the games devalued it for me.

Jenny

4/10At £21 per person for a 30 minute jaunt, this is a premium price for a non-premium experience. We didn’t get a dedicated escape room, just a box of puzzles in a bar. We also didn’t have the game to ourselves, being grouped with others to the point of crowdedness and causing me to miss a lot of the action. Yes, we had a good actor/host and we were given 2 cocktails each as part of the price, but we couldn’t choose what we got and they weren’t to my taste. It’s good that Mostly Harmless are trying something different, but it just didn’t work for me. It reminded me of a simplified version of 12 Pubs of Christmas.

Paul

6/10[score only]

 Bharath

Overall scores