Our New Venue Latest and New Room Update!
Hello Escapers!
We know it’s been some time since we last gave you an update on what we’ve been up to at Cave Escape and how we’re progressing with Judge’s Escape Emporium, our planned sister site in lovely old Nottingham…
We are desperate to open but having taken over the building in lockdown and currently working through a cost-of-living crisis, we’ve certainly encountered a few bumps along the way! To give you some background, our new site is a huge, four storey, Grade II listed, late Georgian building which is located just 30 seconds walk away from our first baby, Cave Escape. During the Victorian period, the building was a prosperous bakery and tea shop owned by the Judge family. In fact, we are tenants of the Judge family to this day and have had the privilege of being given access to the building’s archive of photos and amazing family stories which we recently collected through an oral history project. We hope to present this as an exhibition within the communal areas so that players can learn a little more about the building that they are visiting whilst waiting for their game!
Unfortunately, having fallen into disrepair throughout the 20th century, we knew it was an ambitious (to say the least) project to take on when we first viewed it. But… we couldn’t help ourselves. We fell in love with the building and its many stunning period features that we intend to preserve for generations to come. Drawing inspiration from the existing spaces within the building, we are in the process of designing three unique games that build upon its historical features, including the original Victorian bakery within the basement. Practically a ready-made set for an escape room; the bread oven and bread paddles are still present and accounted for but in dire need of sympathetic conservation. If that’s not impressive enough, we also have the tea room which was a later addition by famous Architect, Watson Fothergill; designed to resemble a traditional Pullman train carriage. True to Fothergill’s original vision, the space will form a carriage of "The Great Scott,” the train in “Choo Dunnit?!,” our first game to launch at Judge’s Escape Emporium in late 2023.
The bottom line is that the amount of time, work and finance required to restore the building is significantly more than we anticipated. Aside from the building throwing us multiple challenges like hidden asbestos and Victorian lime paint that new plaster doesn’t like sticking to, we’ve also been facing the same difficulties as other small businesses. Materials are a third higher in price, staff salaries have increased and gas and electricity costs have sky-rocketed. As a small family business, we have limited resources and haven’t been able to progress anywhere nearly as quickly as we would have hoped or liked. So, to get over the finishing line, we’ve changed tack and opted for a plan that should do the trick.
To help with cash-flow, we’ve temporarily had to put “Choo Dunnit?!” on hold whilst we finish our third and final room at Cave Escape. It just makes sense given that we already have the infrastructure in place at Cave and creating another income stream will give us the free funds to be able to invest into our second baby, Judge’s Escape Emporium. It’s frustrating but in today’s economic climate, the only way forward. Having said that, given the challenges we’ve faced at Judge’s and the fact that we’re not part of a chain nor have big investors funding us, we have still come a long way:
· “Choo Dunnit?!” is designed and at build stage.
· The shop front has been sympathetically restored and sign-written with our super new branding.
· The derelict top floor is now complete and we’ve moved in to the offices, staff room and kitchen.
· We’ve installed central heating, new bathrooms and decorated some of the public areas.
There’s still a way to go but we are certainly getting there! Watch this space - Judge’s Escape Emporium IS coming soon!
THE GOOD NEWS IS that you are still getting a brand-spanking new room at Cave Escape and…it’s nearly finished! We’re very excited to announce:
“PROJECT ICEMAN”
launching 14.07.23
THE YEAR IS 2052. GLOBAL WARMING AND WORLD FOOD SHORTAGES HAVE RESULTED IN THE GREATEST CRISIS IN MANKIND'S HISTORY...
Having learnt from past mistakes and with the aim of creating a utopian society, governments and corporations worldwide have now successfully ended the use of fossil fuels and abolished weapons of war. MEGAMEAT, the world's largest corporation has found an innovative solution to end world hunger...or so we thought!
Bio-engineered to have no fart gland and producing zero emissions, the Woolly Mammoth IS BACK!!!
Ten years on, reproducing faster than they can be hunted by modern man and becoming increasingly aggressive, the mammoths are out of control! Some say it's because of their inability to fart, others say it's just too hot and they need a haircut! Either way, MEGAMEAT Corp need you to complete…“PROJECT ICEMAN”
With an outrageous original storyline, we think this game will be a real crowd-pleaser. We’ve thrown in a mammoth amount (get it?) of silliness and packed “PROJECT ICEMAN” to the brim with some insanely clever, beautiful and tech-forward puzzles. We know you’ll love it as much, if not more than our first and second award-winning games, Carfax and Monuments - so don’t delay, book now to be one of the first to play!