Keylock Games – Unfair Funfair – 7.5/10

Wickford, Essex

People keep telling us that our funfair is rigged to never pay-out. Everybody wants to win a cuddly toy but it’s not our fault that people aren’t winning…… well not completely anyways heh heh….. listen, We welcome you to the unfair funfair and if you can find the tickets we’ll even let you spin the wheel of prizes, so you might just be walking out of here with a something for your trouble! Good luck getting those tickets though, trust me you’ll need it.

Played February 2023

First things first, when I contacted Keylock Games about booking, I had a specific requirement and they were very accommodating, so the customer service from the very start was top notch.

We arrived at Keylock Games after work one evening. It can be quite busy around there so leave yourself with time to find a parking spot if need be. The supermarket opposite isn’t suitable if you’re planning on doing two games back to back, or if, like us, you’re a bit chatty pre and post game. Our host and game creator, Adam, made us feel very welcome. We spent a long time talking all things escape room and gushing about games. Something I was very much surprised by was when he mentioned being nervous about us coming when I booked. Like, someone’s actually heard of us? So weird! Pretty sure this blog is just for me, and we’re not a particularly vocal bunch when it comes to social media. So Adam, if you’re reading this, hey man, can’t wait for the new game 🙂

Now, I don’t normally do this, but, as this game was about a funfair, Adam also showed off his balloon animal skills, so meet Henry..

On to the game. In we went to the entrance of the unfair funfair, but before we can play some games, we have to break in to the place. Kind of the opposite of an escape room then, but you get the drift. Team DARKE had a bit of a rocky start. Oh uh! I feel like we’ve got some kind of a reputation to uphold here, but our nemesis, observation, was here to play. R, thankfully, cracked our stumbling block and we were soon on our way, doing what we do best, dividing, conquering, shouting at but not listening to each other…

Inside the unfair funfair was, indeed, a funfair. Games, games, games, prizes, the vague promise of snacks. We had a lot of fun in here. We pretty much took a game each and played it so I didn’t experience everything but you can absolutely tell that it was good because E does not hide his feelings… ever.

Overall then, there was a good variety of puzzles on the outside and the games on the inside too were all pretty different. It gives different skill sets a chance to shine, which is great. We’re not all maths experts or riddle specialists, and variety is the spice of life, as they say.

The blurb to the Unfair Funfair is true. We managed to win some tickets and we then spun a wheel and we won a prize. Also, there was Henry!

It was a fun game that kept all five of us engaged. For us enthusiasts, personally, I think five was enough, but it does say up to eight in the room and I think newbies or groups with kids would still be good with the higher number of players. I can imagine children love this room.

Theme/Immersion – 7.5

Puzzles – 7.5

Fun Factor – 7.5

Difficulty – 7

https://www.keylockgames.co.uk/the-unfair-funfair/

Reviewed by A