Escapade #1 · 1974 · about 30 minutes

The Last Hour of Radio Kestrel

A radio station that would not stop transmitting, three rooms, and the door the announcer left by.

Buy the link for your group$5for the whole group
~30 minfor a group that talks1 to 6players, one linkMedium3 roomsNo appany phone or laptop

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The situation

You are standing in the studio of Radio Kestrel at three in the morning with the announcer's coat on the back of his chair and the announcer nowhere, and the transmitter humming through the wall as if he were still speaking. He locked the studio door from the inside and went out some other way, and the door he left by is what you are here to find, because the exchange pulls the transmitter at six and after that nothing he arranged in this building can be read. You are the engineer; you were rung at half past two because the four hundred people who listen at that hour heard him stop.

OBJECTIVE  Find the door he left by before the exchange pulls the plug.
CLOCK      The exchange pulls the transmitter at six. It is three.
PRIZE      The door he left by, and what he said on his way out.
  • radio station
  • 1974
  • night
  • English coast
  • three rooms
  • medium
  • online escape room
The studio at night: a desk with a microphone on a boom arm, two turntables and a reel-to-reel tape machine, acoustic panels on the walls, one desk lamp lit, and a chair pushed back from the desk. Nobody in the room.The transmitter room: a grey steel cabinet with two round meter dials and the orange glow of valves behind a mesh grille, cables running away along the concrete floor, a bare bulb on a flex, and a wooden stool. Nobody in the room.The door at night, shut, seen from outside: a concrete step in a pool of lamplight from a bulkhead lamp above it, a fence running past on both sides, and a path leading away from the step into the dark.

Play it with your group

$5for the whole groupBuy the link for your group

You get a link. It works for everyone in your group, on any device, and it does not expire.

  • About 30 minutes
  • 1 to 6 players, one price for the group
  • Phone or laptop, nothing to install
  • No account, nothing tracked
  • A key on every step if you get stuck
  • The link does not expire

Questions people ask

Can we play it together over Zoom or a call?

Yes. One purchase is one link, and the link works for everyone in your group at once. Share your screen or all open it; there is nothing to sync, because the puzzle is the pages and the answers you work out together.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. It was built for a phone first: every lock is a text box or buttons you tap, nothing needs a keyboard, a mouse or a printer.

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes for a group that talks; longer if you like arguing. There is no timer and nothing is scored.

What if we get stuck?

Every step has its own key: a nudge first, then a harder nudge, and the answer only if you ask for it. Wrong answers say something in the story rather than just no.

Do we need an account or an app?

No. The link opens in any browser and nothing is installed. Nothing is tracked while you play, either.

Is it suitable for children?

The stories are eerie and never cruel; nobody dies on the page. The puzzles need reading and a little arithmetic, so about twelve and up on their own, younger with an adult.

Can I play it alone?

Yes. It was written in the second person, so it works for one as well as for six.

What if it does not work for us?

Write and say so, and you will have your money back. The link does not expire, so there is no rush to use it.