Sands Of Time (Game duration 60 minutes)
Fury team: Nush Krasteva, Stanislav Belev, Vanya Stoitseva and Nadezhda Danabasheva
Date: May 18, 2024
Fury team time: 55:23 minutes
Boy, was that a trip to remember.
Captive is one of my favorite escape room brands. I have fond memories of all the games we’ve played there, and when I heard they had a new one, the decision was made: we’re going to Romania. I also had to seize the opportunity to finally play The Secret of Coca-Cola—a room I’d tried (and failed) to play twice before. It was either fully booked or we simply ran out of time. But this time, two rooms at the same place? We had it all planned.
That was before we even hit the road.
We took a sharp right turn with a brand-new car, missed the road, hit a tree trunk, and landed in the middle of a petrol station. Thankfully, we were all okay. We took a moment to collect ourselves and planned to continue… except the car had other ideas. The moment we left the station, it warned us it needed a mechanic and refused to go over 30 km/h. So back we went to the petrol station, where we called for a tow truck. That led to traveling 40 km in the opposite direction, waiting for a friend to drive out and lend us another car. All of this resulted in a 4-hour delay. But are we escape enthusiasts or not?
The car was left at the repair shop, and off we went.
I called Captive and, for the third time, informed them we’d be missing the Coca-Cola room. They were very gracious and kept our later booking for Sand of Time active. But they warned us clearly: by law, everything must end by 23:00. So no matter what—be here at 22:00. The next few hours were a blur of hectic driving. We arrived at 22:15.
We rushed into the lobby. Two game masters were waiting for us, and without wasting any time, I said, “We’re here. Let’s play.” One of the GMs, a tall young guy, looked at me. His eyes widened like buttons as he noticed my t-shirt. “Fury,” he said. “You’re Fury.”
To be honest, I’m not used to being recognized, so I just said, “Yes, we are.” We chatted briefly—he knew about our travels, our records, and even kept track of some of them. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to talk, but the clock was ticking. It was time for Sand of Time.
The game still had that fresh, “new room” smell—my favorite. Aside from one dexterity puzzle that nearly defeated us (we almost gave up), the room was well-designed and logical. On our final try, we finally cracked it. I’m always a bit conflicted about puzzles where you know exactly what to do, but still have to try multiple times until luck decides to cooperate. It’s part of the experience—I just don’t love it.
Other than that, the puzzles were strong, the decorations fit the theme perfectly, and we had a great time.
Thank you for waiting for us, for the warm welcome, and for such a fun game.
Until next time.
