The Mermaid's Tongue: Swamp Motel's online escape-room game ★★★★★

Part escape-room game, part immersive experience, The Mermaid's Tongue requires at-home audiences to work in teams to find a missing artefact before a society of faceless villains get their hands on it. It's the latest experience from Swamp Motel, who previously brought immersive theatre into people's homes with their acclaimed production Plymouth Point (April and May 2020).

Beginning in a virtual art class, teams of up to six (working on different devices), must first help a classmate find out the secrets of her recently deceased friend. To do so, IT systems must be hacked, cryptic paintings read, codes and patterns deciphered, all against the clock. It's a tense 90 minutes (bravo if you complete it sooner) and, at times, even on finding clues it can be a little confusing as to what to do with them. But help is on hand via a chat function in the virtual forum, and clues come swiftly to those who ask.

The Mermaid's Tongue is a slick operation which uses multiple mediums to make you feel fully immersed in the experience. Just when you're squinting at your computer screen, desperately trying to solve a piece of the puzzle, text messages come flying through to ensnare your efforts. Grab your smartest friends; this reviewer wouldn't have made it past the first challenge without her colleagues.

The Mermaid's Tongue is to be played at home in groups of two to six players. Monday-Friday, 7pm & 9pm; Saturday-Sunday, 5pm, 7pm & 9pm. Click here to book.