PERMANENTLY CLOSED – Il était une pièce, the Alice in Wonderland-inspired escape game at La Pièce

PERMANENTLY CLOSED - Do you love the world of Lewis Carroll? You’ll love Il était une pièce, an escape game based on the British writer’s best-known work, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The room is offered by La Pièce, one of Paris’s leading venues for this type of activity.

PERMANENTLY CLOSED - Who hasn’t dreamed of diving headfirst down the white rabbit’s hole...? It’s an idea that crossed the mind of La Pièce, an establishment specializing in escape games in Paris’s 10th arrondissement, which invites visitors to immerse themselves in the world of Lewis Carroll’s tale in one of the most successful rooms we’ve had the chance to try.

The pitch is simple enough: you find yourself trapped in the office of Reverend Dogson, known by the pen name of Lewis Carroll, and you've got an hour to rummage around, solve the riddles and get out of the room. It goes without saying that you'll need to take a trip to Wonderland and confront its mysteries to get out of the famous office.

La Pièce, l'escape game original à deux pas de République — ©La Pièce

A room we really enjoyed, on several counts: firstly, its successful immersive aspect. As you enter the room, you'll find what you'd expect: an office decorated in the style of the period in which the novel was written, i.e. the second half of the 19th century (the novel was published in 1865). Secondly, with regard to the numerous references to Wonderland: although this is a classic office setting, you'd expect to see many references to Lewis Carroll 's work, and in this respect, the contract is more than fulfilled, as the room is littered with references, each as subtle as the next, that are useful for the puzzles.

When it comes to puzzles and mechanisms, everything is well thought-out and accessible to all. Beginners won't feel at all out of place here, as this is a room tailor-made for discovering the world of escape games. It's a room that's all about searching, and you have to keep your eyes peeled to make sure you don't forget anything along the way.

Special mention must be made of the time countdown, which is a little different from what we usually see in this type of room: here, you have a clock that chimes every five minutes (no frozen time with the Hatter, since you're not angry with him) and an hourglass that you have to turn over at the start of the adventure, to give you a good idea of how much time you have left.

A lovely venue and a lovely surprise that we highly recommend. And there's no risk of losing your head, just getting a bit carried away. Getting lost in Wonderland, folks?

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.