Many folks in Cheltenham know that Gustav Holst was born and grew up in our town, and, as today, September 21st, marks the anniversary of Holst’s birthday, we thought it was a good time to spotlight The Missing Piece escape room we created to celebrate Cheltenham’s famous composer.
The Missing Piece opened in April this year and has been very popular, with both Holst enthusiasts and just regular players. The room took over a year to create, due to Covid restrictions, and throughout that time we worked closely with our neighbours at the Holst Victorian House to produce an entertaining interactive experience that is authentic to the famous composer.
The escape room presents a mystery to solve about an undiscovered piece of his music hidden in the museum. The storyline is fictional (as far as we’re aware), but the gameplay includes factual elements about Holst’s life, so players are able to use their knowledge to complete the game, or even learn something new! Working with the museum, we have been able to closely replicate some of the features that can be found within the Holst house, so fans may be able to spot some similarities when visiting both attractions.
“As someone who didn’t grow up in Cheltenham, I didn’t have much previous knowledge of Holst, but it’s been so interesting to learn all about his and his work, and create a game that I believe will be enjoyed by both Holst fans, and those who are a bit more like me! Everyone at the museum has been so helpful in providing facts and resources in order to help me produce a glimpse into Holst’s past.” Megan Prendergast, Game Designer
The game follows the traditional escape room style of solving a series of puzzles in order to complete a main objective: to find “the missing piece”. Players have one hour to follow the museum guide, working through some of Holst’s more famous pieces of work, discovering his interests, and learning about the whole family before figuring out where the piece of music could be hidden.
The game is available in a standard version or a more challenging version for escape room experts, and is suitable for teams of up to 6, with players aged 11 and over. It can be booked via our website as normal.
As an extra bonus, everyone who completes the escape room, will also get a discount voucher for the Holst Victorian House to learn more about Holst and the house that he lived in. For more information about the Holst Victorian House, visit https://holstvictorianhouse.org.uk/