This is one of those rooms that you enter and think you know what you’re getting but then it finds ways to surprise you and fill you with excitement. On the surface it looks like a simple room but behind the scenes there is a lot of tech working hard to keep you on your toes
The Phoenix Research, Deadlocked (Reading)
In places this was a very hard room, at times it was frustrating, but in the end it was fun. A lot of time was spent on immersing you in the story, and the ending was something a little different
Lucardo: Espionage (Manchester)
This room certainly won’t give you any surprises, nor will it wow you, but it is still a decent room. For us though, this was the weakest of the rooms at Lucardo (Manchester) – but they had set the bar high.
Lucardo: University of Magic: The Entrance Exam (Manchester)
Due to bad experiences in the past we tend to stay away from magic themed rooms, but this one has restored our faith. Now we need to head to the Lucardo Rawtenstall branch to check out the sequel!
Lucardo: Gem Runner (Manchester)
Gem Runner is heavy on the ‘traditional’ escape room puzzles, with plenty of padlocks, codes, and searching and is not a tech heavy room. I could easily see this being a favourite with family groups, or even two person enthusiast groups like us.
Escape Experience Windsor: Area 51 (Windsor)
We got possibly our quickest ever escape time in this room, partially because the puzzles just clicked, but also because there wasn’t that many of them. A fun room but don’t do it in a large group or you may not have much to do
Ten Top Tips for Escape Room Success
Each time we do a room we learn something new, but there are a few things we stick to each time and so far it has seen us keeping a 100% escape rate (famous last words). Here are our ten top tips for completing an escape room
Lock & Code: Dead on the Hour (Taunton)
Lock & Code rooms won’t blow you away but they are solid rooms that will give you an hour of fun. Dead on the Hour was fun, and at times challenging, but once again we left Lock & Code with smiles on our faces
Escapologic: Crypt-ic (Nottingham)
“Like real-life Indiana Jones” that’s what we were promised. It was certainly an adventure through a dark, creepy crypt, but luckily for us (and Indy) there were no snakes
Escapologic: Heistakes (Nottingham)
This is a fun room, but due to how linear it is and the lack of puzzles we probably wouldn’t advise it for large teams, especially if those teams are experienced. It’s definitely a room to give a go though as it is visually impressive.
Escapologic: Butcher (Nottingham)
![Escapologic: 13utcher [Butcher] (Nottingham)](https://www.reviewtheroom.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/butcher-150x150.jpg)
This room is not one for the faint hearted and if you’re of a nervous disposition it’s probably one to avoid. However, if you want a room that it a bit different and will not only challenge your mind but also your bladder control, then give it a go!
LetsXcape: The Rig (Newark)
You’ll be hard pushed to find a room with a better story, and you definitely won’t find a better setting for a room. This room lived up to it’s impressive venue and is well worth a visit/detour
Escape Rooms: Room 33 (London)
This room won’t blow you away but if you want a solid room that will give you an hours entertainment, then this is that (added bonus: free sweets!)
Escapologic: Curio (Nottingham)
This room delivers something that you probably won’t have seen anywhere else. No spoilers – a fun room with some very impressive room design and definitely one you won’t forget
Bewilder Box: Judgement D.A.V.E (Brighton)
The rooms at The Bewilder Box are more than just escape rooms, they are experiences where everything works together to immerse you in their world. Each time you think you know what to expect they do something different, wonderful, and unexpected.
Tulleys Escape Rooms: Dodge City (Crawley)
Another beautiful Tulleys room but ultimately let down by reset issues. Give the room a try, but probably wait a while for them to get it running smoothly – we should have waited.
Eltham Escape Rooms: Keep Calm! (London)
Enthusiasts shouldn’t struggle with this room and probably won’t find anything they haven’t seen before in terms of puzzles, but it’s worth doing if for no other reason than the final challenge.
Escape60: Serial Killer’s Lair (Folkestone)
A fun room but generally nothing exciting to reflect on. Probably a good beginners room but enthusiasts will have seen better.
Get Lost Escape Rooms: The Abandoned Cottage (Dover)
Get Lost Dover currently have three rooms and each is fun in their own way. This was my least favourite of their rooms, but don’t let that fool you, it’s worth doing and does enough to keep you on your toes
Get Lost Escape Rooms: The World Fair Hotel (Dover)
Have you ever done a room where every puzzle just clicked for you? Like you were in the mind of the room’s designer? That’s exactly what happened for us in this room and we enjoyed every minute of it
Escape Plan: Battle For Britain (London)
Do you ever put off doing something because you really want to do it but you feel that the expectation may not live up to the hype? That is why it has taken us so long to do Battle for Britain, now I wish we’d done it sooner!
The MacGuffin Project: The Magician (Bournemouth)
A short and arguably easy room that should probably be a 45 min experience rather than 60. A pretty average room with above average GMs but a weak ending. We expected more from MacGuffin.
Thinking Outside the Box: Retro (Peterborough)
I loved this room, I really did. Retrogaming memories are my weakness and this room exploited them to the max
Clever Dilemma: Dracula’s Chamber (Faversham)
A great room with welcoming hosts and a very good GM. Faversham is beautiful, but this room really makes it worth visiting
Escape Peterborough: Contagion (Peterborough)
If you’re lucky enough to get a good GM then this is a solid room and one we would happily recommend to enthusiasts
Escape Peterborough: Witchcraft & Wizardry (Peterborough)
If things were running smoothly this is probably an ok room, particularly for children or new players. But if you’re an enthusiast I think you’ll find this room rather lacking and one to avoid.
Escape Peterborough: Espionage (Peterborough)
While we did escape, it was only just managed, and we were left feeling a bit deflated, due to both the quality of the puzzles and the attentiveness of the GM
Trapp’d: Madame Curio’s Cirque Delirium (Peterborough)
Lacking in backstory this room makes up for it in the excitement it delivers at all points. Easier puzzles but good for all ages (except maybe the really old).
Tulleys Escape Rooms: The Outfitters (Crawley)
Probably the third best room at Tulleys, strangely we found this one harder than Nethercott Manor despite this being classed as easier by Tulleys
Incarcerated: Cops and Robbers (Swindon)
If you’re looking for a corporate team building exercise then this is probably a good room. If you’re an enthusiast then it isn’t
Co-decode: Professor Dunstan and the Search for the Ancient Statuette (Swindon)
Don’t wait to be passing by Swindon to do this room. Make it your destination, it’s worth it!
Ctrl Alt Esc: Spacescape (Margate)
A tech heavy room that has a very impressive ending. One of the many rooms that is worth doing in Margate
The Escapement: The Pit (Margate)
Even when you’re receiving the briefing for this room you know it is going to be something special. This isn’t just a 60 minute experience, this is a game changer.
The Escapement: Pirates of Polaris (Margate)
This room is beautiful, it really is, and when a room uses genuine artifacts there is no doubt you are in for a treat
Mountain Room Escapes: Escape the Cabin (Big Bear)
If you’re in Big Bear you should probably get out in nature, but if the weather is bad then this is a great room to do.
Mountain Room Escapes: Alpine Ski Lodge (Big Bear)
A friend had recommended Big Bear as a must-see so we thought this was a good excuse to go.
Escape Games at the River: The Secret of Dragon’s Spire (Palm Springs)
Some great wow moments and so much fun all around. Definitely worth doing!
Escape Games at the River: The Forgotten Pharaoh (Palm Springs)
Although not the best room at this location, it is still the second best room we did in Palm Springs
Escape Room Palm Springs: Bank Heist (Palm Springs)
Our third and fortunately final room at Escape Palm Springs was ‘Bank Heist’
Escape Room Palm Springs: Merlin’s Magic School (Palm Springs)
A room that tries to hard to be special and has a very strange GM setup. I’m not sure this room ever had any ‘magic’
Escape Room Palm Springs: Titanic (Palm Springs)
‘Titanic’ where you have to find the last hidden life boat before the ship goes down.
Stash House (Los Angeles)
Everything just works in the way it is meant to and you find yourself just moving from one puzzle to the next without a care in the world.
Hatch Escapes: Lab Rat (Los Angeles)
If you’re in Los Angeles and there is a room that has been ranked number eight in the world then really it would be rude not to try it out.
Mission Escapes: Escape the Hideout (Los Angeles)
Just around the corner from Disneyland is Mission Escapes, and what better than to do an escape room after Disney closes?
Epsom Escapes: Challenge Chambers (London)
Every single puzzle involved a padlock in one way or another, I don’t mind a good padlock but this took that to the extreme
Omescape: The Penitentiary (London)
Despite this room being a little creepy, it is in no way scary so I wouldn’t let that put you off.
The Panic Room: Defective Detective (Gravesend)
This room didn’t feel up to the same level as the other Panic Room rooms, and although it was fun, we left feeling a bit flat
The Panic Room: The Sacrifice (Gravesend)
A great introductory room for inexperienced players, or a nice little warm-up / cool-down after a long weekend of full length escape rooms.
The Panic Room: Wizard Of Oz (Gravesend)
Don’t be fooled by the theme, this room will give both families and enthusiasts entertainment, and is challenging enough for both.
The Panic Room: The Dollhouse (Gravesend)
Although this room is creepy, and it certainly is creepy, I wouldn’t really call it a scary room and it is definitely fun
The Panic Room: Mind Pod (Gravesend)
£5 per team 10 minutes of your life = a wonderfully relaxing alternative to a traditional escape room.
The Panic Room: Loop (Gravesend)
What a room! This room is not just a must-do room in Gravesend, but definitely one of the top rooms in the country.
The Panic Room: Secret Of Pocahontas (Gravesend)
Although not the most advanced or impressive room in The Panic Room’s arsenal it’s still a solid room and one that’s definitely worth doing.
Operation Escape: WW2 Scoop of the Century (London)
If Operation Escape start taking feedback on board then I think they could have a chance at survival in an already tough market, if they don’t then I fear they won’t be around for much longer.
Lock and Code: The Night before Christmas (Weston-Super-Mare)
We were on for a record time, then we encountered a puzzle we couldn’t solve, but apparently kids can!
Lock and Code: The League of Superheroes (Weston-Super-Mare)
A fun room that is perhaps past its prime and they need to do some maintenance to get it running as it should.
Lock and Code: Breakout (Weston-Super-Mare)
This was a really enjoyable room, a little bit rough around the edges in places but had a good mixture of finding things and solving things.
Puzzlair: The Cold War Catch (Yeovil)
If you like more traditional rooms, or want an introduction to escape rooms then this is a good room to go for. We didn’t rate their other room in Yeovil but this one was the standout winner of the day.
Puzzlair: The Lost Artworks (Yeovil)
This room is probably a love/hate type of room and I’m sure some people will love in. In fact looking at TripAdvisor you can see that many people do, but for us it is one that we’d advise our friends to avoid.
Mostly Harmless Games: Phobos-17 (London)
I saw that Phobos-17 was closing down at the end of the year and as it had such positive reviews we just had to fit it in before it went, so we did.
ClueQuest: Operation Blacksheep (London)
A slick operation with a solid room and good story to follow. Not cheap, but worth it.
XScream Escapes: Satan’s Grotto (Ashford)
This 45 minute room shouldn’t be a hard, but for us it was. If you’re looking for a slightly different Christmas room then this one is a lot of fun.
XScream Escapes: Bedlam: Escape the Asylum (Ashford)
With a background in Thorpe Park Fright Nights you’d expect this to be a scary room, it isn’t. It’s creepy but I wouldn’t class this as a scare room (or it wasn’t when we did it)
Clue Adventures: 2 Tickets 2 Ride (London)
What this room lacks in space it makes up for in fun. As soon as you’re in you’re working on puzzles, then you’re on the tube with more puzzles, then you’re off the tube with more puzzles, and just when you think you are done and home free, there’s another puzzles!
Do Stuff Escape Games: Pie & Mash Shop (London)
A fun room, and one that may be a little easy for enthusiasts, a good challenge for beginners, but a great room to do regardless.
ClueHQ Kingston: The Experiments (London)
A mediocre room let down even more by a terrible GM.
Omescape: The Joker (London)
Our first experience with Omescape and turning up at this dodgy looking building just north of King’s Cross did nothing to put our nerves at ease, entering the waiting room did even less for that!
Adventure Rooms Cardiff: The Black Queen (Cardiff)
Credit to Adventure Rooms Cardiff for trying to introduce different technology in the room, it is a great room and definitely one to do if you’re in Cardiff.
Escape Rooms Cardiff: Z Room [BETA TEST]
If this beta test was anything to go by then this is going to be a hard room but good room. Very different to the other rooms we did in Cardiff
Breakout Cardiff: Vacancy (Cardiff)
Not a bad room and there are definitely better in Cardiff, but if you need a room to do then this is a decent contender
Escape Rooms Cardiff: The Tomb
A well designed room with puzzles arguably on the easier side. Probably good for beginners or anyone you want to get addicted to escape rooms
Escape Reality Cardiff: Alcatraz (Cardiff)
A hard room for inexperienced teams who aren’t confident on their communication, and annoying for experienced teams who like good rooms
Escape Rooms Cardiff: The Heist (Cardiff)
A solid room but make sure you are comfortable working as a split team and are happy with your communication skills
Escape Rooms Durham: Lab Heist (Durham)
There isn’t much to this room and it’s very much what-you-see-is-what-you-get but we found there was enough in there to keep us occupied
The Escape Key: Armageddon (Newcastle)
A strong room with impressive set design and puzzles we’ve not seen anywhere else.
Knockout Escape Rooms: Prison Break (Reading)
The area this room stood out on was not the puzzles, but the set design. They did a good job of avoiding the readily done ‘split-start’ system and have made a truly enjoyable game.
Bust Out 360: Taken (Slough)
It’s easy to be the best room in Slough when you’re the only room in Slough, but it’s still close.
Do Stuff Escape Games: Hostage Hideout (London)
This was a fun room and although basic at times it still has enough to keep you going, although I wouldn’t recommend playing with a large group
Escape from the Room: The Curse of Old Maid Milly (Cheam)
For an enthusiast built room it is really rather good. OK, it isn’t as polished around the edges as some big money rooms but it works and is definitely still fun and worth doing.
Guildford Escape Rooms: The Case of the Missing Gun
A small room that has enough to keep you going and somehow still manages to surprise you.
The Great Escape Game: Submerged (Sheffield)
If you’re looking for a room that does something a bit different then this is the one, it forces you to rely on communication between each other and without it you will go down with the ship.
Escape from the Room: The Cabin in the Woods (Cheam)
This room really has so much to keep you going, and such variety that there is no chance you’ll get bored. I really would have no hesitation in recommending this room to enthusiasts and beginners.
Handmade Mysteries: Poppa Plock’s Wonky Workshop (London)
Handmade Mysteries seem to take a dose of escape room and a pinch of theatre and blend them together to create something truly delectable.
Lock’d: Perpetuum Mobile (London)
This room had promise, it really did but it failed in some key areas that really let it down and means we have no desire of going back and doing any more rooms at Lock’d.
Handmade Mysteries: Lady Chastity’s Reserve (London)
How can you fit so much fun into such a small space?! A great in character GM and a bottle of wine to boot, made this room a winner for us!
Secret Studio: Escape in Time! (London)
It’s true what they say, you never forget your first, and fortunately for us that was ‘Escape in time’. A really solid game with some very memorable moments.