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Get Lost: Director’s Cut (Dover)

Perhaps we’re biased because Get Lost’s room always seem to ‘click’ with us, but we thoroughly enjoyed this room and thought the set design was very impressive. Always love a uniquely themed room!

Hysteria: Aftermath (Chatham)

For us, this room felt like an odd crossover between Jurassic Park and a zombie film – and it worked! Good puzzles in a variety of styles and great set design to boot

Deadlocked: The Time Machine (Reading)

With only 60 seconds to fix the time machine, this isn’t your ordinary room. Technically a 90 minute experience, sci-fi fans will likely find lots to love about The Time Machine (we did)

Hysteria: Motel California (Chatham)

Motel California is a fun room at a company run by enthusiastic and passionate owners. While there is nothing stand out about this room, we enjoyed every minute we spent in it.

Clue HQ: Detonation (Somerton)

A room that won’t blow you away (no pun intended) and is very padlock heavy, but if your observational skills are on point then you’ll likely have a good time.

Lock and Code: Can Opener (Taunton)

A few too many red herrings and generally puzzles that just didn’t click with us meant that we didn’t particularly enjoy our time in this prison van – but that’s the idea of prison vans, right?

The Panic Room: Carnevil (Harlow)

A fun room that’s a full-on assault on the senses! We had a great time in Carnevil and particularly enjoyed the more physical aspects of the room. Possibly one of our favourite ‘Panic Room’ rooms.

Red House Mysteries: The Strange Disappearance of Arthur Moon (Torquay)

The theming for this room was fun but weak puzzles that were easily bypassed and a lack of atmosphere took away from the excitement we should have experienced, and one GM for multiple rooms is never a good way to go.

Red House Mysteries: The Heist (Exeter)

A room with a solid premise but ultimately the execution was lacking. Couple that with a distracted GM and it doesn’t make for the best experience

AIM Escape: Psychopath’s Den (London)

Good set design and a mix of puzzles that has plenty to keep you going. We felt let down by our GM but if your GM is on the ball then you’re sure to enjoy your time in ‘the den’

Escape Plan Ltd: Roll Out the Barrel (London)

We loved Battle for Britain and although this room didn’t quite reach the greatness of that room, it’s a good room which we thoroughly enjoyed. Puzzles were logical, it was fun to be in, the ending was strong and the hosting was spot-on

Live Escape Salisbury: Spectre (Salisbury)

People often visit Salisbury due to the proximity of some ‘large standing rocks’, but ditch the rocks and make Live Escape your destination, you won’t regret it.

Trapp’d: Molten Creek Mine (Northampton)

Yet another fun room from Trapp’d, not their best, but equally not their worst. Be prepared to get dirty so make sure you don’t do this room before a night out! A fun use of tech and on-theme puzzles made this an enjoyable room

Trapp’d: 46 Below (Billing Aquadrome)

A fun room with strong set design and a good story to follow. Families (particularly kids) will love this room! A bit of wear-and-tear that needs to be fixed, but we enjoyed it regardless

Trapp’d: Exordium (Billing Aquadrome)

A good warm-up room for enthusiasts or a great family room. On the easier side so enthusiasts will probably fly through it, but it’s enjoyable and has some nice design touches that we haven’t seen elsewhere

Hour Escape Rooms: Stranger Things (Peterborough)

A fun room with some nice 80s touches. Decent puzzles but ultimately let down by red herrings and an over abundance of sign-posting. A few tweaks to the puzzles, and perhaps the clue system and this could be a great room

Escape Peterborough: The Great Wine Cellar Swindle (Peterborough)

This room won’t blow you away but we did have fun, just not as much as at their other location. The star of the show was the vault itself, the room was an acceptable way to spend 30 minutes

Escape Peterborough: Escape the Seven Seas (Peterborough)

If you’ve done rooms at Escape Peterborough before then this room will be nothing like them. They’ve really upped their game with this room and the only rival for it there is The Cabin. Good theming, decent puzzles (although padlock heavy), but swash-buckling fun

Tricky Escape: The Damned (Clacton-on-Sea)

The Damned has firmly staked out its place as a horror room, but with friendly owners you can probably tone this down if you’re not a fan of jump scares and live actors. Ignoring the horror bits, it’s a solid room with flowing puzzles and fun from the very start to the end.

Tricky Escape: A Race Against Time (Clacton-on-Sea)

This felt like the weakest of the rooms at this location. It could really do with a refresh as it is very worn in a number of places, but if you like the 80s then you’ll probably have fun.

XscapeNow: Sweeney Todd (Telford)

A ’fun’ take on the rather grim Sweeney Todd story. Decent puzzles, good design, and a good flow. We struggled, but we’re not really sure why

Incarcerated: The Tortured Soul (Swindon)

This room was much better than we expected and as a creepy (not really horror) room, it was good fun. The only bit that was lacking was the ending. I’m sure it’s not easy to make exiting into a corridor fun, but it was just a bit anticlimactic

M4 Escapes: The Bunker (Chippenham)

A beautiful room (in places) but the generally weak puzzles let it down. A confusing journey and too many red herrings made us more annoyed than anything else

Trapp’d: Dead Man’s Cove (Kettering)

This room was the highlight of the day for me. I know VX2.0 seems to be getting more love right now, but this room is fun, traditional, and just generally well put together

Trapp’d: VX 2.0 (Kettering)

You’ve got to give Trapp’d credit for what they’ve done with this room. They’ve tried to do something different, and they have. If it wasn’t for a jumpy GM we’d have probably enjoyed this room more than we did

The Cult Experience

If you’re a fan of horror experiences and have 2.5 hours to spare then it could be worth giving this a try. It’s very different to the Exit Games and we found that if we didn’t mark the book then the experience is reusable

Guildford Escape Rooms: Missing in Action (Redhill)

We loved this room and enjoyed every moment in it. It’s a cracker of a room and even in a team of five there was plenty to keep us all busy

Access Escape: Dark Magik (London)

The key selling point of this room is the darkness. Take that away and you’ll be disappointed. But as it is, it’s a room that’s worth doing just to really test yourself. Try it, you’ll be surprised.

Trapp’d: Motel (Corby)

This was a straight-up horror room, there’s no denying that. But the puzzles flowed and we had fun, even with the live actor tormenting us at every turn. Horror fans will love it

Trapp’d: Maine State Prison (Corby)

When it was new this was probably a decent room. Unfortunately in its old age it has lost its way and become a bit frustrating. Couple the frustration with tired props and it’s good it’s set for retirement.

Trapp’d: Reanimation (Corby)

A decent room that is definitely good for beginners and has enough fun to keep you going. Decent puzzles and theming made for an enjoyable experience.

Pressure Point: Broken (Ashford)

A solid room where you’re trying to barricade yourself in rather than escape. I preferred their other rooms but this was still a good room with decent puzzles and a solid ending.

Time Run Presents: Sherlock: The Game Is Now (London)

This was a fun experience, but for us at least it wasn’t worth the money and was over-hyped. Sherlock enthusiasts will probably love it, escape room enthusiasts will probably find it like Marmite.

Time Lock: Deutschland ‘89 (Worthing)

Everyone knows Brighton has good rooms, it’s nice to see that Worthing can hold its own too. This is a solid room with a great team behind it and it’s 100% worth trekking out from Brighton to do

Pier Pressure: Raver Quest (Brighton)

Pier Pressure have created a room that is 100% fun and if you like some classic old school tunes, you’ll have a great time. Fun puzzles and a top soundtrack will give you a time to remember.

Containment: The Sub (Worplesdon)

A room that’s strongest point was it’s theming, it does well to include relevant props and decor that help immerse you. Tricky at times but doable, this was our preferred room of the three at this venue

Clue Cracker: Jail Break (Tunbridge Wells)

We don’t normally detour to venues with just one room, but as we’d heard good things about Jail Break at Clue Cracker we decided to make an exception and swing by Tunbridge Wells – it was worth it.

Clever Dilemma: Murder at the Wild Wild Quest Saloon (Faversham)

Fun puzzles, a beautiful set, and a story that keeps you guessing right up to the end – get to Faversham and do this room! Certainly one of the best wild west rooms around!

Trapped: The Bletchley Blueprints (Okehampton)

This is one of those rooms that is difficult to review. It’s a good room, but I didn’t overly enjoy it and I’m not sure why. Give it a try and make up your own mind

Adventox: Mission X (London)

Out of the three rooms at Adventox this is by far the weakest. Feeling tired and dated it could do with a bit of a revamp. Couple that with weak puzzles and it’s not a room we’ll be recommending unless you’re really desperate for that escape room fix.

Adventox: Haunted – The Curse of Dr Stevens (London)

Tucked away in a mall overshadowed by Westfields, ‘Haunted’ by Adventox was our favourite room at this location. Solid set design and a fun flow – it’s worth checking out

Mission Breakout: Codebreakers (London)

This room promised a lot but ultimately fell flat in many areas. Perhaps one wow moment in the entire game but even that couldn’t help this room rank higher for us.

Guildford Escape Rooms: Venus (Guildford)

This room instantly went into our Top 10 and it will be there for some time. Strong puzzles, hilarity, and wonderful GM, this is a room not to miss. Flash Gordon for the win!

TimeTrap: Imaginarium (Reading)

A really fun room that encapsulates the spirit of Alice in Wonderland perfectly. Puzzles on theme, set looking great, generally just a good room all round

Ready Escape Rooms: Escape the Vault (Brighton)

A 40 minute room that won’t challenge enthusiasts (we got out in 12 minutes) but it is a whole lot of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A great warm-up or cool-down room and definitely one to add to the list if you’re in Brighton!

The Curious Cabin, Knockout Escape Rooms (Reading)

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)

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!