Author: underwoodsgreatescape

Played 6th May 2018

Theme

“Notorious crook Vinny the Chin has been stealing animals in a bid to create his own private zoo. Your mission is to infiltrate his not-so-top-secret hideaway and rescue his latest victim Billy the Bear. The alarm system has only been temporarily disabled so you will have to act fast. Can you and your team save Billy, identify Vinny’s accomplice and escape his lair in 60 minutes?”

Host

When we arrived we were greeted by the owner who was very welcoming and upbeat considering it was early on a bank holiday Sunday morning. For this game we were joined by our parents, our dad had joined us on a previous but this was our mums first room. We were briefed on the necessaries and told the aim of the game which wasn’t just about escaping…

Room Set Up

The room was large and bright with a few props around the room which didn’t take up to much space. The game allows a maximum of 6 people, this would be more than enough space for all players throughout.

Game Play

The puzzles were linear which allowed the game to flow well over each stage, there was a great mix of puzzles which included skill, mathematical and logical this helped to incorporate every member of the group, playing to their strengths. All padlocks were coded or key, observation is key to this game, as aspects of the game were hidden in inventive ways.

Clue System

Clues were given by pressing a button in the room and delivered by a method we hadn’t encountered before… don’t want to give to much away. We liked this method as it was imaginative and in keeping with the theme, however you have to listen closely else you may miss it; especially if there is a lot of noise in the room.

Escape Time

1 Hour 4 Minutes

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★★★

Immersion ★★★☆☆

Difficulty ★★★☆☆

Wow Factor ★★☆☆☆

Overall Experience ★★★☆☆

We all thoroughly enjoyed playing this game, it had a great use of puzzles and you can see how much thought had been put in to create a great game with some very clever ideas. This game would suit most people and families playing with younger ones as there is something that everyone could get involved with. Our host was cheery and created this game himself, you can see that he is passionate about his room and had spent a lot of time constructing it.

Price

2 Players   £40

3 Players   £50

4 Players   £60

5 Players   £70

6 Players   £80

Housetrap Escape Rooms Vinny’s Liar Website

Played 1st April 2018

Theme

“Will you Escape the Seven Seas? Solve the puzzles and escape the room before your 60 minutes runs out?.”

This is a pirate themed room, based in the captain’s cabin.

Host

The hosts were a grandmother and grandson duo who had recently transformed their seafront cafe into a franchised business. They were very warm and welcoming to us and made us feel at ease. It was their second day of opening so there was a few teething problems however we really didn’t mind and reassured them that they were doing a great job. We were asked to leave our phones in a box outside which was kept with the host, this was the first time we had encountered this but we didn’t mind.

Room Setup

This room was defiantly in keeping with the pirate theme !! Great use of props however there was a lot in such a small space but should be enough for 6 players to have enough room to move about.

Game Play

I cant give spoilers away but the start is a little different to anything we have had before. The locks were mainly key and coded locks with one directional padlock. There was mix of observational and skill puzzles with a lot of scavenging but we finally found our treasure 😉

Clue System

Clues were given via a Tv screen.

Escape Time

54 minutes 47 seconds

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★☆☆

Immersion ★★★☆☆

Difficulty ★★★☆☆

Wow Factor ★☆☆☆☆

Overall Experience ★★★☆☆

The set up for this room was great and feel a younger audience would really enjoy this room with the theme. Our hosts were great and we even got a little treat at the end as we actually couldn’t get out officially as our key got stuck but it was all part of the fun and teething problems are expected for a new game.

Price

2 Players   £48

3 Players   £60

4 Players   £72

5 Players   £80

6 Players   £90

Using the code “FAMILY” 2 adults and up to 3 under 16’s can play for £50

Escape Paington’s Escape The Seven Seas Website

Played 11th February 2018

Theme

“Professor Enright, the world – famous explorer and historian, has travelled the world in search of the Enigma Diamond. After many years of searching, he found it deep within the jungles of South America. Tonight the Professor is hosting a party to celebrate his achievement. You and your team have got into the Professor’s mansion disguised as kitchen staff. Whilst the party is in full swing, you break into the study, determined to steal his prized possession. You have one hour.”

Host

Our hosts for this game were so welcoming with 3 geniuses behind the room who we had the pleasure of meeting. We had a chat about previous rooms and also about this room they made. After our necessary dos and dont’s briefing our clock had started but it started in reception… what could the twist be ??

Room Setup

When we finally got to the actual game room we were very excited by the decor, it had been set up with such care and attention, it had a professional finish. The room had a great atmosphere and props were in key with the theme… except for the birthday bags and paper Laura found behind a draw which wasn’t meant to be there LOL. The maximum team size is 6 and we fell this is the perfect size for this room and you wouldn’t have any issues for space.

Game Play

The game had a mixture of every type of puzzle you could think of !! The game was great, really got our heads thinking like we’ve never done before, we both left in a daze of bamboozlement. There is a mix of coded, directional and other sneaky openings but no spoilers here 😉

Clue System

Clues were given on a tv screen.

Advertised Difficulty

5/5

Escape Time

WE FAILED !!!

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★★★

Immersion ★★★★★

Difficulty ★★★★★

Wow Factor ★★★☆☆

Overall Experience ★★★★☆

We really loved this game but so gutted we couldn’t escape, we worked out there is roughly 1 puzzle every 2 minutes which was a lot for a short space of time, i understand the creators will be taking a few bits out and we really want to try this room again to see the difference. I would recommend this game to an older audience as the theme may not appeal to younger people with some of the puzzles involved. The hosts are currently developing a new game and we can’t wait to see what has been done.

Price

2 Players   £50

3 Players   £60

4 Players   £70

5 Players   £80

6 Players   £90

Devon Escape Professor Enright’s Enigma Website

Played 14th January 2018

Theme

“There’s been strange whispers from RoomCorp Enterprise. Talks of secret bunkers, testing facilities and strange noises that can’t be explained. And who is Douglas anyway?Solve the mysteries of RoomCorp to obtain the Esc Code before time runs out.”

Hosts

We called the host to book, he asked if we had ever played rooms before as it is very difficult to complete and they currently have a 47% escape percentage but us being us we love a challenge. We got a very warm welcome by the owner, who built and manages this room, hes a really keen escape room buff and loves the room he created. After our brief we were taken to the room and locked in.

Room Setup

The room set up was amazing for an independent company. The rooms were at great set up, with just the right amount of furniture and props, you could really see that a lot of thought and detail had been put in place which was enough to really submerse you into the theme, it really captured the story line. The maximum team size is 8 people, this would be a squeeze at the start but as the game goes on there would be a little more space, but we would recommend a maximum team of 5 for this game.

Game Play

The game had a good flow with a combination of linear and non linear puzzles which incorporated a number of your senses. There was a large amount to do within the hour with puzzles of all variations. This room tested our abilities to the maximum. There was a mixture of coded, key, directional padlocks, however this room had amazing use of computerised technology which we haven’t come across in any other room before.

Clue System

We were given a walkie-talkie to contact the host before entering the room, this is how clues were delivered. this is our preferred way to receive them as you can have something explained if you don’t understand.

Escape Time

59 minutes 11 seconds

(This would have been a little less if Laura wasn’t chatting to the host and remembered we had to hit the buzzer at the end of corridor to stop the clock)

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★★★

Immersion ★★★★☆

Difficulty ★★★★★

Wow Factor ★★★☆☆

Overall Experience ★★★★☆

Overall we highly recommend this game, it is one of the best that we have played so far. This room is really good for more experienced teams as there is lots to complete within the hour. Newer teams may find this room more of an exertion or challenging than others; however I feel this made our experience more enjoyable. At the end of the game we were also given a souvenir polaroid of us with our time to take home, which is a lovely touch to a great game.

The owner is currently building a new game opening soon and we cant wait to try it, we probed him for more but hes kept his cards close to his chest 😀

Price

3 Players   £45

4 Players   £60

5 Players   £75

6 Players   £90

7 Players   £105

8 Players   £120

Roomsmiths Escape Room The Naked Eye Website

Played 2nd April 2018

Theme

Room Setup

Our room was small with a few things placed on the wall and dimly lit but not to dark. This first room wouldn’t be enough for 8 people as it is a very tight squeeze however it will get bigger.

Game Play

This room mainly comprised of linear puzzles at the beginning and non linear puzzles as the game went on. The room had good movement throughout. This game was a bit of a scavenger hunt which encompassed a range of logical, skill, and observational puzzles. All of the locks were either key or coded padlocks with a good twist of how to gain the key to escape.

Clue System

Clues are delivered by a telephone one located in the second room, clues are given personally by the host. We prefer this method as you can ask the host to explain something if you don’t understand what has been said.

Escape Time

65 minutes

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★★★

Immersion ★☆☆☆☆

Difficulty ★★★☆☆

Wow Factor ★☆☆☆☆

Overall Experience ★★☆☆☆

We enjoyed playing this game with our dad as it was the first time playing with 3 people, although he didn’t understand much we made sure he was involved in all of it. The game was basic with its decor however the puzzles were enjoyable and our host made our visit.

Price

4 people   £80

5 people   £100

6 people   £120

7 People   £140

8 People   £160

Smaller teams can make bookings over the phone.

Escape Rooms Plymouth Bizzarro Quest Website

Played 21st January 2018

Theme

“The Elves have gone and Santa needs help. You must go to the North Pole’s toy factory and get the toy machines working. Everything has been locked up by the Unbelievers. You must help to revive the Christmas Spirit and deliver all the children’s presents. Don’t wake the children. Make Christmas happy again!”

Host

Host was lovely, she gave us a sneek peek of the room as we had just played ‘holborn cemetery’ and wanted more of a challenge

Room Set Up

This room was very light and airy, with fun props and decorations for the Christmas theme. Most of the decor wasn’t great and looked like it had been made in a hurry with kitchen units as cupboards still with old stickers on it which wasn’t relevant to the game. The maximum team size for this room is 8, this room has adequate floor space to accommodate a team of this size.

Game Play

The game was a mixture of linear and non linear puzzles with the majority of codes you needed to solve being slightly complex mathematical problems; a real test of Becky’s maths ability. The flow of the game was a little disconnected and we struggled having to try each code on 20 or more locks.

Clue System

The host was able to monitor your progression via the CCTV which also allowed her to hear what was being said in the room. Clues were delivered via a TV screen where the host was able to personally write the messages which were delivered.

Escape Time

We failed to escape!!

Although with the host saying it was virtually impossible to escape as a team of two and with only one padlock to go before we were able to get the escape code, we were very pleased with our result.

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★☆☆

Immersion ★★☆☆☆

Difficulty ★★★★★

Wow Factor ★☆☆☆☆

Overall Experience ★☆☆☆☆

This game was a real test for the two of our capabilities as there is a lot to achieve with in the hour to escape. With the flow of the game being a little disconnected and so many padlocks in the room, we felt a little overwhelmed at times as the game got a little confusing. With the theme being Christmas, we felt it was fitting for the time of the year we played and would appeal to younger enthusiasts, however with the skill level needed you may struggle.

Price

3 Players   £48

4 Players   £60

5 Players   £70

6 Players   £78

7 Players   £84

8 Players   £88

Mission Escape Plymouths Website

Mission Escape no longer have this room available to play.

Played 21st January 2018

Theme

“110 years ago Eve died. She was a chess master and left her legacy for you to finish. She was buried here amongst other’s graves and corpses. You are entering her crypt and your Mission is to Escape.”

Host

Our host was really nice and explained everything to us, she was also a big fan of escape rooms so had a great chat about past games.

Room Sep Up

The room was basic and dimly lit with a few props fitting for the ‘cemetery’ theme. The maximum size team for this room is 8, a team of this size may find the space a little snug and may struggle to take part in some of the puzzles as there wasn’t many. Anyone with restricted mobility may struggle as you need to keep going up and down stairs.

Game Play

The game was a mixture of linear and non linear puzzles with an even blend of observational, logical and mathematical problems to solve. The flow of the game was a little disconnected, with lots moving back and forth throughout. The majority of the game was opened with coded padlocks, although there was a couple electronically opened latches which we experienced a little difficulty with. (The mechanism had been damaged and they were in the process of sorting this)

Clue System

The host was able to monitor your progression via the CCTV which also allowed her to hear what was being said in the room. Clues were delivered via a TV screen where the host was able to personally write the messages which were delivered.

Escape Time

53 minutes

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★☆☆☆

Immersion ★☆☆☆☆

Difficulty ★★☆☆☆

Wow Factor ★★☆☆☆

Overall Experience ★★☆☆☆

We didn’t enjoy this game, we found we were bored upon leaving but spoke to our host who suggested to play a different room which we have reviewed ‘save Christmas’ The room has potential but a few more puzzles would make it more enjoyable.

Price

3 Players   £48

4 Players   £60

5 Players   £70

6 Players   £78

7 Players   £84

8 Players   £88

Mission Escape Pymouths Website

Played 1st January 2018

Theme

“You and some friends discover an old abandoned office. After you enter, the door locks behind you and you find you are trapped with no obvious way to escape. You have 60 minutes to find a way out.”

Hosts

After having a little trouble with a wrong turn and the satnav taking us on a magical mystery tour of Bristol, we called for some assistance from one of the hosts who gave us directions to an area we had been around 30 minutes before as it was poorly signposted (a little frustrating after a late new years celebration).  We got a friendly greeting from three members of staff and took a seat in the waiting area. One of the hosts took us through his first solo briefing; which he delivered very well and we were shown to the room.

Room Setup

The room was very dark and the floor was uneven, we asked the host if it would get lighter which he said it wouldn’t; however he was kind enough to give us both torches to help us see a little better. The room fit the tittle and appeared very “abandoned”, it was sparse and dusty with a few bits of office furniture to set the scene. There was adequate floor space for the maximum team size which is advertised as 10 players but this game was a massive health and safety issue.

Game Play

This was a very linear game which had a good flow, with all but one of the locks opened using coded padlocks; the other was electronically opened. The room was very logical and made good use of Laura’s observational skills as well as utilising Becky’s mathematical code breaking ability. In terms of the number of puzzles, there wasn’t many so larger teams members may be limited to how much they can take part in.

Clue System

We were given a walkie-talkie at the beginning of the game to contact the host, this is how clues were delivered.

Escape Time

38 minutes

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★☆☆☆☆

Immersion ☆☆☆☆☆

Difficulty ☆☆☆☆☆

Wow Factor ☆☆☆☆☆

Overall Experience ★☆☆☆☆

Of all the escape rooms we have played previous, this has been the first where we have felt a little underwhelmed on completion. I think Laura actually said “Oh is that it” once the door was open and we were greeted again by our host. Once we had our debrief, we had a little chat with the guys about the other rooms they had to offer. This conversation was over heard by the manager who gave us a sneak peek into their new room which he was in the midst of setting up. This room looked interesting and had a lot more tech which was worlds apart from the abandoned office; we were intrigued to find out what it was like. We wouldn’t recommend this game for future players.

Price

2 People   £50

3 People   £75

4 People   £100

5 People   £125

6 People   £150

7 People   £175

8 People   £200

9 People   £225

10 People  £250

City Mazes Bristol Abandoned Office Website

Theme

“Face your fears and make the ultimate timed escape! In groups of 10, you’ll be locked inside four haunt rooms, inspired by many of the UK’s worst nightmares, and tasked with breaking the codes to make your way through to the end… all in hopes of finding the antidote to a spreading infection. Will you and your team surrender to the outbreak or have what it takes to break out of Containment?”

Host

Our host for this game is a live actor who was less than friendly, she was a mad scientist with a sadistic attitude. After shrieking her way through the background of ‘containment’ and a less than helpful health and safety brief (which all added to the feel of the game) she chased us into the first room.

Room Setup

The game is split into four rooms, each room based on a phobia. They’re all dimly lit, with lots of sound and lighting effects to immerse you and add to the scare factor. The maximum number of players for this game is 10; at times this was a squeeze.

Game Play

You were given 5 minutes to crack the code and unlock the next room. Each room had one puzzle, you had to use your mathematical, observational and logical skills to figure them out. There were live actors in this game each with their own unique personalities and tactics to scare you, we loved this and it made the experience even more enjoyable. However this game isn’t for the faint-hearted. As we were a two we were put together with 8 other people to make up the maximum team number, this was good as we had lots of people to bounce ideas off although at times could get a little stifling and hard to hear when other team members were screaming in fear.

Clue System

Clues were given by the live actors who you were able to interact with during your time in the room. Clues were very cryptic so you need to think logically to unravel them.

Escape Time

58 Minutes

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★☆☆☆☆

Immersion ★★★★☆

Difficulty ★☆☆☆☆

Wow Factor ★★★★★

Overall Experience ★★★☆☆

This was our first encounter with live actors during an escape and was very enjoyable. The atmosphere that the special effects created along with the scare factor the actors brought the room theme to life. The only down side to the game was being placed with other groups of people, although this brought different ways of thinking to the group, at times people got a little on top of each other.

Price

£10 Per Person

This game is an added extra which you have to pay for at the fast track booth on top of your Thorpe park ticket.

Theme

“Dive inside The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience – the outrageously popular 90s TV show that’s now a stunningly immersive adventure you can experience for yourself. It’s very simple: grab some friends, run around like loons, yell like there’s no tomorrow, complete a variety of tricksy challenges and end up wearing some sensational satin bomber jackets. What more could you possibly want?”

Hosts

Each team was given an individual game master who guided you through, the game masters really created the atmosphere and was fun to interact with.

Room Set up

There was plenty of room across the whole of this game for the maximum team size of 8. All rooms had exceptional detail and creativity, it was like you were inside the tv game show for real, without the holiday prizes of course.

Game Play

The games varied and you were able to choose what type of game your participated in, the was a bit of physical activity required to move across the different zones but all this added to the atmosphere. There are 4 different types of games, mystery, physical, mental and skill over 4 different zones Aztec, futuristic, industrial and medieval. for anyone who like Becky and I that loved watching the show there are a few games which you will recognise! If you are locked in your team members use a crystal to release  you after you have solved a riddle; lucky none of our team members got locked in. You are against 3 other teams of 8 to gather as many crystals as possible which gives you an allotted time in crystal dome, whichever team gets the most tickets from the dome wins. As we are a 2 we were put in with 6 other people who we had to get to know quickly, this could be daunting for people so please be prepared for this or bring a bigger team of friends.

Clue System

Clues were given by your game master who is with you throughout every game, also other team players are able to stand outside to aid you.

Escape Time

WE WON!!

Our Overall Rating

Puzzles ★★★★★

Immersion ★★★★★

Difficulty (Cannot comment due to different games)

Wow Factor ★★★★★

Overall Experience ★★★★☆

We really enjoyed this unique experience, the game actually deserves a 10 however the price lets the game down and you don’t get any keepsake to take home unless brought from the overpriced gift shop.

Price

Prices depend on the date booked, price starts from £54.99 per person.

Crystal Maze Website