Which London Escape Room?

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Whether you call them exit games, escape games or escape rooms, this is the page to help you find what you’re looking for in London. Last update: June 2022

Here are my suggestions, if you’re looking for a room that’s…

The best in London: Of the ones I’ve played, I’d recommend clueQuest’s Operation Blacksheep and cQ: ORIGENES, Secret Studio – Escape in Time, Escape Plan’s The Adventure Begins and Battle for Britain and AI Escape’s Project Ðelta.

Wheelchair accessible: Most venues aren’t accessible for wheelchairs but you do have at least three options: clueQuest, Secret Studio – Escape in Time. Sherlock: The Game is Now, and Agent November should all be able to help you out, although I’d still recommend contacting the company in advance to ensure it’s going to be fine. The other potential option is Enigma Escape – their website recommends against it, but at least one TripAdvisor review says that it worked out fine. Your call! You can find a full list of wheelchair accessible-games on my other blog, Exit Games.

Great for beginners: Almost any room in London would be a suitable start for beginners. The perfect room should be a combination of good, logical puzzles and a learning curve that doesn’t leave you stumped as soon as you walk through the door. clueQuest’s first game, Plan52 certainly has that. Lady Chastity’s Reserve would be another good shout, especially if you’re into immersive theatre and enjoy some innuendo!

Got individual ticketing: Tourists and people with unenlightened friends might want to book solo and play with random people. If you don’t mind a little bit of adrenaline, then Trapped in a Room with a Zombie is the only public-ticketed game that I’ve played and enjoyed. Sherlock: The Game is Now also offer public ticketing.

Got tickets for 2: Most London rooms can be played by two players (probably all – although you’ll find it tough!), but you’ll likely have to book for three or more, which gets expensive. Assuming that’s not an option…. Only a few are set up for private bookings for two people: First choice, by quite a margin, is Clue Adventure’s 2 Tickets 2 Ride which is for precisely two people. After that Escape Plan’s The Adventure Begins and Battle for Britain are good options, particularly on a weekday when they have a reduced rate.

Able to hold 7+ people in one room: Plenty of options for 6+ people, but I’d probably point you towards Escape Plan’s  Battle for Britain for 7. For more than eight then my recommendation would be to book Trapped in a Room with a Zombie which can take up to 12 players. Obviously, if you’re willing to split between two different rooms then there are a number of choices (see below).

Great for kids: The best choice will depend on the age and interests of your children but I’d probably choose between a magic-themed game and something from clueQuest. If magic-themed games work for you then Fang of the Serpent at Breakin’ Escape may be the most fun but I’d suggest that’s more suited to ages 12+ while Enigma Quests’: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a little less glamorous but probably works for kids down as young as 8 if they’re into puzzles. If magic theming doesn’t work and you’ve got slightly older children then the clueQuest rooms are a good option. Note that KidzEscape may also be interesting but I’ve not played.

Got cool technology: clueQuest’s Revenge of the Sheep has some pretty impressive technology as does AIM Escape’s Patient Zero, while Breakin’ Escape’s War on Horizon Alpha (the Star Wars-themed game) has a room that is pretty much pure technology. Both Escape Rooms Angel’s games (Dark Side of the Moon and Project D.I.V.A. are heavy on tech although they tend more towards adventure and less towards traditional escape rooms.

Got great mechanical puzzles: Escape Plan – the Adventure Begins is my go-to favourite for mechanical puzzles in London. clueQuest’s Revenge of the Sheep does a pretty good job too, made all the more impressive given that it also does well on the tech puzzle front. Mission Breakout’s Lost Passenger is packed with physical puzzles too although they’re perhaps not as intuitive as the previous two.

Got a fantastic host: Handmade Mysteries – Lady Chastity’s Reserve. Gabriel is absolutely amazing. Honourable mention to Room Escape Adventure‘s zombie room, though, with some great actors!

Going to immerse you in history: Mission Breakout’s Codebreakers room really made us feel like we were codebreakers during the war and the theming from before you even entered the room worked well. Escape Plan‘s two games are also great option, particularly for bigger groups. If I had to characterise, I’d say the former had the history as a central part of the game whereas the latter used it as a backdrop.

Scary! There aren’t many scary escape rooms in London but my recommendation would be Secret Studio for atmosphere and Trapped in a Room with a Zombie for adrenaline scares. The Evil Eatery by Do Stuff has a macabre storyline but isn’t really scary while the Escapist by Modern Fables does Lovecraftian horror but, again, not in a scary way.

Playable with limited knowledge of English: Escape Plan is playable in Spanish. I don’t know of any other games that have been translated.

If you speak a reasonable level of English but don’t want language-based puzzles then I *think* clueQuest‘s games (Operation Blacksheep and Revenge of the Sheep) would be good choices. If they’re not available, I’d suggest pretty much any of Breakin‘s games (but I’d recommend Heist and War on Horizon Alpha as their better games). Escape Rooms Angel would be a good choice too – I don’t believe they make heavy use of English.

If you’re Google translating this article and don’t know *any* English then you’ll need to contact individual companies and ask if they have bilingual GMs.  I’ve been GMed by plenty of non-native English speakers, particularly Eastern Europeans – email me if you’ve got a specific language and I’ll see if I can suggest anywhere.

Part of an escape room extravaganza: If you’re feeling lazy then just north of Kings Cross are Omescape and clueQuest which between them have seven games including several that I’ve ranked highly. The two venues are two minutes’ walk apart, so you could easily fit in the full set in a day and have plenty of time to spare. If you want to play three or four rooms back to back, then clueQuest is by far the best option in London – with four games that I (and others) rate highly. If you’re feeling super-lazy then Breakin’ Escape have seven games in a single location.

Full of atmosphere: Secret Studio – Escape in Time. Wonderful props and a room that oozed atmosphere. Honourable mentions to Lady Chastity’s Reserve and Time Run.

Difficult: To be honest, London doesn’t have many very difficult rooms, but I’d suggest Escape Plan’s Battle for Britain or clueQuest’s cq:ORIGENES.

Great for corporate events: clueQuest is my recommendation. With them having 11 rooms (4/3/2/2 copies) there are plenty of opportunity for head to head games and there’s lots of room in their reception to hold an event. If you have more than 20 people and would like them all to play the same game then Escape Entertainment is also a possibility for up to 36 with six identical copies of Bank Heist although it’s not a great game. More than that and you’ll need to play two different games at clueQuest (up to 66) or Escape Entertainment (up to 56). To be honest, though, I’d stick with clueQuest for anything up to 66 even if that means you need to play different games.

Going to make my adrenaline rush: Trapped in a Room with a Zombie. One of the most memorable escape rooms I’ve played. Don’t go here for fantastic puzzles, but go here for an amazing experience.

Quirky: The Escapist from Modern Fables in the North of London.

Like a real world escape: Enigma Escape – The Killer. Don’t expect to be collecting random numbers from around the room – if it wouldn’t work in real life, then it’s probably not going to work here!

6 Comments


  1. // Reply

    Hi
    What about rooms for first timers? I’ve been told by a credible source (one of your friends that I met at citydash) that it’s best to leave the good ones (like time run) until you’ve played a few rather than do them first.

    Thanks
    Roshni


    1. // Reply

      Finally updated with an answer!


  2. // Reply

    Do you know options for people (turists) with medium level of english? I mean, not hard english riddles


    1. // Reply

      I’ve updated the article with some ideas but I’d recommend checking with the companies as it’s not something I think about much when I’m playing!


  3. // Reply

    Thanks for this article! My kids wanted to do an escape room, so based on your advice, we took them to Enigma Quest’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and we all had an excellent time.

    You noted in your main review that this is a particularly search-heavy room. I think that made it especially good for kids, since searching is something where kids are on a pretty even playing field with grownups.

    I wanted to share one warning with other parents (it involves the last part of the game so technically it’s a SPOILER but I will keep it very vague): my 8-year-old found the last room too scary, and wouldn’t go inside it. My 10-year-old was also creeped out but did work up the nerve. This didn’t detract from our overall enjoyment– the other rooms weren’t scary at all, and the last one was a relatively short percentage of the experience. Plus, we were able to carry elements out of the last room back to the doorway where our 8YO was standing so he could help out.

    Despite the last scare, our 8YO enjoyed himself and now wants to do more escape rooms!

    But if your child is very sensitive to scares, you should know there are some spooky elements in the last room.


  4. // Reply

    I’d recommend Kidzescape in North Finchley for children. We went as a family of four to their Aladdin room, my kids are 5 and 9 years old and really enjoyed getting involved and looking for clues. It’s pitched at the right level for those ages, but still taxing enough to enjoy. We’re due to try out the Harry Potter one later in the Summer.

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