Welcome to the December edition of my escape rumours post, and wow is there a lot to cover. Just last month I was worrying that I might start to run out of London escape rooms and have to go further afield, but how things change. Read on to find out more.

Note that this is about London (and a little further afield). Exit games does an excellent blog on UK wide news, with regular news updates. If you’re not already a reader, then I highly recommend you sign up.

Competitions and special offers

Slightly outside London, but Clue HQ Brentwood are within striking distance of the capital, and have a reputation for tough games. Last I heard, they were offering a 20% discount with the 3AR1YB1RD code – check out their Facebook page for more details. More info on their recent opening below.

Check out PlayExitGames‘ card if you intend to visit a couple of different sites from their list this year – they’ve got Brighton, Cambridge and London and I fully expect them to add a few more.

Lies, damned lies and statistics

• The Logic Escapes Me reviewed: 24 (plus 9 outside London and a popup event)
• December reviews planned:
  • Incredible Midtown: the Game
  • Escape Entertainment: Prohibition Pandemonium
  • Trapped In: Time Machine
  • Trapped In: Air Traffic Control
  • Escape Room Preston: The Mummy
  • Escape Room Preston: Gallery

News and Rumours

Good things come to those who wait… six months after their original test runs, containment.zone have finally broken their silence and opened bookings to the public. It’s more expensive than your average room, and out in Guildford, so I’m curious to see how it turns out. We’ve already seen iLocked come and go, but I’m hopeful that the mobility and corporate focus of this outfit will keep them afloat.

Talking of corporate, Clue HQ’s franchise on the other side of the capital, in Brentwood, have now opened their two rooms properly and are taking bookings. If you want to know what I thought then check out my reviews of Bunker 38 and Detonation.

Heading into the centre, and the most exciting news is that there’s a new adventure, Incredible Midtown. I’ve literally just come back from playing and while an upcoming blog post will give more details, I can recommend it as a fun evening. I’m still not sure what to call this genre, which sits between escape rooms and treasure hunts and maybe a bit of interactive theatre, but I’m all for it, even if it means braving the elements. Well worth clicking on the link and watching the trailer – definitely one of the more impressive adverts I’ve seen for this sort of puzzling. I believe it’s related to Secret Studio’s Escape in Time team, which itself comes from a film making background, so perhaps not surprising they’re strong in this department.

In my detailed trawls of everything London escape room related, I’ve also come across this mini escape room – £25 for under 15 minutes for up to six people. I’ve never heard of anything like it, but if you’re ever in Namco Funscape (just next to the London Eye) then why not give it a go? (and let me know what it’s like!)

Look East and I’m hearing about a brand new venture, Sherlock Unlock, that has just appeared on the scene in Canary Wharf. They crept under my radar until early November, but I’m very curious to see what they’ve produced. London was begging for a Sherlock based room given it’s home to Baker Street and the copyright period for Sherlock Holmes has passed (at least in this country!). Not sure whether this is it though; they’ve just announced the names of their first two room Paroxysm and Clocks of Chaos.

Head south to Brixton and the Oubliette Escape Rooms crowdfunding project has now officially been successful, and they’re very close to opening their first game. Set in an Orwellian dystopia, where the government control what information you can access and there’s pervasive CCTV, this promises to be an exciting addition to London’s lineup. I’ve already blogged on how excited I am about this game. No pressure!

Also south of the river, AIEscape are due to open any day. Remember that they’re planning on opening four different rooms in one go, so it’s a fairly significant swing in London’s offering, and with Lock’d just next door to them, surely Bermondsey’s set to become the escape room powerhouse of South London.

Back North, clueQuest got in touch to let me know that “Revenge of the Sheep” is due to open on 7th March. Great to finally get a date, even if it means I’m going to have to wait another four months! On the plus side, it sounds like they must be taking their play testing seriously and really trying to set the bar right. If you want to get a feel for what they’ve been up to, and why it’s been slightly delayed, then check out this video.

The Crystal Maze have now opened bookings from mid March. A few teething problems with tickets, but looks like it’s all been sorted, and I’m taking along a couple of teams in late April. They’ve also announced that the venue will be somewhere between Angel and Kings Cross.

Last I heard the Enigma Quests and Enigma Escape teams were both looking to open their second rooms in the new year. I’ll pass on updates as soon as I hear more – watch this space.

Sadly, still no update on Secret Studio‘s plans to open up a second challenge (“The Sequel”). The website shows it as an option, but it’s not made it to the booking page yet. I wonder whether Discover Midtown has distracted them from the expansion – we’ll have to wait and see.

That’s all folks

That’s all I’m aware of. If any of the above is incorrect then let me know, or equally if you’re aware of other news, discounts or competitions, and I’ll include updates in the next edition.

Thanks for reading!