Here’s a round up of all I’ve heard about the local escape room scene since my last Escape Game Rumours post. If there’s anything you think is missing from here or you have some news then let me know via email and I’ll add it in the next update.

Company news and rumours

• London
  • Escape Rooms‘ page has been updated to suggest that they’re opening a second location in Aldgate. No news on specific games yet
  • Do Stuff Escape opened Hostage Hidout this week and were covered in this article by yourlocalguardian.co.uk (which syndicates under several local names)
  • Inside Out Escape‘s website went live this week with a September opening planned. Single game to start with – a Sherlock Holmes themed adventure.
  • Escape London opened with three rooms.
• Yorkshire and the Humber
  • Bradford briefly had an escape room that sadly fell by the way side. Good news – a new one has now sprung up. Time Trapped (not to be confused with Timed Trap or Time Trap) has two games on the website, Sherlock and Prison Break, both due to open later this month.
  • Escape Doncaster opened with two games – da Vinci and Area 51.
  • Make your Escape got a writeup in the Derbyshire Times for their Signal game.
  • Time Games/Code-X were covered in an article about a game they designed for sixth formers attending Leeds Trinity University’s summer programme.
• Wales
  • I’m really very excited about Ultimate Escape in Llandudno who are due to launch later this month. Why? Well, their first room (optionally) sees each member of your team taking on different roles from a CSI investigation where you have access to a different set of clues. The other games they’re releasing promises to take a comedic look at Sci Fi with Hitchhiker’s and Back to the Future style humour. I’m hopeful I can find a way across to check them out.
  • Xscape Reality opened in Cardiff with five games: Jungala, Fibonacci, Alcatraz, Misery and Enigmista.
• The Midlands
  • Laser Quest seems to be all the rage for escape room hosting, so it’s no surprise to see the big US brand Key Quest open up over here. First up is Stourbridge, but I’d be amazed if we don’t see others. The Cellar is a game they’ve imported from the States.
  • Xscape Reality got a mention in the local paper for their new Leicester location.
• Scotland
  • I was pretty certain that no one would ever beat Locked Shetland for the crown of the most Northern escape room. How rash! Escape Shetland have opened just a few miles north on the island of Unst. Surely, with them being on the north end of the northernmost island in Shetland they’re a lock in for the crown? I’m fully expecting someone to build an escape room on Out Stack in the next few weeks…
• South East England
  • Incarcerated opened in Swindon with two rooms – Dose of Death and Prisoner of War. I particularly liked the theming behind the the PoW game which I can imagine generating some on theme puzzles.
  • And, soon after opening, they got a visit from the local paper.
  • City Mazes Oxford opened this week with their first two games – The Void and Hackers’ Paradise.
  • Room Escape Southend switched over their room and now have Asylum as their offering – again, it’s a live actor scare attraction.
  • The Lockey seems to be a legitimate site, but it’s hard to be sure. As far as I can make out, it’s taken the motto “copying from one source is plagiarism, from many is research” to the extreme with at least seven different websites being combined. There’s a fun party game to be had in spotting new references… Let’s hope the games don’t take the same tack.
• North East England
  • Enigmatology, based in Stockton-on-Tees, opened their first game, The Strange Case of Professor Crowhagen
• Ireland
  • Bolt Dublin opened their two escape rooms, Casino Heist and Detention.
• South West England
  • Both Locked In Cornwall and Cornwall’s Great Escape Room got a mention in this article by West Briton.
  • Mission Escape opened their new venue in Plymouth
• North West England
  • The Escape Room, Barrow got a mention in the local paper.
• Elsewhere
  • Proof that there’s money to be made from using escape rooms as educational tools. Or at least that someone thinks there is.
  • If you’re looking to get custom escape room props, there’s finally a UK company targeting themselves in that market.

That’s all folks

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

Thanks for reading!