February 2017

- Overall rating:
Escapologic: Contraption

A game that turns the usual escape room setup on its head by having a smaller number of larger puzzles. As with most Escapologic rooms, don’t expect a plethora of padlocks but instead a mass of mechanisms – in fact, as the name suggests, expect even more than usual!

- Overall rating:
iLocked Nottingham: The Mummy

A game that aimed high but ultimately missed out because of a couple of flaws in the middle. Novices will revel in the beautiful set, the amazing automation and some cool mechanics but the flaws will probably take the edge off the game for the more experienced players.

- Overall rating:
Cryptology Nottingham: The Crypt

A game that was badly affected by a sequence of unfortunate events, albeit ones that could have been avoided with better design, resetting or hosting. That impacted the centrepiece of the game and what was left felt like a combination of uninspiring and repetitive puzzles with no real excitement.

- Overall rating:
Escapologic: Cryptic

A game which had a real sense of exploration as well as a stand out puzzle that got our whole team involved. A disappointing dearth of light sources left us wandering in the dark at times but as the game progressed that became less of an issue.

- Overall rating:
Escapologic: Curio

The single most impressive moment I’ve ever experienced in an escape room combined with obvious progress, good puzzles, a beautiful set and, that most intangible of things, “flow”, made this one of my all time favourite escape rooms.

- Overall rating:
Escapologic: E.P.I. Centre

A really enjoyable game with a great centrepiece set of physical puzzles. It’s the sort of game where experiences can vary wildly both between different teams but also within individual teams so I’d recommend reading the review and going in with your eyes open.

- Overall rating:
Marvo Mysteries: M.A.R.V.O. Induction

A game that excels in almost every department – puzzles, story telling, automation, design, introduction and, of course, fun. One of the very best games I’ve played – if you’re ever within striking distance of Bournemouth, do yourself a favour and head on down.

- Overall rating:
The Lockey: Case Nr 47

A repeated dull puzzle mechanic, lots of red herrings, a very gratuitous start to the game, and moments where we were just milling around left us feeling frustrated. If you’re in Bournemouth, I’d recommend heading elsewhere.

- Overall rating:
Salisbury Escape Rooms: FRAMED

An action-packed fun-filled sprint of a game, stuffed to the gunnels with fun original puzzles. If you ignore the somewhat drab setting of the police offices and concentrate on the relentless flow of the game you’ll have a great time inside the room.