March 2019

- Overall rating:
Lock'd (London): The House of Alistair Moon

After an impressive introduction and a solid opening set of puzzles, the game never really got going – with two puzzles in particular that went well past fun and into tedious.

A Tourist's Review of Prague Escape Rooms

A wrap up of all the games we played in Prague – ten companies, 13 venues, 25 games. In summary, an excellent city to visit both as a tourist and as an escaper with quality games in a variety of interesting themes and particularly impressive for beautiful games.

- Overall rating:
X-it Games (Shipley, Yorkshire): Afterlife

A thoroughly enjoyable adventure which combines good puzzles with a fun sense of exploration and stunning set design. While there are a few places where individual teams might get stuck, this is still a room that I would absolutely recommend if you’re even vaguely nearby.

- Overall rating:
Doomsday Games (Colchester): Pathogen

A fantastically fun game with a beautiful opening scene, varied but good quality decoration throughout, a novel clue system, fun challenges and some cool theatre within the game. If you’re vaguely in the area, then I’d recommend you drop by, because this is a gem of a game.

- Overall rating:
Prague Escape Review: Elixir Mystery

A good game, with enjoyable and harder-than-average puzzles. Its location in the heart of the city, the impressive introduction, the thematic venue and a visually impressive but short finale makes it a good option, especially if you want to justify your visit as “tourism”.

- Overall rating:
XScream Escapes (Ashford): The Corpsewood Killer and Bedlam

Two fun experiences which showed off the set design skills at XScream Escapes. Bedlam was our clear favourite, with more striking decoration, a real sense of exploration and better puzzles while the Corpsewood Killer was a more traditional style of escape room – still fun but a few weaknesses.

- Overall rating:
Crime Runners (Vienna/Wien, Austria): Going Underground

A fantastic game which delivers ninety minutes of adventure and puts Vienna firmly on to the escape room map. It’s a game with no weak areas – the decoration, the story, the puzzles, the sense of exploration, the transition between rooms and the special effects are all impressive and combine to create an experience that you shouldn’t miss.

A Tourist's Review of Vienna Escape Rooms

A round up of all the games we played in Vienna – a great starting point for tourists to the city of what to play (Crime Runners!) and what to avoid (MindX!).

- Overall rating:
Breakin' Escape (London): Wizarding School

A beautiful game with a great sense of exploration, generally enjoyable puzzles and fun set pieces. A maintenance issue, a confusing puzzle and a disappointing cluing system detracted from what was otherwise a really fun game but I’d still recommend playing.