Review

- Overall rating:
HintHunt (London): The Safe

A portable escape experience that HintHunt market alongside their other, more conventional, games. We found it a huge letdown – poorer decoration, fewer puzzles, a lack of exploration and on top of that some red herrings and tech failures left this a disappointing game.

- Overall rating:
HintHunt (London): Golden Share

It may not be the most elaborate of themes, but it’s delivered well. With some of the stronger puzzles I’ve come across in London games and solidity in most other areas, this is definitely a game I’d recommend for enthusiasts in the capital.

- Overall rating:
Cannock Chase Escape Room: The Bunker

In the middle of nowhere and not much to look at, once you’re in the game itself, there’s actually plenty to enjoy. Sure, some of the puzzles weren’t perfect but we really enjoyed this ninety-minute experience.

- Overall rating:
Escape Nation (Stafford): The Citadel

A fun, sci-fi-themed game with good theming, really enjoyable puzzles and moments of humour. If you’re in the area then it’s well worth dropping in.

- Overall rating:
Lucardo (Manchester): The Prison

Lucardo continues to improve, and The Prison probably ranks as the best of the Manchester experiences. I may have had more fun in their University of Magic game because of its theme but, objectively, I think this is a more impressive experience: the puzzles fit the theme, there’s a better-than-average overarching story, and the moments of theatre deliver a coherent game that’s well worth playing.

- Overall rating:
Tulleys Escape Rooms (Crawley): Dodge City

A great experience that I’d highly recommend. As always with Tulleys’ games, there’s a beautiful, expansive set with plenty of logical puzzles to keep a larger team occupied. Aside from the slightly crowded moments early on and the not-very-relevant futuristic setting of the story, there’s really not much to find flaw with here.

- Overall rating:
Komnata (London): St Angelo's Castle

A pretty game but, in spite of the effort that had clearly gone in, I still felt it lacked something from a visual point of view. The puzzle aspect of the experience was better, but the linearity and relative simplicity of the game means that enthusiasts are likely to escape in a shortish time.

- Overall rating:
Adrenaline Escape (Wigan): Labyrinth

Labyrinth might start off a little slowly, but it gathers momentum. By the end, we were having a great time and left with big smiles on our faces. The real stand out for me was the impressive and contrasting visual elements of the game and I think other enthusiasts will be drawn in by that too.

- Overall rating:
Adrenaline Escape (Wigan): Lab 3436

A really interesting mix of escape room styles. At times, it’s a fairly basic lab-style game with simple puzzles and padlocks. At other times, they pull in something unusual, including one particular effect that I’ve never seen in a game and which was simply brilliant.

- Overall rating:
Crackit Bolton: Boot Camp

A fun game but, of the three experiences at Crackit, this felt the weakest. In part that’s the theme but mainly it’s because the puzzles are a bit too long/difficult for the format. Definitely try the other two first and play this one once you’re more experienced!