London news and rumours – April 2017

news

Welcome to the April 2017 edition of the London-focused monthly escape rumours post. The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that I skipped the March update and, more generally, stopped publishing blog posts over the last six weeks. The good news is I’m already to step back into the fray and start publishing again. I’ve got one hell of a backlog though – over a hundred games to write about across three different countries and the little matter of Red Bull Mind Gamers to update you on (first post already published). As always, I’ve got notes on all the games I’ve played, so don’t worry too much and if you’re after an opinion then feel free to drop me an email and I’ll try to help.

Note that this update is about London (and a little further afield), the weekly post about the UK and Ireland is now published over on exitgames.co.uk – so head on over to that website if you’re interested in all that’s happening further afield.

Plans

So, what have I have been up to in the last couple of months? Well, it’s been intense – I’ve played 92 games. Yes. Ninety two.  All of Breakin Escape, Time Run: Celestial Chain, Million Pound Heist at Enigma Quests, Escape Mobile, both Locked in a Rooms at the ExCel centre, both Thinking Outside the Box rooms in Peterborough plus 24 games in Scotland, 25 in Budapest and 26 in Vienna. Oh, and I played in the Red Bull Mind Gamers competition – the self-styled Escape Room World Championships.

As for the future, only vague plans for the next couple of months – Prague and NW England/N Wales in April, Amsterdam in May, Gravesend in June. And a lot of blogging.

News and Rumours

The big news in this update is the opening of Clockwork Dog‘s new game in Dalston (near Islington). You may remember them from Langstroth’s Last Riddle, a four week popup last year that wowed its audiences. It wasn’t a perfect game but for their first outing and given the popup nature, it far exceeded expectations. By all accounts, their second game, Loop, really delivers. Escape the Review, Escape Review and London Escapists all rated it as one of the best games they’ve played (note: I haven’t actually read their reviews – just looked at the scores) and talking to London Escapists at a recent meetup, they were equal parts drained and amazed after their game. I’m currently on a hiatus from booking with my London team as a couple of people recover from illness but this will be top of my list when that’s sorted.

Adventox, located in the West12 shopping centre opened in February with two games: Mission X and Alcatraz: No Way Out. There are two versions of each game, so perfect for running head-to-head if you’ve got up to 10 players who want to play.

Modern Fables have opened their doors in south London in South Bermondsey with their game The Escapist. It tells the story of a once bustling underground bar, popular amongst the local arts scene. The proprietress, Lavinia Carter, has gone missing and it’s up to you to work out what’s going on.

Inside Out have been open for a few months and, thanks to a very good Groupon offer, have been full ever since. They’ve now added a second game to their lineup – CSI: London which opened a few days ago. I had to cancel a recent visit to them but hopefully will rearrange and tack on game #2.

Room Lockdown, out in Hornchurch in NE London opened their third room back at the very end of January. Possessed Doll is presumably a horror room and will be followed by yet another in June – Zombie Outbreak.

They ran into a series of delays (not least the proposed venue burning down!) but Handmade Mysteries have finally announced an opening day for Poppa Plock – a game set in a toy shop. Their new venue is in Islington, North London and is bookable now although you’ll have to wait till 25 April to play.

Just round the corner in Angel, Escape Rooms have announced their new games. Where their southern venue has a distinctly historical angle, up in the north they’ve opted for sci-fi with two new games: Project D.I.V.A. and the Dark Side of the Moon. More details on their Angel venue page, but the former sees you saving a mission to terraform Mars while the latter sends you to the moon on a one way mission to destroy a secret Nazi base. Great to see some new themes popping up!

You may have seen mention of Claustrophobia looking to open in London in news update from last year. That went quiet for a long time but has recently sprung back into life. Keep your eyes open but I expect to see some movement on this over the next month. Similarly City Mazes were turning their eyes on the capital before going quiet for a while but recent updates suggest that something will be opening in April. Watch this space (although, as ever with new venues, don’t hold your breath!).

Finally, for those who are interested, three London enthusiasts (including yours truly) headed out to Budapest as part of the UK team for Red Bull Mind Gamers. Final placing was a respectable although ultimately disappointing 5th out of 12 in their semi final. You can read all about the semi final experience already on the blog with another post to follow in the next couple of days.

That’s all folks

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

Thanks for reading!

3 Comments


  1. // Reply

    “I haven’t actually read their reviews – just looked at the scores”

    Story of my life mate. 😀


    1. // Reply

      In my defence, I haven’t read your review precisely because it told me not!


  2. // Reply

    One addition for your list: apparently Quest Room in Willesden Junction shut down at the end of March. Going by your review of it I suspect it wouldn’t particularly have been to my tastes, but still a little sad I missed the chance to try it!

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