Welcome to the June 2017 edition of the London-focused monthly escape rumours post. I’m very slowly catching up on my backlog (not because I’m not writing reviews – just because I’m playing games almost as fast!). 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, 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). If you want to know about games further afield, then follow exitgames.co.uk, where I publish a weekly update on the UK scene.
Plans
So, what have I been up to in May? Well, it’s been busy again with 54 games, not to mention A Door in a Wall and attending the escape room conference, Up the Game, in Breda. That’s seen me play in Brussels, the Netherlands, London, Southampton, Winchester, Salisbury, Oxford, Swindon, Manchester and Wolverhampton.
My plans to focus on blogging and less on escaping obviously haven’t materialised yet, and that’s unlikely to change in June. We’ve already got a trip planned to Leicester/Loughborough this weekend, another mid-June to Gravesend to play the Panic Room games, a trip to Clockwork Dog‘s Loop before it closes and a few other ideas pencilled in.
News and Rumours
The biggest news this month: Time Run is closing! If you’re wanting to make use of the Time Portal (and I urge you to do so if you haven’t already played), you need to get your act together and book in. The last dates are in August, and I expect things to snowball as soon as people start seeing some of those later dates getting booked up…
Only two new openings this month: First off, Namco Funscape brought out their new 765-second experience. If you fancy a challenge, then I suspect you won’t find a more difficult game in London than this one.
The other new opening was Mission Critical from Clue Trace. Their first game was pretty solid, so let’s see what they can produce with their second outing.
SCRAP Zelda is coming to London. While this is in theory an escape game event, in practice it’s different from anything we’ve seen over here before. Think of it more like a big puzzling event with a vague escape room style. Not sure if it will appeal? Take a read of some of the reviews from the States – here’s one from Room Escape Artist.
Escape Room Experts have apparently been working on a game for the London market. No details of when or where it will open but the imagery in the photos and videos on their Facebook page looks intriguing. (Warning: may contains spoilers)
Arsenal took part in a custom-made escape room experience as part of an advert. If you’re a fan of the Gunners, you’ll enjoy watching some of the greats from the past taking on the new kids on the block.
Fosters ran an escape room popup on the Time Run premises. There are very few details about how it overlapped with the Time Run experience, but rumour from attendees suggests that it made use of part of Celestial Chain and may even have included some aspects of the puzzles.
Escape this Room finished a successful run in Shoreditch. According to the owner, he’ll be looking to bring the game back at some point in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for news.
Clockwork Dog have extended their run, so you now have until June 25th to book in. I’ve still not been but should remedy that in the next couple of weeks. I seem destined to never publish a review while their games are still open!
If you’re looking for something interesting to do in the capital, I’ve put together this round-up of some events that I found intriguing.
No update on Claustrophobia since last month – I’m still expecting them to open over the summer.
The City Mazes development has been put on hold for now but will likely resurface in a different part of the city – no news on the way but my educated guess would be a problem with planning or landlords on their proposed property.
Rumour has it that we’re expecting a Fox in a Box franchise to find its way to London. I’ve played three of their games over in Europe and they’re all solid rooms that will hook beginners although won’t blow away enthusiasts.
Discounts
With Escape in Time‘s move to new premises, they’re running a “preview” offer on their game, Secret Studio. Getting a discount at this venue is like getting blood out of a stone so, if you haven’t already played, I’d highly recommend taking advantage of their fifty percent discount as it surely can’t last long. I’m not allowed to tell you the code but, if you go here, you should be able to work it out…
Lots of companies are up on Groupon at the moment:
- Adventox
- Breakin’
- Escape London
- Clue Adventures
- Modern Fables
- Clue Trace
- Room Lockdown
- Operation Escape
Not enough? Well, if you’re a real glutton for punishment, Escape Games London are running an offer over on Living Social. I’d highly recommend avoiding this, though.
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!
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We are in London for a few days soon but there will just be 2 of us. The Secret Studio price is attractive for 2 with the discount, although they seem to want 4 at least? Doable with 2 experienced players?
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Doable but fairly tough. We played as a three and it was busy. You’ll get plenty of clues I suspect but they’ll make sure you get the full experience. Do you want me to ask around and see if anyone wants to join you?
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No, it’s cool cheers and thanks very much for the reply. I emailed them and they said they can tailor the game to make it better for 2 players so sounds like a goer to me. 🙂
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Result! Hope you have fun. I played when it was in beta over two years ago but everyone who plays rates it highly, even after all this time. Hopefully the move to a new location will have refreshed it too!