Welcome to the November 2017 edition of the London-focused monthly escape rumours post. The eagle eyed among you may have spotted that I skipped over the October release – things have been pretty hectic recently. Busy enough that I’m likely to go through a month long period without playing a single escape room… That hasn’t happened in a very, very long time.
Note that this update is about London (and surrounding area). If you want to know about games further afield, then follow exitgames.co.uk, where I publish a weekly update on the UK scene.
I’m continuing to catch up on my review backlog but if you’re after an opinion, feel free to drop me an email and I’ll try to help.
Plans
So, what have I been up to in the last couple of months? Well, I finished off my Warsaw and Budapest travel guides, visited Paris for a long weekend of escaping, helped out with (and spoke at) the UK Escape Room Industry Conference and finally started to catch up on the London games that I’ve been glossing over – expect reviews for ClueTrace, Operation Escape, Escape from the Room as well as Tulleys from just outside the M25.
As for the future, I’m currently in the middle of organising my calendar. Biggest thing in the short term is a long weekend in Hamburg where I’m planning on playing around 25-30 games. Beyond that, I’m aiming for a December trip to sample the delights that Peterborough and Cambridge have to offer, and then filling in some of the blanks in London – I’m long overdue trips to Inside Out and Adventox while Escape, City Mazes, Trapped In and Escape Plan have probably reached the point where I can go and visit having given them time to settle in.
News and Rumours
From my point of view, September’s highlight was Escape Plan opening up their new game, Battle of Britain. I know a fair number of people who’ve played now and they’ve all said good things. If you’re interested in finding out more about the company, I also came across this podcast interview with Brendan talking about how he ended up in the business and some of the challenges he’s faced.
October’s highlight, on the other hand, was probably Clue Adventures opening 2 Tickets 2 Ride. As the name hints, this is a game for two people with a train theme. It’s only been open for a few days so no reports yet but their first offering was liked by the vast majority of players so I’m hopeful they’ll reach the same quality levels here.
Good news for those of you who haven’t yet played Popup Escapes‘ The Case of the Dynamo Diamonds, down in Putney. They’ve managed to secure an extension through to the new year. Sounds like a perfect recipe for a Christmas celebration – pizza, puzzles and pints. If you’re wondering how they’re managing to do so well, one reason might be a visit from the Evening Standard.
I’ve not yet played their opening installment but Aftermath the Game, the come-to-you company, have launched their second experience – the Missing Link. In fact, I’m yet to hear of anyone playing their games although from what they tell me they’re reasonably busy with the corporate market.
As trailed in a previous newsletter City Mazes London opened their new venue down in Islington, with Bamboozled and The Lost Cabin their first two games. Not a million miles away, Escape London opened their second branch, this time choosing Shadwell and bringing Taken, Witchcraft and Wizardry and Anarchy of the Seas to the capital.
They may be creative with their game ideas but Handmade Mysteries obviously aren’t ones to deviate from a tried and tested formula… Adding to their London collection, they’ve launched yet another venue for Lady Chastity’s Reserve – this time in Farringdon.
The briefest of hints in this Building Control Application that there will soon be another escape venue in the capital. The address is just a short walk from Liverpool Street and only a couple of blocks away from Secret Studio but as yet I have no idea what’s opening there. Intriguing…
It looks like it might have happened way back in June but Escape Games London have revamped their website, removing a couple of future games that they previously had listed and adding a new “coming soon” graphic that suggests a scary game may be on the horizon. I wouldn’t hold your breath though – it’s already taken them four months to not launch and their previous game was one of the poorest I’ve played.
No official updates on Claustrophobia but the latest rumour has them opening in January. I’m excited to see what they bring to London. Watch this space for more details.
Discounts
Interestingly, quite a lot of companies have dropped off the Groupon list this month. I’d be curious to know whether that’s random chance or Groupon have changed tack. From a quick skim I think these are the ones that remain:
- Adventox
- Breakin’
- City Mazes
- Escape
- Horuscape VR
- Room Lockdown
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!