Author Archives: escapethereview

Escape Down The Rabbit Hole: Battle For Valondor

Barnstaple, Jun 2019

Valondor is in peril! Evil forces rise to threaten the realm again! This game’s setting didn’t appear to be imitating any specific movie or book, but the swords and sorcery style was instantly familiar from any number of fantasy stories. The exact na… (more)

Escape Rooms Paignton: The Great Train Robbery

Paignton, May 2019

Planning a busy day of escape rooms is logistically complex, and often the simplest option is to play as many games as possible at a single venue before moving on to the next. Once in a while this has the unfortunate consequence that you play a game … (more)

Escape Rooms Paignton: The Agatha Christie Mystery

Paignton, May 2019

Many escape rooms are tucked away in out of town industrial parks, or hidden in dubious alleyways on the cheaper side of town, or confined to an unwanted upstairs floor above a different business. In contrast, Escape Rooms Paignton have an imposing f… (more)

Red House Mysteries: The Strange Disappearance of Arthur Moon

Torquay, May 2019

Arthur Moon is a ‘perfectly normal’ schoolboy whose mysterious disappearance forms the plot of Red House Mysteries’ newest game, and the first at their newly opened Torquay branch. If from the name and website description you’ve gathered that it’s se… (more)

Devon Escape: Death on Dartmoor

Newton Abbot, May 2019

Death on Dartmoor is a sequel to Devon Escape’s first game, though it’s not essential you play them in order; where in that one you were a gang of thieves, here you’re on the side of law and order, solving a murder and an abduction. You have two goal… (more)

Devon Escape: Professor Enright’s Enigma

Newton Abbot, May 2019

On my last trip to Devon two years ago, there were a handful of rooms available from three companies, all located in Exeter and Plymouth. Much has changed and at time of writing there are 14 venues spread out across the country. This time round we st… (more)

Lucardo: The Prison

Manchester, Jun 2019

Prison is one of the timeless escape room themes. It’s been done so many times in many different styles that it’s very difficult to build a prison game that feels original, doubly so because there’s a very limited range of items you can plausibly put… (more)

Escape Tales: The Awakening

Room-in-a-box, Jun 2019

I’ve been saying for a while that the convention of a 60 minute time limit is an unnecessary constriction on play-at-home games, and that games would do better to aim for a longer play time and a more substantial experience. Escape Tales appear to ha… (more)

Unlock!: Scheherazade’s Last Tale

Room-in-a-box, Jun 2019

Second in Unlock!’s Exotic Adventures set, Scheherazade’s Last Tale dives into the mythology of Arabian nights, with the premise that Scheherazade has run out of inspiration on her final night, and needs you to save her. It’s a romantic and distincti… (more)

Unlock!: Expedition: Challenger

Room-in-a-box, Jun 2019

In each set of games Unlock! releases, the third game has always been the one rated with the highest difficulty, has been the most innovative and ambitious in design, and – so far – has been my favourite of the box. Expedition: Challenger continues t… (more)