Category Archives: UK

Adventure Vault: The Scandal

Shrewsbury, Jun 2019

After playing the medieval-style The Beginning at Adventure Vault, we went straight on to their other game, The Scandal. This has no connection to the other in plot, theme or style: the noir setting seemed set somewhere in the 20th Century, and you a… (more)

Adventure Vault: The Beginning

Shrewsbury, Jun 2019

You wouldn’t guess it from the gnomic title, but The Beginning is set in a medieval/fantasy world which is threatened by cultists who aim to use a dark ritual to unleash a plague. Your task is to stop th- no, actually you are the cultists and … (more)

Cliffhanger Rooms: Haunted Pirate Ship

Backbarrow, May 2019

The haunted pirate ship is a lovely, well themed room. It has a little of everything you’d expect from the ghost of a pirate captain… rum, maps, flags, mice and puzzles.

The puzzles were fun, and the game let us start on a few different things at … (more)

Experimental Escape: The Machine

Leamington Spa, May 2019

The Machine is a fun game with some really interesting features. The space available is well used, and the game seems best suited for 2 or 3 players. The room and puzzles seem really well suited for beginners, with some classic puzzles and interestin… (more)

History Mystery: Leonardo Artmergency!

Central London, Jun 2019

History Mystery specialise in games in distinctive locations, but even by their standards an escape room set in Buckingham Palace is pretty noteworthy. Artmergency is a pop-up, running on selected evenings only through the summer, and takes place in … (more)

Trapped Escape Rooms: The Bletchley Blueprints Are Missing!

Okehampton, Jun 2019

Having just played Trapped’s other game Templars, we plunged straight into Bletchley Blueprints hoping that the game would flow more smoothly. It proved to be somewhat different in gameplay style and decoration, but broadly shared the same strengths … (more)

Trapped Escape Rooms: Templars: The Secret Service

Okehampton, Jun 2019

Sometimes the hardest games to review are those that impress in some ways but then badly disappoint in others. That’s the case with Templars, which seemed to have all the elements to be an exceptionally good game – but then let itself down with deepl… (more)

Red House Mysteries: The Shadow Darkens

Exeter, Jun 2019

The Shadow Darkens is a sequel and replacement for Red House’s earlier game, The Scarlet Shadow. Both follow the adventures and tribulations of their noir detective Jack Armstrong, and a certain magical mask. The earlier game had you searching Jack’s… (more)

Roomsmiths: The Naked Eye

Plymouth, Jun 2019

Having narrowly missed the chance to visit Roomsmiths on my last visit to Devon two years earlier, and having heard good things about it in the meantime, I made a point of including it on our schedule this time round. Located in the slightly rundown … (more)

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)