Category Archives: UK

Compendium Escape Rooms: UI-55

Bury, Apr 2022

Rated 4.5 out of 5
Of Compendium’s (currently) four games, UI-55 stands apart, right near the top of enthusiasts’ rankings for best U.K. games. It’s also very different in style: where the others are well suited for an experienced pair, UI-55 is a score-based game wher… (more)

Compendium Escape Rooms: Wrong Turn

Bury, Apr 2022

Rated 4 out of 5
In a great example of how not to get your escape room sponsored by the US tourist board, Compendium’s horror room starts with the premise that you impulsively take a side trip into Alabama and shortly thereafter find yourself searching the house of a… (more)

Compendium Escape Rooms: Bedlam

Bury, Apr 2022

Rated 4 out of 5
Visiting Compendium to binge all four of their games as part of a larger schedule, we started with the insane asylum theme, which I guess is rather suitable for anyone trying to do eight escape rooms in a day. All the rooms in the venue looked good, … (more)

Lucardo: The Orphanage

Manchester, Apr 2022

Rated 4 out of 5
Someday I’ll play a game set in an orphanage that’s about toys and laughter and children playing happily, but not this one: Lucardo’s latest is of course a horror game, set in a derelict orphanage with a dark past.
The design gets a lot out of a re… (more)

The Escaporium: Crux Codicillus

Halifax, Apr 2022

Rated 4 out of 5
I did wonder what ‘Crux Codicillus’ means, but I’m not convinced that Google Translate is entirely accurate with its attempt of “cross booklet”. Or maybe it is – this game casts you as junior members of world-controlling conspiracy The Illuminati, bu… (more)

The Escaporium: A Christmas Advent-ure

Halifax, Apr 2022

Rated 4 out of 5
Having been opened for 2021’s festive season, Christmas Advent-ure was long closed by mid spring when I got to Halifax, but the owners kindly allowed us to play it anyhow, since it hadn’t yet been torn down. I’m not sure whether it’ll be available ag… (more)

The Escaporium: The Haligonian

Halifax, Apr 2022

Rated 3.5 out of 5
Haligonian is the adjective for a person or thing from Halifax, and this room is a love letter to the town where The Escaporium is based. There’s a storyline beyond that, involving searching a collector’s private museum, but it seems like an excuse t… (more)

Enigma Rooms Hull: The Chocolate Factory

Hull, Mar 2022

Rated between 3.5 and 4 out of 5
Only having time to play two games of the three at Enigma Rooms Hull, the second one we chose was their Chocolate Factory game. On telling us about the chocolate factory’s owner, Mr Enigma, our host pointed out that there was no copyright infringemen… (more)

Enigma Rooms Hull: Impact

Hull, Mar 2022

Rated between 4 and 4.5 out of 5
One of many life lessons I’ve learned from escape rooms is, if you’re awaking from stasis on a spacecraft, you can be pretty sure you’re in mortal peril. Impact’s flavour of peril is the exploding ship sort rather than the marauding alien type, but y… (more)