Category Archives: UK

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)

Unescapable: Mary

Derby, Jul 2021

Rated between 4 and 4.5 out of 5
Although it follows Unescapable‘s pattern of “name of person” game titles, the Mary of this game is not a person but a spaceship. The premise here is that Unescapable are running out of the crystals that power their time travel portals, and need you … (more)

Unescapable: Alan

Derby, Jul 2021

Rated between 4 and 4.5 out of 5
Of Unescapable’s games, Alan gives away the fewest clues to its theme – something about finding a missing employee? But there are enough subtle and not so subtle hints in the website details that I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying this … (more)

Escape Stations: Prometheus

Nottingham, Jul 2021

Rated between 3.5 and 4 out of 5
In the packed Nottingham escaping scene, Escape Stations is a newer company that’s now starting to register on visiting enthusiasts’ schedules. At present Prometheus is their only physical game, though there’s another one under construction, and the … (more)