HOUNDS – Immersive Experiences

The GM / host was absolutely the highlight of this room! That's not to say anything negative about the room - the hosting was simply on another level! The room itself was beautifully themed, though it did feel like the story was prioritised over the puzzles a little. We really enjoyed the interaction with the host throughout the room, not just for the briefing.

Our ratings:

Theming: 9.5
Puzzles: 8.5
GM: 11
Value: 9.5
Fun: 9

Overall: 95%

While this was marked as not so much of an escape room, it still had some good, solid puzzles. Mostly padlock based rather than some of the whizzier things you see in escape rooms now but I still enjoyed them. We are not huge fans of horror  type games but this was on the ok side of the line for me. Quite a few jump scares but nothing too awful and you got a sense of when they were coming as you moved through the various zones so it wasn't too bad.

The great host really elevated the game. Fun mix of logical, visual and technical puzzles aligned to the theme. Needed a couple of hints to keep us on track but things flowed nicely

The room had some good puzzles and funny moments but seemed a bit more linear than the other rooms at Hounds and not really enough to do for an experienced team of four. Hosting was good as it was with all the rooms we did.

Really enjoyed both the overall theme and story and the flow of the puzzles. Hosting was wonderful as well

Great set, not as much to do as the other rooms here and felt a bit rushed by the GM at times but good fun. 

My favourite of all their games, the host was fantastic. Classic puzzles and some great moments 

Enjoyed this room much more than Southern Discomfort as there was a lot more going on. Hosting and set design again superb. 

Enjoyable room at Hounds, which we whizzed through as a 5. Fun puzzles & great decor. Highlight was the hosting. 

As usual with Hounds, the theming and immersion is top-notch, but the hosting here is just on another level entirely - it's absolutely brilliant. Our host was in character the entire time, with some fantastic story-telling and superb one-liners thrown in there. I cannot praise this aspect enough! I've been a little fed up recently with some of the hosting on our recent rooms that we've done elsewhere, but this reminded me how it's supposed to be done and how a great host can elevate the experience! Revived my faith in the UK industry a little bit. 

The room itself is great as well, very good theming throughout and some great tech elements, and the puzzles were fun, if a little on the easy side at times. This is probably my only gripe - there wasn't much brain power required to solve them, it was just a case of figuring out what it was you needed to be doing, then the solution wasn't that difficult to figure out. I might be being a bit harsh there - it didn't affect my enjoyment anyway. 

Overall a fantastic experience that's well worth your time - the hosting of all their games (including this one) is amazing!

Everything you'd expect from Hounds - theatrical, OTT and funny. GM was brilliant and in-character the whole time. Even included our little team mascot in their interactions (I'm sure they don't talk to a frog plushie every day !)

A good range of puzzles, nothing too taxing. There's a fair amount to do but I would say 3/4 is a good team size for this game - 5 felt a little crowded at some points, i would not want to play this game as a 6. 

Not a fan of the new briefing system at hounds but i'll let that slide for the rooms 🙂 

Great theming and hosting as usual from hounds - not sure if I was having an off day but I found some of the puzzles a bit strange (there was a couple that could be easily interpreted in the wrong way). Story was a little loose but good enough. A really good room, just let down a little bit by a few of the puzzles for me. 

This was great fun, some very impressive set design and some great story telling as well. Our GM was fantastic which really made the experience. Puzzles are a little hit and miss in my opinion - this is still an escape room (although different to the norm) but the best parts are the theatrics. Really well done with great attention to detail!

We found ourselves running around quite a lot in this room, as we struggled to make logical patterns between the things we could see and find.  Once one or two things clicked into place, we found ourselves running through steps in quite a linear way though.  There was a lot to do, which made it fun. Recommend. Room 3 for us! 

Lets get this out of the way now, this is not an escape room.  If you go in expecting the same experience that you got with any of their previous games then you will be disappointed.  To be fair to Hounds, they do list it separately from their other games.  This is more of a walkthrough experience with some puzzles bolted on.

This experience walks you through key periods of the famous murderers life and you accompanied at times with a tour guide (I don't know how else to refer to them).  The theming of the areas is excellent and the puzzles are all in keeping with the theme.  The Live Actor was similarly excellent and she handled my improv well.

The end is almost a dramatic presentation of the stories end.

The theatricality was exceptional, but the puzzles felt (certainly in one area) like an afterthought in a couple of cases.

This game almost feels out of place in Crawley, this should be in the West End of London, it's almost the London Dungeon but taken up a level.  Hounds have created something exceptional here, it won't be for everyone (I'm not sure it's really for me) but I enjoyed the chance to experience it.

If this was "Escape the Experience" then it would get a solid 10 but its not so I have awarded the score I think appropriate.  Elements are exceptional but it's not what you might be expecting.

I think I need to explain this ranking with some words.

5/5 for execution of what they went to deliver.
5/5 for hosting, as always with Hounds.
4.5/5 for set.

I think it is clear from all the advertising that this is not an escape room, so why 3/5?
It has some okay puzzles, but you puzzle for a few minutes and then stand around to hear the story, or interact with the actor (which can be amusing, again 5/5 for the GM). It didn't feel like the flow worked. The conclusion was different, but I left feeling "was that it?" and that this type of experience is not for me.

I want my final words to be positive again - knowing you are going into part-immersive-theater, part-history-lesson, with a few of puzzles - if you WANT this, you will really enjoy it. If you are expecting the next step up again in Hounds' puzzle experiences - well this is not it - it's clear it is not it - so more fool you. This rating is based on it's escape-room-y-ness.

Can’t fault it. Familiar escape game puzzles done beautifully along with original ideas, and so many different things to do. Fantastic hosting. Thoroughly entertained. Would recommend for 2 so you don’t miss out on parts of the experience. 

Loads of fun! Our host was brilliant, shame we didn’t catch his real name! Fun puzzles and a brilliant end set piece!

BRILLIANT hosting - great experience to have the host so involved in the room to push the story along, it really worked. Great flow to the room and lots to do so each member of the team was occupied. 

Great hosting from Mischa AKA James! He made the experience very fun and immersive, lovely interactive room with lots of different tactile puzzles, and some acting thrown in! 

Our third and final room here, and its a shame there aren't more. The hosting here is like nothing else, very theatrical, the games hosts are very in character and do not break at all. The hosts were amazing (Rusty and Brandy). The game itself was really well themed, well maintained, everything worked. There was one puzzle that made no sense to us, and even when we had been spoonfed clues, it still didn;'t make sense. When we finally got it, it was a bit disappointing to realise what the solution was, as it just seemed like a really badly thought out puzzle and I cant image many people get it without help (although maybe they do?!) 

The rest of the game was great though, great start, great ending. 

They also somehow remembered us from last time, and one particular incident involving a bottle of mayonaise that I had with me last time, and im not sure how because the two hosts we had today were not involved with that, but somehow they recognised us anyway and dropped a little private joke in, which is very impressive. 

Our first room here, the theming is incredible, nice and high tech, lots of new areas to uncover. Great host who stayed in character throughout. We found it a little easy, it would have been nice if there were a few more elements in there to make it last a little longer, particularly in the final area. 

Our second Hounds room of the day. The host was more in character than anyone thats ever lived, an extreme level of being in character, she flawlessly delivered the setup and ran the room all without dropping it for a second. 

The room was great, good start, good end, some nice puzzles and quite high tech. 

Amazing set. Logical puzzles and funny host! 

I really got into this game. Host was amazing. Very fun experience and great theming.

Hounds have really created something special with this experience. It's not a traditional escape room and will require you to move along at a slower pace in order to soak in the rich atmosphere and narrative. However the puzzles are as strong as you'd expect coming from Hounds and the theming/immersion is second to none. They have once again outdone themselves and have created something that is literally perfection. It's got a really nice, creepy atmosphere with some cracking dark humour. However, it's not too scary (though there are certainly plenty of jump scares throughout - just nothing too bad). Overall, it's a phenomenal experience that is well and truly one of the most spectacular rooms i've ever done. New #1 for sure!

Whoever designed this game was not drinking XXX Moonshine at the time - everything flowed really nicely and was decently signposted. 
Set dressing met and exceeded expectations with little in the room not being used.

One puzzle we needed hinting towards as we have become accustomed to tuning out this particular thing often found in rooms as set dressing/design, potentially could have done with a little more signposting. 

Very clever ending and interesting points system, as awarded by the GM.

Huge thanks to Cassidy (or as non-southerners call him, Joel) for being a great host (If i'm to be really picky then perhaps some nudges came a little too early, especially with the time we had left, but one of them we definitely needed!) 

For me, a room has  to REALLY be special for me to give 5*, and I can't quite give this room the full 5 but it is really pressing up against it. Will be back for Ethics (the room we had actually booked  for, some mistake on their end meant that we couldn't play ethics  and had to play Discomfort instead (or rebook/have a full refund)) and the Murder Bath Experience 🙂 

The intro to the game didn’t work which meant we had to come out of the game and restart. This ruined the excitement of the games fun start feature! 

My favourite of the three rooms. Well crafted, nice attention to detail and the puzzles flowed very well. Not at all disappointed based on the reviews I had read. I was hoping for an epic finale but felt it really didn’t achieve that. Spoilt by similar rooms in Europe. 

The main plus was the GM Aimee. They were amazing. Very funny, personalised the experience and loved their interactions. Couldn’t have been better. Thank you for a wonderful time. 

An incredible game in a beautiful venue, with passionate staff. So good.

Amazing game, amazing venue. Hounds are industry leaders in UK.

Absolutely outstanding Hosting too!!

Yet another brilliant game by Hounds! The hosts make this such an immersive and fun experience as well, and our host was on it interacting with us brilliantly.

We really enjoyed all the puzzles again too, and the game flowed very well.

Hounds truly create the most wonderful escape rooms! Brilliant hosting, immersive from start to finish. We arrived dressed up as explorers and our host engaged so well with us and we had an absolute blast with him.

The room is absolutely fantastic, great design and set, puzzles that flow well and a great variety of puzzles that make sure everyone with different strengths can shine and keep busy. We just loved it! 

Great fun. Theming was outstanding and the host was great. Puzzles not much better than average, but the flow of the game and surprises were a lot of fun! 

Once again Art was a superb host. This is my favourite UK based ER out of roughly 130 UK based ER’s. So immersive and wonderful set design. 

Art was an epic host! 

Great room... superb set design and all puzzles on theme with a good variety.  Plenty to do with a logical flow throughout.  Would suit teams of 2 or 3 .. maybe cramped  with more.

The ending is a little odd and deviated from the game objective which left us a little confused.  

The host was great, he did remain in  character throughout, but wasn't over the top and didn't spoil the experience.

Excellent room, great theming.  Puzzles straight forward, but plentiful, varied and 'on theme'.  The host remained in character throughout, perhaps a bit much, couldn't always understand it, but didn't spoil the game once it started.

Our only gripe was the waiting area/bar... loud music, couldn't hear the game hosts talking to us... although that didn't matter as the rules are repeated multiple times, then again outside the room and again inside ... perhaps killing time was the room wasn't ready, but we would have preferred to be told they were running late so we could have had a drink first instead of feeling we'd been forgotten.

Really enjoyed this game. Right from the start when 'Belle' introduced us to the story of what happened until after the game, it was so immersive. Fantastic puzzles. Some really different puzzles. The GM knew that we were in it for the puzzles so held back the hints apart from one puzzle where I clearly had it wrong. Can't wait to come back and play the other 2. 

A couple puzzles had logic leaps which wasn't the case with other hounds rooms - perhaps this was their first room? But some of the other puzzles were really unique and really on theme. The immersion was top notch with this one, I think the russian portal vibe just really worked for me! 

The hosts are always brilliant, the sets are great, the puzzles are really decent and there's always wow moments with Hounds, really enjoyed this room.

Wonderful build and some inventive and well-themed puzzles, the host is brilliant, but went through alot of what the introduction said, so we had to listen to it twice. Shame we could hear the very loud team in Southern Discomfort more that our own soundtrack

Very original, great play through and many exciting moments. 

I am poor at searching to the extent the GM had to come in and help us, the fact she maintained her character throughout this was impressive. The whole thing is really very clever and the venue and all games are a must do in my book. 

Absolutely loved the hosting and humour in this game. Perhaps the least logical in some ways but most fun of the three Hounds games. Had the embarrassing moment where you break a puzzle, and the GM fully ribs you for it. 100% recommend. 

Cannot recommend Hounds enough - hilarious hosting, beautiful set and a wonderful playthrough. All 3 games are fantastic - this was probably my least favourite theme but had some of the best moments. If you can find a way to go, you should. 

While this is my least favourite game at Hound's, that absolutely is not to say it's not an epic game! The set design is stunning, flawlessly immersive, with some definite surprise wow moments throughout. It really captures the sense of adventure, though I preferred the themes and puzzles of Questionable Ethics and Southern Discomfort.

The theme of this room was just unlike anything I've played or heard of. The GM was, as expected, fantastic, and the room was just full of character. Beautifully designed, some fun puzzles, and we were laughing and enjoying ourselves the whole way through. 

By nature of it's theme, the game doesn't have the most awe-inducing set, but what it lacks in aesthetics (and that's not to say it doesn't look great for what it's meant to be!) it more than makes up for in character and puzzles. So many aha! moments in this game, the GM was superb, and I just wish the experience was twice as long.

I'm often a little leary when a company offers an "experience", but I think Hounds are accurate.  From the bar area to the In Character GM.  I played their two earlier games a year ago and was impressed then (controversially I think Questionable Ethics had the slightly better game play but the theming of Southern Dis-Comfort was incredibly good).  Explorers Diary is better then both of them.

The theming is very much on point, as are the puzzles which are a real combination of old favourites.  Light and Sound effects are used to great effect in some memorable moments.

My only real criticism is that we got the same safety briefing 3 times by 2 people and a video.  Hounds was already a company to watch, but this really is one of the best games I've played this year.  I would go with two people, three at a push just to make sure you get to see and play every part as its worth it.

Really enjoyed this game, such an amazing location and hosting. The game itself is really high energy - we’ll for a team of two anyway. High quality decoration and games and a good mix of padlocks and other puzzles.  Will definitely be back for the other rooms 

Brilliant escape room and although our team of 4 has done a few escape rooms together, this one felt like the first one were we all fully clicked with a room - we didn't need any hints, puzzles were challenging but we could figure them out, the room flowed well with plenty of surprises and fun moments and I loved that we were all busy with puzzles at the same time and everyone could be busy at the same time! The hosting was amazing and so very immersive too, which just put an extra smile on our face. Truly loved it and can really recommend this escape room! 

After visiting a number of escape rooms in the area, we had an entire day at Hounds to play all three of their current games, after hearing so many great things about them.

We discussed at length what it is that sets Hounds apart from so many escape centres and it seems like Hounds have come up with a winning formula; firstly, it is not just an escape room. The whole experience is immersive due to the superb GMs, who remain in character throughout. We had Theadora for this game and she was just superb as a performer and as a GM who read our game perfectly. Secondly, it is the intuitive way their games are set up; the puzzles are delightful and often refer back to things seen earlier, making it more of an immersive experience. Finally, the creative use of space and the beautiful attention to detail really help to make the experience as immersive as possible.

Explorer's Diary is a gorgeous game. It's fairly straightforward in terms of difficulty, with some classic escape room tropes... but it is done in a way that makes it feel like a genuine adventure with secrets uncovered along the way. It didn't quite pip Southern Discomfort to the post as my favourite game here but it was one of those games when we stopped every now and again to just enjoy the moment and savour the quality of the game.

Seeing that this is a government test facility, it's probably better that I don't say too much, but Nikolai guided us through beautifully and we loved the storyline in here.

It's another cracking room from Hounds that put the grey matter to the test and that really provided an adrenaline rush.

A fantastic game that employed all of our various skills and was such a blast! Our host was Trixie, who really made it an experience rather than just a game. The set was superb and the puzzles really enjoyable but the end section clinched it as being up there with our favourite games. A lot of effort has been put into making your whole experience at Hounds so enjoyable - the staff were incredibly friendly and the bar is well-stocked!

I loved this room. So cleverly done with incredible attention to detail. Flowed well and very entertaining. Absolutely brilliant. The host was great and gave just the right amount of assistance. Lovely venue with a cosy bar and friendly staff. I can't recommend Hounds enough and I'm looking forward to returning to try out the remaining room I've not been to. Also, looking forward to their new Acid Bath escape room opening next year. 

Loved the storyline. Great acting from the host. A few entertaining surprises. Puzzles were good fun and it flowed well. The perfect amount of assistance too. Great venue. 

Unique concept, immersive with varied puzzles

Immersive in great Hounds escape fashion. 

Amazing set, great flow of puzzles and immersive hosting. 

Some fun elements in this room, we enjoyed it a lot.

Every room at Hounds is an absolute winner. Incredible venue, the very best GMs, beautiful rooms full of fun and surprises. You must visit. This game is just excellent.

Brilliant game which ranks as my favourite at Hounds (just narrowly beating Southern Discomfort) and one of the best I've played. Everything just works so well: the set is stunning and immersive, puzzles are great and varied, and game flow is perfect. It all culminates in an exciting conclusion and the whole game is very theatrical and engaging. Our GM Robert the Snobert was a great character and gave hints at the perfect times. Highly recommended!!

Lovely set of puzzles and a great in theme host. Really enjoyed the use of colour within the sets to change the mood and how everything flowed so nicely 

Really awesome sets with a lot of care taken to make them look realistic. Great hosting from Reginald Xavier Steven Steven IV (I hope I’ve remembered the mouthful correctly this time 😅). Great variety of puzzles and again lots of fun

Lots of fun from start to finish. Brilliant GM in character as with all of the other Hounds games. Theming was really unique and lots of fun country / Deep South US references throughout. 

A another brilliant one from Hounds. So detailed and immersive with amazing decoration, logical puzzles and activities, some fantastic surprises and spaces. Hilarious GM and sidekick too 🙂

Absolutely superb space, brilliant theming, clever split start and a superbly dramatic ending. GM was brilliant, funny and engaging, just such fun and we only needed one hint half way. Didn't want to leave this world! Hounds is amazing all over!

A really detailed briefing from our "kidnapper" and a very clever use of space. Brilliant puzzles all well in keeping, great styling and overall an amazing venue!

Superb game. Loads to do. Host was absolutely on the money.

Really fun game, plenty to do.

Brilliant stuff. Original style game, lots of fun twists and plenty to do.

This was the 3rd of the Hounds rooms we have tried and wow, its amazing!  Its straight into my top 5 rooms.  Loved the design/theme/set and great choice of puzzzles.  Loads to do and definitely quite a bit harder than the other 2 rooms they have.  Genuinely brilliant game.  Thanks and look forward to the next one you open!

Right from the moment you open the front door Hounds shows just how serious an operation it is.  An amazing waiting room and check in area, great characterisation from the GM and a great room with lots of new puzzles and a brilliant variety of things to get your head around.  Found it a bit harder than Southern Discomfort but both were great.

This room is brilliantly themed, with creative use of space. Includes some unique puzzles, with the opportunity to dress up as explorers which was good fun even if I did bump my explorers’ hat into the walls a few times 🙂 . The average team may struggle to finish in time without help but that shouldn’t stop anyone from experiencing this great room!

Just like Hounds’ other rooms, this is a really well themed room with a clear goal for your team to achieve.

It’s a linear game with logical puzzles that are mostly pretty self explanatory (for an experienced team) but satisfying to solve.  There are enough puzzles to keep a team of two occupied with some fun surprises, but nothing too scary!

(Room #107 for the team)

Brilliant fun and such an excellent set. 

Our host was just superb, in full costume and accent (!) - keeping us laughing and allowing us to figure things out without jumping in too soon, which is so often the case. 

Some really great surprise moments - had us smiling from start to finish!! 

This is simply one of my favourite games to date, we played this second the day we were there and were so glad we had done, Questionable Ethics was a great starter, but Southern Discomfort for us was even more fun. The theme and set were both superb, puzzles were fun, fitted the theme really well and in a couple of places laugh out loud, I do enjoy a game that makes you laugh because it is genuinely funny. As with their other game, GM was great and stayed in character wonderfully. The ending is the so well done too, none of the "oh so that its" you can experience playing some games.

This is a very good game, fun to play, some really good puzzles and excellent theme, the GM stays in character for the whole experience and are great fun too, chatting to them after they are really enthusiastic about escaping in general and that enthusiasm shows through in the quality of their games.

An excellent experience in every aspect from arrival in to the cool bar/waiting area, the unique hosting, the beautifully themed game. It doesn't get much better than this.

Preferred this room due to the puzzles and non linear nature. Great team work needed. Some funny moments too! 

We had a great time. Set was amazing and immersive. Great team working elements. 

One of the best I've played! Really inventive puzzles and a great theme. Host was excellent and in character the whole time. You'll have a blast

I like rooms like this, the ones where you enter and think "is this it?" and after a few minutes of gameplay you realise that no... its only just the start. I love that moment when you realise you're already well down that adventure rabbit hole.
Inventive puzzles and some nice theatrical moments, and this room has one of my fave puzzles of the year (which I can't tell you... cause , you know... spoilers!). 
I look forward to returning to play what else Hounds dream up.

My personal favourite at Hounds as the briefing was excellent, the host kept in character throughout our attempts of banter and distractions and got lots of laughs from our team. The puzzles were well themed and there's a great mix, all were logical with subtle signposting and a great finale. 

Amazing themeing and design, host fully in character and adds to this. You start split up which I always enjoy as teamwork and communication are key as well as all parties feeling involved in puzzle solving. Logic and observation are beneficial here. The elements in the room and props are fun and fit seemlessly with the storyline and theme. Excellent room and hosts

The owners and hosts at Hounds are amazing, welcoming and easy to get carried away talking to. The GM was in character from start to finish and added humour. The puzzles start off on a logical and straightforward style and progress in difficulty as you move through the room and teamwork is integrated. Fun elements are present also. Theme and design are great too. Excellent room and enjoyable