by Clue HQ Birmingham (website)
Arches 20 & 21, Lionel Street, B3 1AG
2-6 players
Languages: EN
60 minutes
Overall rating
based on ratings from 48 users
combined with 3 pro reviews
Your review
Player reviews
A decent pirate themed room. Linear puzzles that were well suited to 2 people
A busy room but where you can progress fairly fast despite the amount of puzzles. Also, the second part of the room is a lovely surprise
Quite maths heavy and small room. One of the puzzles was extremely annoying to do as it involved listening to a tune. But the audio was very quiet. Good hosting but puzzles were quite forgettable
I have done a few pirate themed rooms over the years so I wasn't sure how similar this one would be. There was a good story line behind the game and a variety of puzzles to be solved. It wasn't too challenging but was fun none-the-less. We also visited the board game cafe, which is attached to escape room, before our game. This was a fun extension of our visit.
The game took place mainly in one room, but when out of this room there was a long corridor that answered some more puzzles in the main room, it did not smell great.
At the end of the corridor is a lit room where it was clear you were meant to be able to see into it. but the game ended abruptly with a "WELL DONE" (or words to that effect) and this room is no longer part of the game. But, it's on full display?!
Reviews by escape room review sites
Whispers on the grapevine (okay, mainly Facebook) suggested that with Captain Riddle, Clue HQ had upped their game and built something quite special, so it was a priority for our visit to Birmingham. Actually, it'd probably have been a priority anyhow - pirate themed games tend to be fun.
First impressions on entering the room were contradictory: the decor was lovely, but I was surprised by what a small space it was. Fortunately that's misleading, with the game turning out to be expansive enoug...
A fun room with lots of clever puzzles and excellent signposting throughout. And even better – we set a record for the room!
Lists
These are the 100 highest rated escape rooms (out of 1600) in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2021, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended.
[Last Update: January 2026] I’ve visited the United Kingdom several times and played a total of 173 escape games from 61 different providers. As always, I’ve asked also other enthusiasts and bloggers for their opinions. The final table combines the individual rankings of 63 enthusiasts...