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 39 users
combined with 3 pro reviews
Your review
Player reviews
Getting a bit bored of pirate rooms now but this one was quite immersive and we really enjoyed the puzzles. Would definitely recommend!
Although Myialock seems to get better overall ratings we definitely preferred this room as the puzzles were more interesting. Myialock has an excellent, immersive set which is, I suspect, why it tends to get the better reviews, but for those that appreciate the puzzles as much as the set, I think this is the room to go for.
#51
Our second room of the day at Clue HQ Birmingham, again this was incredible. The theming was really on point, this room is more padlock-based which didn’t bother us after the padlock-less Miyalock (that being said there is more than just locks in here). Really fun and on theme puzzles, nothing was out of place. We were laughing the whole time during this, and we really feel like we got our money’s worth.
A couple of original touches in this room, the middle part especially was a real delight. The end had us rushing around even though we had time remaining, something that always gets the adrenaline pumping! A couple of people have noted about lighting issues in the final part but we had none of that so I’m assuming it is a problem that’s been rectified recently.
Will definitely be going back for Hellevator and Core!
Updated top 5:
1. The Legend of Miyalock: Forbidden Magic - Clue HQ Birmingham
2. Viking - Extremescape
3. Mr Copplestone’s Curiosity Shoppe - Escape Quest
4. UI-55 - Compendium
5. The Legend of Foole’s Gold - Clockwork Escapes
#4
Set is lovely and there are plenty of puzzles. Our GM (and her trainee) were excellent. I had a couple of niggles - there was one puzzle that clearly did not work that we wasted quite a bit of time on (to be fair, they did then allow us to finish the game after time) and the low lighting in the final room made it really difficult to actually achieve one of the tasks. But overall it's a lovely game and would definitely recommend.
The set is gorgeous and surprising, and there is a good range of puzzles.
However, this game irritated me because, with a minor tweak, our experience would have been incredible. The final room is beautiful but very very very dark, so dark that we couldn't see the padlocks and had to resort to the lights on our watches. A few other minor gripes too, but this was the biggest issue for us.
Despite this, I would definitely recommend this game because we had a great time, but I would advise a light source unless you have been loading up on the carrots!
My favourite from the Clue HQ franchise.
Free flowing, great story and immersive!
Fun pirate room with multiple rooms. Great scenery, scents and game flow.
One of our favourite rooms so far! (played 14 rooms). Much better than Clue HQ's other offerings. Sturdy construction, outstanding theming and great story. Nothing particularly, individually challenging- just so much content to get through! Our only criticism was the lighting levels caused us issues at more than one point throughout the game - including the finale in which we had to have a clue (which we try to avoid) as to where the item(s) even was that had already been revealed as it was too dark for us to see.
I think this is my favourite game so far (ever). The theming is very well done, and it's just really good fun. The puzzles were the right amount of annoying!
Only minor quibble is that we did manage to irretrievably lose a component that meant we had to be given the solution to that puzzle, although I imagine they've addressed that since we did the room.
I loved this. This has been my favourite so far (our of 6). There was a nice big surprise for us in this room, which I don't want to spoil here! There was one puzzle that annoyed me, as the maths involved ignored BODMAS, so I feel like it was dumbed down. I really like that this game has an option to escape, or stay to win treasure!! We stayed. We nearly got locked in because of it, but we did escape with the treasure!
Heavy on content, also heavy on locks. Good visual theming and use of audio. On a number of occasions, very good prop/puzzle theming.
Was very dark to begin with, not certain if it became lighter because of story progression, or our GM realised we were overlooking a couple of obvious things in the room (we were told to ask for more light if we were struggling before the room started).
The entry door notes that the door stays locked until 5 minutes before the room booking time. It is possible that I may have missed it in the correspondence, but I wasn't aware of this, and it left us awkwardly standing around in the train arches until the unlock time.
Certainly worth a visit if nearby, would recommend more than 2 people as there is a lot to do. Just don't turn up too early!!
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...
Lists
- Best UK escape rooms 2022 by Escape the Review virtuosoThese are the 100 highest rated escape rooms in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2022, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended.
- Best UK escape rooms 2021 by Escape the Review virtuoso
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.
- Best UK escape rooms 2023 by Escape the Review virtuosoThese are the 100 highest rated escape rooms in the UK, as of 31st Dec 2023, based on combined ratings from enthusiasts, bloggers and experts - every game here comes highly recommended.