HOUNDS – Immersive Experiences & Cocktail Bar: Questionable Ethics

By | August 31, 2020

by HOUNDS - Immersive Experiences & Cocktail Bar (website)

12 - 13 Queens Square, RH10 1DY

01293307563

Crawley

2-7 players

Languages: EN

~75 mins

1967, Location: Russia

Something strange is going on at an abandoned Soviet Facility. Rumour has it that it might be linked to the recent disappearances, and you have a horrible feeling you’re next… Lucky for you though, your captor has other plans. Go along with them and help expose the true purpose of the Facility.

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Overall rating

Rated between 4 and 4.5 out of 5

based on ratings from 42 users
combined with 5 pro reviews

Your review

Player reviews

Lucy (The Detol Crew) experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 21 Sep 2024 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
funnygreat hosting

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! 

Peter Hoare experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 13 Jul 2024 Team size: 3 Time taken: 48 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techimmersivegreat hostingquite easy

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. 

DoctorPB experienced rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Laura McGill expert rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Played: 8 Apr 2023 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalstory-drivengreat hosting
Kelly Archer expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 30 Mar 2024 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalfunnygreat hosting
Hounds have made three absolutely amazing games all in one location and all for their first ever rooms.
In this game we are test subjects for a secret Russian lab. The two GMs (I don't know why they needed two, except for the story line) were excellent, particularly the security guard who kept his act and accent up the whole time we were at Hounds (about 5 hours) including when my partner bumped into him in the toilet. He was genuinely hilarious.The room itself is excellent - some introductory warm up puzzles before you get into the nitty gritty of the game where the story and styling changes. The theming is excellent, the puzzles flow and the ending makes for a nice finale. Hounds really do know how to make a game end with a bit of pace and pizzazz. 
caroline354 expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
Fun game without anything particularly wow - no real story development during the experience but a couple of nice puzzles. Rooms on the smaller side compared to other venues in the area. Lovely host - they do have in character intros but the room would benefit from utilising these characters for actor interaction during the game to elevate the experience.
A Blacksmith expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 30 Oct 2022 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techimmersivegreat hosting
A solid room, some crafty puzzles and locks. Nice theming and a very reliable room by Hounds. Great hosts.
🎲A Jones experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 22 Oct 2023 Team size: 2 Time taken: 47:28 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techfunnystory-driven
Overall a great room. Strong theming and some light entertainment. Puzzles were a nice mix of dexterity rather than just the usual. Not quite as immersive/fun as explorers diary but still very much worth doing!
Ratchel experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
HazelChester rated this:Rated between 3 and 3 out of 5
ShellH experienced rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
funnygreat hosting

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! 

Dan Getliffe experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 2 Time taken: 56 Outcome: Successful escape!
🤘The Pick of Destiny expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Absolutely outstanding Hosting from Sacha !!
nearlyflippin experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 26 Aug 2022 Team size: 6 Time taken: 52:16 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalimmersive😨creepy
Logan rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Team size: 4
immersivestory-drivengreat hosting😨creepy

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.

Jess_keds expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Outcome: Successful escape!
cleverstory-drivengreat hosting

Art was an epic host! 

Jazz Hans Perry experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 18 Feb 2023 Team size: 4 Time taken: 32 minutes Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techimmersivegreat hostingvery easy
AubreyB expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
Joe Brown expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 20 Feb 2023 Team size: 4

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! 

Anonymous rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Played: 12 Feb 2023 Team size: 3 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivestory-drivenintensequite difficult
d.green26 expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
🌵Juliette B expert rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Played: 27 Nov 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 52:10 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalfunnygreat hosting

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. 

Anna Baillie experienced rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Played: 23 Nov 2022 Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!
funnyclevergreat hosting

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.

Jen Wells (Get Wells Soon) expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
cleverstory-drivengreat hosting

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.

Anonymous expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 5 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalgreat hosting
Ksen experienced rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 21 Aug 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 40 mins Outcome: Successful escape!
originalimmersivegreat hosting

Unique concept, immersive with varied puzzles

PurpleB expert rated this:Rated between 3.5 and 3.5 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
imrahil experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
great hostingquite difficult
matt_keds expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 12 Aug 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 51:40 Outcome: Successful escape!
originalfunnystory-driven
jakea256 expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 18 Jun 2022 Team size: 4 Time taken: 30:30 Outcome: Successful escape!
clevergreat hosting

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 

🏆Annagramma expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 18 Jun 2022 Team size: 4 Time taken: 30.30 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techimmersivegreat hosting

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!

abooth expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 11 Jun 2022 Team size: 2 Time taken: 44 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivestory-driven

Really fun game, plenty to do.

benny1664 experienced rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Played: 29 May 2022 Team size: 4 Time taken: 43 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techimmersive

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.

markb experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 31 Dec 2021 Team size: 3 Time taken: 38 Outcome: Successful escape!

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.

Escape Enthusiast expert rated this:Rated between 5 and 5 out of 5
Spanishfleas expert rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 11 Sep 2021 Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
hi-techclever

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

🦡cipherdelic virtuoso rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Outcome: Successful escape!

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.

🔐James Bloodworth expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 27/11/2021 Team size: 3 Time taken: 46:48 Outcome: Successful escape!
beautifulimmersivegreat hosting
As with their other room, theming and puzzles are on point and provides a really good flow from beginning to end.
Ronnie Meade experienced rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
funnyimmersivegreat hosting

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

Nichola Morrison experienced rated this:Rated between 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5
Played: 13 Aug 2021 Team size: 2 Outcome: Successful escape!
funnyclevergreat hosting
Adam Bravery expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Played: 2 Oct 2020 Team size: 4 Time taken: ? Outcome: Successful escape!
immersivestory-drivengreat hostingquite easy
Really good theme and excellent hosting by David. Story was great and a lot of the puzzles were interesting. 
Mike S expert rated this:Rated between 4 and 4 out of 5
Team size: 4 Outcome: Successful escape!
immersiveintense

Reviews by escape room review sites

You can’t always judge a company by its lobby area, but it’s always an encouraging start to walk into a venue that looks atmospheric, stylish and welcoming. Hounds Escape not only did well on that initial impression, but then built on it with their pre-game briefings, which for both this and their other game were humorously and energetically delivered in character.

For Questionable Ethics, our host was wild-eyed and Russian, and stuck to his role with gusto before, during and after our game. Th...

Hounds Escape have managed to take everything that I’ve loved about other venues I’ve visited and games I’ve played and put them all under one roof. Questionable Ethics is a superb game
As far as the plot goes, it probably is best to go in blind (as well as blindfolded) – suffice to say that the scientific study is probably not meeting health-and-safety regulations, 
Crawley is infamous among scare enthusiats for one reason, Shocktoberfest, but it appears to have more going for it than I first thought. Enter Hounds Escape Room. Located in the heart of Crawley town centre this escape room company is fairly new to the scene but everywhere is giving it rave reviews, so of course we had to go and check it out for ourselves. We booked both their rooms for the same day and up first was Questionable Ethics.

An unmissable game which we loved playing. Hounds Escape Experiences are competing with the best of the best and holding their own. A fantastic game which is a must play! 

Lists

This game is part of the following user-created game lists:
  • Best UK escape rooms 2022 by Escape the Review virtuoso
    These 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 virtuoso
    These 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. 

See also