James Bloodworth

Easily one of the harder games from YouEscape but, as always, highly original puzzles and the execution of those puzzles.  Nik is a great host and can be as helpful as you want.  This game is very science based (to the extent I asked him afterwards if was or had been a teacher) and does involve a lot of theory, you don't need to understand the science to solve the game but would help.

I do love a bit of theatre when starting a room and this does deliver that, as stated on the website you are blindfolded and handcuffed whilst the spooke voice of the "Governor" plays out, but don't worry you are out of your handcuffs nearly immediately.  This is a fairly creepy game where the GM was happy to tone the creepiness/shocks up or down (we toned them down for my ER partner) but (like Crazy Cat Lady) there are clever but fiendish puzzles and again (like Crazy Cat) we seemed to run out of steam in a few places after tearing through the early part of the room.  We failed to escape and when the GM walked us through we were further away than I thought but there is still a lot to like in this room.

It may look like it's going to be a hilarity filled ride into the mind of someone obsessed with cats but what lurks is a bit of a fiendish puzzles.  I think the flow breaks in a couple of places as at times we were standing around trying to figure out the next move and we failed right on the last puzzle in a similar way to a room from a couple of years ago where I think it was a potentially ambiguous answer to the final puzzle and that cost us the last few seconds.

It's rare for an Escape room to have a great beginning, great gameplay and a thrilling end.  This does, perfectly on theme briefing, couple with some clever puzzles and some interaction with an actor (but not in a Butcher/Edith kind of way, very family friendly).  I've robbed a few banks in my time (as games!) but this was one of the most fun I've taken part in.  

Disappointed after all the positive reviews I had from the first one, could be good but it needs work.

Starting a room with a bit of theatre is always a winner for me, maybe its the LARPer in me.  This game starts with a great sequence and the GM amped it up and added to the role.  you are prisoners sent to an orbital prison but you are innocent and you have help from the inside.  Theming isn't as strong as their other games in the early parts but there's an awful lot to like here and was my favourite game from the ones they offered.  It achieves a great beginning, great gameplay and a great finale.  My favourite room at the venue!

This game starts with a bit of theatre which always is a winner for me.  You are police officers on the trail of a killer and you think you know where he is.  There are some great, great moments and some moments when you look at something and then have to look back to confirm what you've just seen.  There is also a bonus mission if you have time at the end.  Brilliant.

Time Travel is not to be messed with, but this room is very much worth your time.  A game of two halves, both rooms involve puzzles but there's a couple of hi-tech elements I've never seen before and were used to great effect.  Great fun.

Wonderfully themed, great set design and a good mix of puzzles.  We had a couple of hints from "Zeus" and some great banter/interaction.  Set design is good with some spins on some classic puzzles.  As some reviewers have commented, it starts slow but momentum does build to a great finale.

Creepy cabins in the woods, I swear I will never go backpacking again!  Theming was on point, hell I'd stay here for a break!  Good mix of puzzles but again, the story and ending didn't really come together which was a shame, but still worth your while..

I would need all of my particular set of skills as I was taken prisoner by the nicest possible GM.  Needless to say this is a split start where one you starts locked up but you need to work together in order to escape.  Nothing here will amaze you and (like most rooms here) there's one search puzzle I feel is a little harsh but the rest flows well and we had a great time.

A fun logical room with some ER tropes present and correct but with some original puzzles mixed in.  Nice flow to it, but one horrendous search fail that I still feel is a little unfair as a puzzle.  This would make an excellent room if you haven't played many already but even if you have it's still worth your time.  Theming and backstory is mostly on point.

Magical adventures based on the films of the boy who lived aren't anything new but this one has some nice touches, entering through a magical painting to the headmasters study being one.  There is a series of logical and physical puzzles as you race to remove the curse that is upon the school.  

Egyptian tombs are always fun, theming on this one is very much on point, in fact I think they spent all of the budget on the set design as the puzzles felt a bit like an afterthought.  Relatively linear, I don't think its suitable for a large groups due to the size and there's a couple of puzzles that only require two people whilst the rest might be standing around.  Apparently this is their latest room and its not bad, but there's better rooms at this location.

A Western themed game that doesn't involve breaking out of jail.  Theming is on point (I approve of the playlist of western music but possible a little too loud..)  Game is looking a little tired (I mistook a crease on a label as an arrow when it wasn't).  Shouldn't present too many issues if you've got a few rooms under your belt.

My very first ER was King Arthur themed and I've always been a fan of the myth so this was a bit of a no-brainer.  Theming is great, even the ascent to the first part of the room feels on theme.  Definitely a game of two halves, there is a tricky physical/dexterity puzzle that initially worried me but its relatively straight forward.  The second half is a series of logic and observation puzzles and is implemented well.

It's always interesting to see ER enthusiasts then get themselves into the business and I imagine if you are reading this then you've heard of "Brit of an Escape Habit" and it's blogger Amy.  This is her room and it's a cracker.  It's looks great and it's a nice mix of traditional puzzles and putting a different spin on them as well.  You also have some bonus puzzles you can try if you have time before the inevitable timer concludes.  It's possibly a little of out of th way but it's worth your time.

Playing this back to back with Remy's Room was an interesting contrast, I enjoyed this one more, there were some clever physical puzzles and a reveal I'd not seen before but it still suffered from some of the same problems as Remy's.  An interesting curio from the first age of escape rooms.

Remy's room is a bit of ER history, at 6 years old it must be one of the oldest rooms in the UK (I did say one of before someone corrects me) and it shows.  This is a padlock heavy game with a reliance on traditional puzzle solving, now this isn't necessarily a bad thing but the room does feel tired but still has some surprises.

Once again imprisoned for a crime I did not commit!  Dungeon of Doom is normally a 3 player minimum, but we talked them into letting us play as a 2.  This is a split start game where one played is imprisioned and looking at it, there is only one puzzle that definitely needs two players whilst the third is unavailable but there is a lot to do here and not all of as straight forward as you might think.  Theming is good and once again we had a lot of fun playing this game.

Time travel can be dangerous and in this case we only have 60 minutes before the universe implodes!  The majority of puzzles are relatively straightforward but there are some nasty logic puzzles that had us scratching our heads for more than a few minutes.  This is one of Clue's earlier rooms and I think it shows in terms of narrative, looking at this game and other games at the same site such as Clueston and End of the Line.  Having said that theming is good and all effects worked as expected.

Having played "The Warp" series of online games I was quite thrilled to see the actual set of the game.  You are astronaut trainees newly arrived at a space station when, obviously, things go wrong and you only have 60 minutes to air left.  There follows a great logical series of problems coupled with some nasty potential search fails (we had to be clued to one) and a couple of great physical moments I've not seen before, had a fantastic time here.

You are on a non-stop express train, no really, a non-stop unless you get the emergency brake working.  Theming is on point and it does look like you are on a train.  Puzzles have a good flow to them but observation is a key skill here.  

You have boarded a submarine with lots of stolen treasure, how much can you claim in an hour?  Whilst technically an escape room (you have to escape at the end!) this room features an awful lot of puzzles packed into a large space, solve a puzzle, get treasure!  There are so many puzzles, ranging from the logical, to the physical to the high tech.  An awful lot of fun!

Another well themed room from Compendium, this time investigating a mental asylum.  Be warned there is some crawling in this room with some surprises along the way.  The room is well done and a nice logical flow to it.

You’ve been tasked with finding a cure to a virus (quite timely as I write) and you have to investigate a lab to find.  This is a more physical room with a wide range of dexterity and some mental puzzles mixed in.

Being trapped in a serial killers cabin isn’t the best day, I know, it’s happened an inordinate number of times!  This room features a lot of the usual tropes but if presented in an interesting and well used space.

There’s not much I can add to all the glowing reviews I’ve read.  I’ve played quite a few magic rooms but this is one of, if not, the best one so far.  Wonderfully immersive, some lovely effects and all in keeping.  The room looks beautiful and you do get to perform some actual magic!

Well themed and with an intriguing story line, some clever puzzles all strung together quite logically even though one looked initially quite daunting.

Wonderful theming coupled with a very hi-tech set of puzzles.  One puzzle irked slightly as it seems it has a random solution but the other puzzles.

A solid Telescape based game with some interesting variations on puzzles I’d not seen before.  There is a good flow between puzzles and definitely a couple of moments that will make you stop and think.

One of the standout  digital games that I’ve played, interesting mix of puzzles including some that require a degree of 3D thinking.  If you like the new wave of digital games then there is a lot to like with this one.

Most Escape Rooms will tell you that you need to "think outside of the box", but this is game almost embodies that saying.  It's hard to give too much away as it's such an original concept and excuted so well, it's almost like one of my other favourite rooms, Loop, once you realise whats going on (it's not the same as Loop!).  There is no inventory (it's not needed) and video was done via Zoom which was stable throughout.  This room is hard to classify as it's such a unique take and as such may provoke a marmite reaction, I loved it though even though we failed on the very last puzzle.

Fun digital game, good value for money.  Some quite tricky puzzles mixed in with some easy ones as well a couple needing good teamwork.  Easier than Uncle Artemis but I think that game pips this one but only just.

Just stunning

https://www.escaperoomers.de/reviews/immaterium/

I’ve played a few remote “Box” games, this is where focus of the game is a single box, often with multiple locks and compartments.  This is one of the better ones, some clever puzzles and ideas that were cleverly implemented.  Audio and Video were stable and all handled by Zoom.  The theming is pirates which is a winner for me and all the puzzles were in keeping.  It’s always great to be surprised by clever games, and this did several times.

Even in the remote world, most Avatar led rooms are still 60 minutes so playing a 90 minute one was already an attraction.  The story/theme might not be overly original but the theming of the rooms was on point throughout and looked great.  Dani was out Avatar and handled the game superbly and was a lot of fun to play with.  The implementation of some of the puzzles in Telescape is one of the best I've seen in nearly 170 online games.  It's not an easy game though, certainly in the last section make notes!  We were a team of 4 experienced online players and we failed with seconds to go at the very last puzzle and yet I'm not sure which part slowed us down. 

The Telescape interface is also the games biggest weakness, it's an incredibly co-operative tool but where it lets multiple people work on the same puzzle but this then means you have multiple people trying to make changes and I've seen near arguments sprout from this.  A common puzzle in Telescape is the jigsaw, but everyone wants to solve it, and realistically only 1 or 2 can.  There are some puzzles in this game that (IMHO) didn't need to be on Telescape and they could have been done by the remote hands of the Avatar and that would have been my preference, as I've said elsewhere, I want to play the room, not the interface.  

That last paragraph may come across as overly negative but this game still has a lot of positive points going for it and is well worth your time but make plenty of notes!

Some interesting spins on old puzzles make for some fun times, probably won't stump enthusiasts for long but there's still entertainment to be had with this room.

It's been interesting to see the progression of virtual games using the telescape interface.  This is a great implementation of a great looking room (can I play this for real when able?).  The story tells you that you have inherited the key to your uncle's study and you have to unlock the secrets.  Pictures are clear and the puzzles are mostly logical in progression.  One niggle I had is that it's not clear where the hotspots are in the 360 overview so you have to wave your mouse around watching for the icon to change indicating you have found a hot spot.  This is a lot of fun to play with some clever puzzles that require both deduction and a degree of thought.