Escape rooms have become more and more popular and elaborate with some bordering nearly on the immersive side. If you love solving puzzles and cracking clues then Escape rooms are certainly a unique fun thing to do with friends & family or even work colleagues for a social team building challenge. For those that have done escape rooms you will all know that they are very unique and challenging in their own rights. If you have never done one I highly recommend you do so.
Still asking why play an escape room?
Well if you was like me when I was growing up I used to watch a 90’s television game show called The Crystal Maze and it involved lots of puzzles and challenges all to be done within a set time frame. I love puzzles and challenges so I always wanted to appear on it and be one of those contestants. Plus I had a crush on Richard O’Brien. Alas though unfortunately I never did get the opportunity to play or appear on The Crystal Maze. However no fear as Crystal Maze is very much like an escape room but instead of playing in a room by yourself with your team mates shouting at you through a window with an escape room you can all play together at the same time.
With so many escape rooms now popping up here there and everywhere I can now feel like what those contestants must of felt like with time ticking down and puzzles to be solved and it certainly is a buzz.
Plus also good news for Crystal Maze addicts if you was unaware they recreated and opened up two replicas for people to play one being in London and the other in Manchester. I have played the one in London and it is fun and very challenging like I imagined it to be but personally I prefer playing escape rooms as least that way me and my mates can all solve puzzles & clues all together within a room or two.
So instead of sitting at home or even sitting in a pub playing a game of Cluedo or Charades why not consider playing an escape room instead. You will end up having a laugh and bonding closer with each other whilst trying to solve challenging puzzles within a limited time to escape. Escape rooms are also a great physical way to run around a room and distract anyone’s mind away from the pressures of everyday life.
My personal five favourite escape rooms
But now you are most likely wondering with so many different unique escape rooms out there within London which ones should you play?
Here is a list of my five personal favourites in no particular order in which I have played along with other community members of Love Pop Ups London
clueQuest – if you love an on-going story and have wanted to feel like you are on a secret mission then clueQuest is the escape room for you. With there being an on-going story I highly recommend in playing PLAN52 first. You will learn that you are now new recruits to an international spy agency run by a mouse named Mr Q. His arch-nemesis Professor BlackSheep has been sticking his meddling hooves into your planned covert operations, resulting in the abrupt disappearance of four undercover agents which it has fallen to you to investigate. With time ticking will you be able to deactivate the security device which is about to detonate. So it is up to you all to ram your heads together to solve all the puzzles and clues to disarm the bomb. From here on after there are various other rooms which carry on with the story from Operation BlackSheep to Revenge of the Sheep. You will be baarme not to play these rooms?
Escape London: The Cabin – this is a very atmospheric escape room and one I highly recommend to anyone whom loves anything to do with camping. You start the game of sitting within a tent where you are all told that whilst you were tracking London town a dangerous hunter has stolen your gear. With time ticking and the hunter within nearby distance it is up to everyone to hunt out all the puzzles and shoot down any red herrings to find the hunters Cabin, retrieve your items and escape with your lives before you are shot down like a bear. Question is will you survive? You will bear the intensity?
Escape Land: Da Vinci – if you love codes then you will not be disappointed with Da Vinci as it certainly has lots of codes to crack. The challenge is to find the Holy Grail before it falls into the wrong hands. With so many puzzles and clues to crack with many using many of your senses and mind power will you be able to complete in time and find the Holy Grail for the greater good?
Handmade Mysteries: Poppa Plocks – if you love toys then I highly recommend this escape room. There is no other escape room out there like Poppa Plocks with it’s creepy ventriloquist dummy that is sat behind a glass pane by giving clues from time to time. There are toys galore taking any challenger into a spin like a spinning top and like any memory game you will be taken back to your childhood memories. The task in hand though is to help Wynne a mechanical toy solider build up Roy (the next greatest toy to hit the world) and solve at the same time what happened to the disappearance of the toy maker. With time ticking away ‘tick tock’ will you be able to put Roy together within 60 minutes?
Mission Breakout – this escape room mission is held within an old disused tube station which closed back in 1924 and used to protect people from bombings of the war. So if you love anything that is relate to real life history and the war then Mission Breakout is certainly the game for you. To make the whole escape room experience feel even more intense though and immersive you are all given World War II style jackets to wear during your time. Before entering the room Winston Churchill then gives a speech on an old television screens before you enter upon on your mission. With just 60 minutes locked within a war themed room and sounds of air raids and bombings happening all around you will you be able to crack the many codes and the ultimate enigma machine before it’s too late?
even more escape rooms
However that was just a small selection of some of the many escape rooms which we have all played. Search escape rooms to discover more.
Escape the hustle bustle of your everyday life and immerse yourself in an escape room, challenge your mind, work together, have a laugh and beat the clock.
If you are still puzzled and have any questions about any of escape rooms we have played please feel free to ask
OR
even list your own personal five favourites in the comments section below
Posted April 2018
“I love going out discovering new and existing restaurants, theatres, immersive experiences and so much more but I also love staying in and discovering new gadgets, gaming and cooking.
