Secret Studio, London - Escape from the Golden Hinde (London)

 

Hi all

After checking out Borough Market, the next escape room venue that we checked out on our Europe trip in January 2023 was Escape from the Golden Hinde.  This was a really unique room, as it is located on a ship in dry dock in London. The room is run by Secret Studio.  By day, The Golden Hinde can be viewed by the public – it is effectively a museum piece; by night, at least on some nights, Secret Studio rents out the ship for its escape rooms. 

The Golden Hinde is a replica of the ship of the same name which was launched in 1577.  The replica ship, which was built in 1973, has circumnavigated the globe and has travelled more than 230,000km before being berthed in London as an educational museum.  The replica ship is where the escape room fun is had. Here is what we thought:

The Golden Hinde – Room 279 (London)

The Golden Hinde was an excellent experience (and by far our favourite room in London)! This room was perfect for families, as the game masters ensured that everyone was involved.  

The Golden Hinde is as much an escape room as it is an interactive experience. During out adventure, we crossed paths with at least 4 different actors throughout the experience, each of whom played their roles very well. This was also one of the few rooms where we enjoyed alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) drinks during the experience.  We really liked that the storyline was educational and kept true to the story of Sir Francis Drake (or perhaps the real story of Sit Francis Drake, who we met during our journey). The puzzles were all excellent and the theming was simply off the charts. 

There are some dark areas of the ship, but this was still a family-friendly experience. Players are provided with beanies (ie helmets) to wear throughout the experience, as there are many low-hanging beams overhead. I found the helmet annoying to wear (as well as a lot of crouching), but that was the only downside at all to the experience. The actors are great (and especially great in engaging with children) and the puzzles were first rate too.

 

Where:                        St Mary Overie Dock, Cathedral Street, London

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      2 themes

Cost:                           £48 per person

Overall Rating:           Brilliant themed, highly interactive piratey goodness

More details:              https://www.escapeintime.co.uk/goldenhinde/

Clue Quest London - Review of Revenge of the Sheep, CQ Origines and PLAN52 (London)

Hi all

After checking out Finland (Helsinki and Rovaniemi), Prague and Paris, the fourth and final stop on our European adventure was London.  As well as fitting in a number of West End shows, we also managed to hit up a few escape rooms (although to be honest, I was surprised that London doesn’t have a single TERPECA nominated room). 

The first venue that we checked out while in town was Clue Quest. We had initially booked just 2 rooms, but we managed to escape in good time and given it was a mid-week booking, they were able to fit us in to play a third room.  Here is what we thought of the 3 rooms that we played at Clue Quest:

Revenge of the Sheep – Room 276

We really enjoyed Revenge of the Sheep (in fact, it was our favourite room at Clue Quest in London).  The theming was nicely done and we really enjoyed the puzzles.  We got off to a good start and flew through the first section of the experience, but the second section was more challenging and slowed us down. We found that having good eyes for detail really helped in this room, as there was a reasonable amount of hunt and seek fun and small details around the room that were very easy to miss.  We really liked the theming and the backstory and puzzles were very strong. Our girls had fun too (this was a very family-friendly room with no jump scares or even dark areas) – both girls were engaged the whole time and they each solved their own share of the puzzles.

CQ Origines – Room 277

CQ Origines was a fun room as well. The theming was great and it reminded me in some respects of Lab Rat in Los Angeles (which I played back in 2019). Lab Rat was a better room (both on scale and uniqueness), but we did have fun at CQ Origines. The strongest aspect of the room is the theming, which was really nicely done. We enjoyed many of the puzzles, although I found the room flow was a little stilted and some of the puzzles weren’t entirely logical (or perhaps could have done with a little more signposting). There was also a reasonable amount of hunt and seek fun, which our girls enjoyed.  The room is family-friendly (although a little dark in some sections).  

PLAN52 – Room 278

PLAN52 was the third and final room that we played at Clue Quest in London. This was another fun room that we all enjoyed. I felt like the puzzles in this room were probably a little harder than in the other 2 rooms. The theming in this room was not quite at the same level as Revenge of the Sheep or CQ Origines, but it did not detract from our enjoyment. Much like the other 2 rooms, we needed very strong attention to detail and a good eye for spotting things in PLAN52 – with each of times that we were stuck, we couldn’t see what was right in front of us.  I thought this room had a better flow than CQ Origines, but ultimately Revenge of the Sheep was the standout here for us.

Overall comments

We really enjoyed all 3 rooms at Clue Quest and we were grateful that they managed to squeeze us in to play the third room on the day.  They were also kind enough to give me a free magnet with our team photo (because the day that we played was my birthday).  All three rooms were family-friendly and the game masters were all great. If you are in London and found yourself with only enough time to check out one of their rooms, Revenge of the Sheep is the pick.   

Where:                        169-171 Caledonian Road, London, N1 0SL   

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      4 themes

Cost:                           £35 per person

Overall Rating:           Nicely-themed, family-friendly rooms

More details:              https://cluequest.co.uk/

Majestic Escape Game, Paris - Atlantis Review (Paris)

 

Hi all

The fifth escape room venue that we checked out in Paris during our European adventure in December 2023 was Majestic Escape Rooms.  This was a last minute addition to the list of games we were playing on the trip – it was a very busy time of year and we had difficulty finding any rooms that we could book at the last minute, but Majestic’s Atlantis room was available. Here is what we thought:

Atlantis – The Game, Paris (Room 275)

The quality of theming in the room was pretty good.  The space was nicely decorated and it suited the theme. The backstory could have been stronger, but it didn’t detract from our enjoyment.  There is a reasonable amount of hunt and seek fun in this experience, which meant that it was a good room for families (as the kids always had something to do).  There is one particular element of the room that is really cool and which we all enjoyed.

Overall, we had fun at Atlantis, but it is not as strong a room as most of the other rooms that we played in Paris (and Europe more broadly).  I would describe this more as a simple, family-friendly room.

Where:                        2 rue Française, 75001 Paris

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      4 themes

Cost:                           132 Euro (4 people)

Overall Rating:           A reasonably well-themed, family-friendly room

More details:              https://majestic-escapegame.paris/

The Game, Paris - Review of The Secret Mission, Far West and The Metro (Paris)

Hi all

The fourth escape room venue that we checked out in Paris during our European adventure in December 2023 was The Game.  The Game has 2 venues (so be careful and make sure you are going to the correct location when you play!). 

I had heard good things about their newest room, The Secret Mission, from other enthusiasts. I tried booking over a month before we left for Europe and there was one session left for that entire week – so I quickly booked it and then moved our itinerary around playing that room.  And I am very glad that I did…

We played 3 rooms back to back at The Game (with some awesome crepes for lunch in between right across the laneway).  Here is what we thought:

The Secret Mission – The Game, Paris (Room 272)

The fun starts when you are on their website trying to find more information about the room.  There is a link for more information but when you try to click on the link, it moves around the screen.  This is consistent with the theme – it is a total secret.  You go into the room knowing nothing about the room and when you finish, you’re asked to not mention anything about the room either.  So it is very difficult to provide any useful information about the room, other than to say that it was incredibly well done, with fantastic game master interactions, phenomenal theming, fantastic puzzles and a great room flow.

This was our favourite room in Paris (and in fact, our favourite room of the trip). 

The Far West – The Game, Paris (Room 273)

This was a really nicely-themed room. We, along with our daughters, really enjoyed the theming and the quality of the props and puzzles.  There are a lot of puzzles to solve in this room, with several different spaces to discover.  There were some nice interactions with NPCs in this room as well.  It was one of our favourite rooms of the trip.

The Metro -  The Game, Paris (Room 274)

This room was the first room opened at The Game in Paris.  They acquired a metro carriage from the Government and reconstructed it in their room, and of course added some cool effects and a bunch of puzzles.  I would describe this room as being the trickiest of the 3 rooms that we played at The Game – it took a very keen eye for detail to escape in time, which we did.  It was a lot of fun, but probably our least favourite of the 3 rooms that we played at The Game.

 

Overall, we really enjoyed all 3 rooms at The Game.  I was concerned going in that they might be a bit like an Escape Hunt in quality, but I was very pleased to learn that they were worlds apart.  Although they are a large escape room outfit with 2 venues and multiple rooms, their rooms are themed beautifully, with really varied and challenging puzzles.  Their latest room, The Secret Mission, has debuted at 147 on TERPECA.  After having played a number of rooms now lower down the TERPECA list, I think The Secret Mission deserves to be in the top 100 (if not the top 50).

Where:                        6, rue de la Harpe, 75005 Paris

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      12 themes

Cost:                           132 Euro (4 people)

Overall Rating:           Excellent rooms, especially The Secret Mission!

More details:              https://www.thegame-france.com/#/   

Deep Inside, Paris - Review of The Magician (Paris)

 

Hi all

The third escape room venue that we checked out in Paris during our European adventure in December 2023 was Deep Inside.  Their Magician of Paris room was ranked number 20 on TERPECA at the time that we played it (although technically that ranking is when you play their Magician room as a “full experience” with their Funhouse room).  Their Funhouse room was way too scary for our girls, so we played just the Magician room (which alone was TERPECA number 104). 

Here is what we thought:

Magician of Paris – Deep Inside, Paris (Room 271)

At the time that I booked the room, their website advertised it as the only rooms in the world located 30 metres underground.  I thought that sounded really cool, that they were able to build rooms beneath the street level. This however was not at all true – instead, you step inside an elevator, which shakes a little and makes all the right sounds and then you step out the other side. I thought this was a very disappointing start (and given they have now removed all references to the “30m underground” nonsense on their website, I suspect I am not the only player to also feel like that was misleading…)

The theming in the space was nicely done. The waiting area is a magic shop with various items available for purchase.  After we exited the elevator, the theming was well done too.  There were some nice puzzles, although some aspects were not entirely logical and required us to ask for a hint (and annoyingly, we had to wait several minutes for a response).

As we progressed through the game, there were different points of interaction with our live actor.  These were well done, especially one scene where the Magician returned and performed a magic trick for us.

Overall, I found Magician of Paris to be a little underwhelming.  It definitely did not help that their claim about their rooms being the only rooms 30m underground was complete garbage, but asking for a hint and waiting for several minutes is pretty disappointing too).  At the time of having written this review, I have now played many of the top TERPECA rooms - I am surprised that Magician of Paris rates as highly as it does on TERPECA.  It is themed well and there are a couple of nice moments, but there are definitely far better rooms in Paris...

Where:                        7 quai de la seine, 75019 Paris

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      2 themes

Cost:                           160 Euro (4 people)

Overall Rating:           Well-themed but not as impressive as advertised

More details:              https://deepinsideparis.fr/en/

Pandores et Associes - Review of Reglement de Contes (Paris)

 

Hi all

The second escape room venue that we checked out in Paris during our European adventure in December 2023 was Pandores et Associes.  Their “Fairytale Regulations” room (Reglemen de Contest) had come highly recommended by other escape room enthusiasts, particularly as being a great family-friendly room.  They were correct – here is what we thought:

Regelemen de Contes (Fairytale Regulations) – Pandores et Associes, Paris (Room 270)

This was our favourite children-friendly room not only in Paris, but in our entire European trip.  It was one of our favourite rooms period actually.  This room has previously sat at the 48^th best room in the world according to TERPECA nominees and it is well-deserved. 

This room is a fantasy-lover’s dream.  It’s a huge space that has so many separate elements.  We travelled through a scientific laboratory (my girls had a look of amazement in their eyes the whole time) and then we travelled to 4 different fairytale worlds.  We met characters along the way and found all of the puzzles to be really fun to solve.

The experience was beautiful, visually spectacular and so much fun.  The room design is very clever, leading to a climactic ending that was really satisfying. 

Where:                        102 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011 Paris

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      2 themes (only 1 in English as present)

Cost:                           160 Euro (4 people)

Overall Rating:           Incredible room – world class and great with kids.

More details:              https://www.pandore-escape.com/

Secrets Hunters, Paris - Review of The Disappearance of the Zanetti Train (Paris)

 

Hi all

During our travels in December 2023 in Europe, after enjoying our time in Finland and Czechia, we then travelled to Paris.  We managed to play rooms at 5 different escape room venues across Paris.  The first venue that we checked out was Secrets Hunters, which was about a 30 min trip on the metro from Paris.  Here is what we thought:

The Disappearance of the Zanetti Train – Secrets Hunters, Paris (Room 269)

This room was beautifully made.  There are many different areas within this experience and they are all themed really well.  I really enjoyed the mix of puzzles – they were really varied but challenging and satisfying to solve.  There were some really impressive elements in the game as part of the story, which was probably one of the stronger stories that we encountered in any of the rooms that we played across Europe. There is a really nice flow to the room, which builds to a great ending. 

This was definitely one of the better rooms that we played in Paris.

Where:                        17 Place de la Nation, 75011 Paris

Duration:                    60 minutes

Themes:                      3 themes

Cost:                           35 Euro per person (4 people)

Overall Rating:           Beautiful storytelling and theming

More details:              https://secretshunters.fr/en/