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/

Mind Maze, Prague - Review of Galactic Pioneers and Nautilus (Prague)

 Hi all

During our travels in December 2023 in Europe, we played 2 of the many rooms available at Mind Maze in Prague.  Here is what we thought:

Galactic Pioneers – Mind Maze, Prague (Room 266)

This was a very high tech room.  There were no padlocks to be seen at all.  The room uses an “AI” voice in place of a game master, which worked pretty well.  There were a lot of puzzles in this room, some more challenging than others. The room is largely non-linear, with points of convergence.  We had fun.

Nautilus – Mind Maze, Prague (Room 267)

This was their standout room.  The theming was magical, as was the backstory.  The game master in Nautilus is a head in a jar (it’s beautifully done and not at all creepy).  All of the spaces were beautiful, least of which was the submarine itself. I thought this was one of the best children-friendly rooms we did in all of Europe and definitely the best children’s room that we did in Prague.

Final thoughts

Both rooms were great – nice variety of puzzles and great theming.  We liked Nautilus the most as it was more charming and certainly better suited to our girls.  I would recommend both rooms if you find yourself in Prague.

Where:                        Balbínova 32, Prague 2, 12000

Duration:                    60-90 minutes

Themes:                      7 themes

Cost:                           From 1,690 CZK

Overall Rating:           Awesome theming, especially Nautilus!

More details:              https://mindmaze.cz/en/

The Padlock Escape Game, Prague - Review of Mission 53 and Safe: The Secret of Jack Daniel (Prague)

 

Hi all

After our adventures in Finland (in December 2023), we travelled to Czechia.  The first escape room venue that we went to there in Prague was The Padlock.  We were lucky enough to have the escape room designer and owner, Alex, as our game master for the first room that we played.  We went to both of their venues during our stay in Prague, first playing their Mission 53 room and then later their Safe: The Secret of Jack Daniel room.

Both of the rooms were marked as scary rooms or 18+ rooms, but I reached out to Alex ahead of our trip and he confirmed that both were not too scary for our daughters.  Here is what I thought: 

Mission 53 – The Padlock, Prague (Room 265)

This was a really beautifully-themed room. It is a really large space and contains a huge amount of puzzles. The theming was really well done.  Mission 53 previously ranked number 187 on the TERPECA list and I can see why enthusiasts love this room – very challenging puzzles, unique puzzle elements, great attention to detail with theming.  It was a great room – the only aspect to note is that if you are coming with children, there is one section of the experience that is dark and which might scare them – there are no jump scares at all, it’s just dark.

Safe: The Secret of Jack Daniel – The Padlock Prague (Room 268)

At the time that we played this room, it had a TERPECA ranking of 36.  And I think that rating was well-deserved.  The quality of the theming was brilliant, from the second that we entered the space.  There was a really lovely mix of puzzles, that kept us all engaged and challenged.  There were some unique puzzle elements and many that were high tech, as well as some low tech and hunt and seek fun.  The storyline was very strong and the ending was spectacular.  I can’t say too much about this without giving spoilers, but we got to make our own ****** and then ******* what we made and it was awesome 😉

Final thoughts

We really enjoyed both rooms at The Padlock.  They are both packed full of puzzles and the theming is incredibly strong. There are dark sections in Mission 53 which my girls were afraid in, but it was short-lived. The puzzles were all challenging and a lot of fun to solve. I think Safe is the better of the 2 rooms, but both are really strong rooms. In fact, Safe was my favourite room in Prague.

Where:                        Orebitská 2, Prague 3 and Kubelíkova 21, Prague 3

Duration:                    99 mins / 77 mins

Themes:                      3 themes

Cost:                           96-109 Euro per team of 4

Overall Rating:           Excellent rooms – challenging and fantastic theming!

More details:              https://www.thepadlock.cz/

Labyrinth Games Room Escape Helsinki - Review of The Flying Dutchman & The Holy Grail (Helsinki)

 

Hi all

In December 2023, my wife and I took our girls to Europe for our first white Christmas.  We had a great time and travelled to Finland, Czechia, Frand and England. 

We managed to play at least a couple of escape rooms in each country, for a total of 22 rooms over a 5 week period.  I know, I am slipping…

Rather than review each room in detail, I thought I would review each escape room business and let you know what my favourite room(s) were at each.

The first venue we hit on our European adventure was Labyrinth Games in Helsinki, Finland.  There are not a lot of escape rooms in Finland, which is surprising given that most European cities have dozens of different escape room businesses. After some digging online, the venue that caught my eye was Labyrinth Escape Rooms.  They are located about a 15 min walk from the city area.  We played two rooms there, The Flying Dutchman and The Holy Grail.

The Flying Dutchman – Labyrinth Games Helsinki (Room 263)

This was a really beautifully-themed room. It was a really nice pirate themed room with interesting puzzle elements.  Our daughters impressed us in this room and they found a lot of the hidden objects almost as soon as we walked in.  The story was strong and the puzzles were a nice mix of low and high tech.  This was a great room.

The Holy Grail – Labyrinth Games Helsinki (Room 264)

The Holy Grail was also a strong room, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Flying Dutchman.  It had a lot of high tech in the room and some aspects were pretty visually spectacular (one in particular).  But overall, I didn’t think the story and game flow was as strong (and given pirate themes are one of my all-time favourite themes, it probably never had a chance against The Flying Dutchman to be fair). 

Final thoughts

The rooms at Labyrinth Games in Helsinki were solid rooms.  The staff there were lovely and gave us recommendations on where to eat after our adventure. 

Where:                        Vuorimiehenkatu 3 (Sisäänkäynti sisäpihalta) 00140 Helsinki Suomi

Duration:                    60 mins

Themes:                     3 themes

Cost:                           80 Euro per team (family discount)

Overall Rating:           Solid rooms with great theming

 

More details:              https://lgames.fi

Quest Room Brisbane - Review of 5 Rooms

 

Hi all

The final escape room outfit that we checked out on our 3 days of escape room madness in Brisbane in November 2023 was Quest Room.  They are based in Spring Hill, which is a very short distance from the Brisbane CBD. 

We played 5 rooms at Quest Room pretty much back to back.  Our game master for the day was Lex, who stayed in character throughout the whole day (except when I made him laugh a few times 😉).

Here is what we thought of the rooms at Quest Room:

Darkness (Room 257)

This was a really interesting room.  I had never before played a completely dark room, although I have played rooms that had small sections of blackness.  It meant of course that we had to really focus on our other senses to escape the room.  I was surprised that our team of 4 didn’t bump into each other too often and nobody hurt themselves. We really struggled with one smelling puzzle (as I always have because I find artificial scents to be really difficult to identify, and once you have one smell in your nostrils, all bets are off).  We enjoyed this unique experience, which was very simple and escaped in 27 minutes (of a possible 60 minutes).

Sherlocked (Room 258)

This was probably my favourite room at Quest. Friends of mine had recommended this room and I can easily see why. The quality of the room was excellent – the theming and props were all beautifully done, the puzzles were also interesting and fun to solve and we really felt immersed in the set.  We managed to blitz through this room and escaped in 24 minutes (of a possible 60 minutes) and broke the room record.

Heist (Room 259)

We thought this was the hardest room at Quest Room (or at least it was for our team).  We managed to escape in 45 minutes (of a possible 60 minutes). I thought there were some interesting puzzles in Heist, but there were also some puzzles that had us really scratching our heads.  I have spoken with other enthusiasts who have separately played Heist and they both got stuck on the same puzzle.  The theming in Heist was solid but simple (and I appreciate there’s only so much you can do with an office-themed room).  It was a solid room but probably my least favourite over all at Quest Room.

Steampunk (Room 260)

This is by far the biggest room at Quest Room.  There are a lot of puzzles to get through, ranging from some hunt and seek (and attention to detail) puzzles, through to some dexterity and other really beautiful puzzles.  I always like a good steampunk theme and I thought this room was beautifully done.  I am pretty sure this room exists elsewhere in the world (as I recall a fellow escape room enthusiast friend telling me that they had played this room elsewhere, I think in Europe?).  So if you have played any Steampunk rooms in Europe, you might want to double check with Quest Room before playing this one. We escaped Steampunk in 45 minutes (of a possible 90 minutes) and had a great time.

Flying Dutchman (Room 261)

I thought the theming of this room was excellent - easily one of the best themed pirate rooms I had played to date. The set design and props were all brilliant and the level of immersion was very high.  The puzzles were all on the easier end (and I suspect this room would be really popular with kids for birthday parties or with families).  We escaped this room in 21 minutes (of a possible 60 minutes) and broke the room record.

Final thoughts

We really enjoyed the rooms at Quest Room and it was great to finish our long weekend on a high.  I thought Sherlocked was their best room for enthusiasts, Flying Dutchman their best family-friendly room and Steampunk their best bigger room for larger groups. Lex was an excellent host and ensured that we had a great time over the 6+ hours that we were there.

Thanks

Quester Scott

Where:                        Ground floor, 56 Little Edward Street, Spring Hill

Duration:                    60-90 mins

Themes:                      6 themes

Cost:                           $47.50 per person (assuming team of 4)

Overall Rating:           Some really beautifully-themed and fun rooms!

More details:              https://questroom.com.au