Hi all
The next rooms that we played in London on our European trip in January 2024 were both the Sherlock Escape Rooms official Sherlock “Live Game” and its sequel game, “The Mind of Moriarty”. We played both rooms back to back. I had read online that they were officially licensed by the BBC and contained video elements of some of the cast members from the BBC show, so I figured why not?
Here is what we thought of each room:
Sherlock Holmes – The Official Live Game – Room 280
The best part of the Sherlock Escape Rooms experience for me was the very beginning, well before the game started. The experience is located in a shopping centre. You might be confused when you arrive at the location because in its place you will find a very real looking optometrist/glasses store. From the outside, it looks exactly like a modern optometrist – glasses everywhere, advertising on the wall, etc. However, the door is locked and entry is only gained when you say the magic phrase on the intercom.
The experience itself felt a little mass-produced to me. After signing in, you are able to sit in the bar (which was also very well-themed) until it’s your turn to play the room. You are then taken in larger groups to a sitting room where group photos are taken (which you need to pay for if you would like a copy, which for the record, I didn’t like). You then separate off and walk into your own private experience.
Sherlock was a reasonably strong escape room. There were interesting (although quite simple) puzzles. The main drawcard though is the quality of the sets and if you’re a fan of the TV show, the familiar faces that appear on the videos.
Sherlock Holmes – The Mind of Moriarty – Room 281
After the same process as above (check in, sit in the bar, take a group photo in the sitting room), we were ushered to the second experience, The Mind of Moriarty. This experience was very similar to the first Sherlock experience, although I enjoyed the puzzles more in Mind of Moriarty. The same comments as above apply – the puzzles were on the simple side (which is not surprising given the target audience) but the sets were great and the videos with the actors from the BBC tv show were fun.
Overall comments
If you are a fan of the Sherlock BBC series, I think you would likely enjoy these experiences. If you only have time for one of them, I would go with Mind of Moriarty. Great sets and fun video cut scenes, but overall it definitely felt a little too mass-produced and the puzzles were too simple. From memory, we escaped both rooms easily within our time window (especially the first Sherlock experience). Our girls did have fun though.
Where: West 12 Shopping Centre Shepherds Bush, West London
Duration: 60 minutes
Themes: 2 themes
Cost: £99 for a family of 4 (depending on day/time)
Overall Rating: BBC Sherlock-y fun but a little mass-produced for our tastes
More details: https://thegameisnow.com
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