Escape rooms are an insanely fun way to spend an hour with your mates. We’re talking heart pounding thrills, stress-inducing puzzles, incredible room design, immersive storylines and bond building team work.
London is packed with escape rooms so we’ve pulled out some of the highest rated ones, with the best reviews, to help you narrow down your search. There’s everything from classic detective rooms to ones with live actors and VR options. Check out our short list …
No Escape specialise in immersive escape rooms which are led by strong story telling. We suspect that the owners are avid horror genre fans as many of the rooms have dark and sinister back stories. From a murderous butcher, The Demon Barber, an unconventional dentist, a haunted toy store or an abduction by a serial killer. There’s also their latest 5/5 difficulty game The Gates of Hell!
Across their five locations there are 8 games to play with a brand new game coming soon to Victoria.
Their Victoria site is also home to Purgatory, their themed cocktail bar, which pairs stunning Gaudi styling and a historic Grade II listed building with devilish cocktails.
Activity cost: £30 – £38 pp
Top Tip… If any of your group are particularly nervous / sensitive then call first to check on which room would be most suitable – some are pretty gory.
It takes finely honed skills to defeat the Crystal Maze. How will you fare? Find out as you test your wits against fiendishly tricky challenges and run around like crazy loons, all whilst wearing some sensational satin bomber jackets! Whether you remember watching the original show back in the day or you’re just looking for an original adventure, you’re guaranteed for a great time battling the clock in the four zones before you enter the iconic Crystal Dome! Perfect for everything from mates to first dates, it’s sure to be an experience that will go down as legendary.
Activity cost: £59 pp
Top Tip… TBe aware that the sand gets everywhere! Everywhere!!
Ahoy there ship mates! Welcome aboard The Golden Hinde. An authentic historic ship that’s been reconstructed to look just like the one sailed by Sir Francis Drake. However, this vessel is awash with ghosts and ghouls!
The one-hour escape room experience is suitable for crews of up to 6 guests. If you have a larger group then you’ll be split into smaller crews and set off 15 minutes apart. The ship can host up to 18 players. There are different versions of the game so you can come back time and time again and still enjoy new puzzles and challenges.
Activity cost: From £33 pp
Top Tip… Play a second time with four+ newbies and you get to play for free
The Houdini’s escape room experience in Farringdon is different to most escape rooms you’ll have discovered. This is a blend of escape room challenges with live actor theatre. You find yourself inside the abode of Lady Chastity, a mysterious but alluring woman. If you can unravel her mysteries and conquer her peculiar challenges then you’ll not only escape but you’ll be rewarded with a bottle of her potent Aphrodisiac wine! Note: This room is for adults only.
Activity cost: £30 pp
Top Tip… Get 50% off every Tuesday for teams for four+ using the code PRICECUT
The distinguishing feature of Komnata is the expense and effort that goes into making their rooms fully immersive. From the room décor, special effects and sound track, you’ll be completely wrapped up the story, to which you are the designated hero. They have two locations in London; Covent Garden & Vauxhall. Each site offers different rooms, giving you six different adventures to try out. Rooms are private so you won’t be put with any other teams.
Activity cost:£25 – £61 pp
Top Tip… Get a discount on a second game for your whole team
With so many sites across the country when you go to an Escape Hunt venue you know what you’re going to get; a good range of story lines, various levels of difficulty, an interesting mix of puzzles, challenges, locks and riddles and exciting theming.
The Oxford Street venue only opened in October and has six thrilling adventures including their official Dr Who live game: A Dalek Awakens. You face an impossible decision … turn off your spaceship’s power core to prevent a rogue Dalek drawing power to restore it’s strength and activate its weapons but risk killing all 10,000 passengers, as the ships’ life support systems also rely on the power core.
Other games include Alice in Puzzleland, Blackbeard’s Treasure, Aladdin & The Magic Vault, Journey to Atlantis and Escape The Wild West. This venue has a bar which also serves food.
Activity cost: £25 – £30 pp
Top Tip… There’s a VIP party lounge for stag and hen parties
You and your mates will have to band together in order to escape in time – but from what exactly is your choice. Reckon you can successfully steal the haul of a lifetime in Casino Heist? Perhaps you can claim the legendary Sword of Britain, and with it, the throne, before the pretenders arrive in Overthrone? Can you defeat the mad professor and keep your magic powers in Witchcraft and Wizardry, or maybe discover the secrets of Area 51 and whether the truth is really out there! Da Vinci and the Holy Grail? Or maybe pirates are more your thing? With all these rooms and lots more on offer, you’re spoilt for choice.
Activity cost: £24 – £34
Top Tip… Play any 2 games at any branch within 60 days & get 15% off
Secret Studio have four rooms, which each offer the same experience. You’re locked inside an old movie studio that’s not seen the light of day since the 1970s. There’s some fun retro tech and lots of nods to 70s cult classics. The fact that the room s are all the same mean that groups can compete against each other to be the fastest out. They can cater for up to 27 players.
If you’re come back to play again, with a different group of friends, get in touch with Secret Studio as they’ll change up the games and puzzles for you and also get you involved in the grand finale of the experience – so you can surprise your mates. Alternatively, don’t play and join the Games Master in giving tips and messing with your pals – a fun way to spend the hour (plus you don’t have to pay, just email in advance to arrange it).
Activity cost: £33 pp
Top Tip… Play their other adventure The Golden Hinde and get 25% off the second game
A lone submarine carrying weapons of mass destruction lies at the bottom of the ocean. The world needs a team of heroes who can defuse the bomb in time. The biggest heist in modern history is underway, and a fearless team are needed who can rise to the challenge and escape with the loot in time. Wizard school awaits, and only the bravest and smartest can pass the tricky tests in order to graduate in a blaze of glory. Reckon you’re up to the challenge? Make sure to get yourselves down to Enigma Quests to try your hand at a number of fiendish scenarios and attempt to escape the rooms within the hour limit!
Activity cost: £30 pp
Top Tip… Give yourself time to hang out in their lounge – there are loads of other games to play
Omescape is certainly not to be missed! With completely immersive, mind-blowing fun, you can find clues, solve puzzles and play either in real-life or VR as you race against the clock! Escape from death by a thousand scratches in Kingdom of Cats, or attempt to reverse the apocalypse in Huxley! If you wanted more alien awesomeness, be sure to immerse yourselves in a steampunk style universe in Huxley 2. If you fancy trying their VR options, there’s a variety of different rooms available. Fan of fantasy pirate adventures? Be sure to test your wits on the Corsair’s Curse! Defeat the Ghost King and channel your inner ghostbuster with Ghost Patrol, or shoot to thrill in zombie-infested USA in Arizona Sunshine. Whichever room you choose, you’re bound to be in for a great time!
Activity cost: £24.15-£40 pp
Top Tip… Get together a team of seven players and take on Kingdom of the Cats for the cheapest option
