So, I don't have any experience in escape rooms, but this one really impressed me. I mean, we…read morereally weren't tasked with "escaping" so much as earning our badges in multiple wizardry classes. Multiple puzzles, multiple rooms, lots to do! We had a ball, passed our classes, and only had to beg for a clue once (we were really focusing on a single wrong aspect of something). Really enjoyed the whole thing and was impressed with effects they had built in to the experience and the customized stuff they had for this room. Very happy that other family just happened to be in London during our time there as we wouldn't have been able to do this with a party of 2. Wish they did this like Japanese hibachi and just stuck some parties together to participate if they don't have enough. Also, while worth a good amount, the cost of this was about as much as the musicals we saw, so 40-60 mins of entertainment vs 150 mins will play into our decision to come back, but it's fun at least once!

Another day, another escape room! Well, this one isn't quite an escape room per se, it's a bank…read moreheist! Which sounds even more fun if you ask me. I already did Enigma Quests' School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, which was amazing, so when they announced a kickstarter to finance this new room, I just had to jump on board. I got two beta tester games and rallied a cluster of friends to join me for this adventure. The Million Pound Heist follows a relatively simple story, your team are a group of highly efficient criminals and you are breaking into the headquarters of a rival criminal organisation. Your objective is to get out with as much money as you possibly can. To get to that point, you first have to find your way to their safe. The riddles and puzzles are not easy and require good team work and communication. There are logical connections and lots of clues, nothing seems too far fetched or unreasonable. My team made their way to the safety deposit boxes in the safe quite well and it definitely felt like everyone had something to do and contribute. We struggled a bit with the last part of actually cramming as much money as possible into our briefcase, we could have done with a little more patience and planning. Overall, I absolutely love Enigma Quests' approach of themed room adventures rather than breaking out and escaping in time. It gives a different perspective and makes the experience thoroughly enjoyable.

So much fun! We were in London on vacation and looking for something more exciting than another…read moremuseum for our 15-year-old daughter. Secret Studio was it! We've done escape rooms before, and many are so ridiculously hard that it feels like you just fail over and over until they give you all the answers. But while Secret Studio was tough and we needed our share of clues, we also had stretches where we felt like we were figuring out a lot on our own. The other great thing at Secret Studios was that when you need help, they just give you a small hint. We've been to others where they just tell you what to do next and that's no fun. There are great (creepy) surprises throughout and some inventive stuff that makes it really fun. Finally, out host was SO NICE! Super friendly and made our daughter feel like she was really contributing. Highly, highly recommended.

This is one of the best escape rooms I have done to date. Basically without giving too much away…read morethe story is based around a murder. You have to work your way through by working out puzzles to solve the mystery. Sometimes some of the puzzles need all of you to work on it at the same time. There is more than one room that you get to experience and solve clues in. Its all very retro. If you ever get stuck with any of the puzzles then Oscar is on hand to help and guide you just ask him a question and you will see his typed up response on a monitor. He also praises members of the team or the whole group if you are doing particularly well. We escaped the room in 57 minutes. I highly recommend to anyone that loves escape rooms, a good story and retro items.

Hangover Deja Brew…read more This 18+ only escape room is fun, strange and kinky at times. Perfect for Hen/Stag do's but not exclusively. Now to the game: it's Wedding day but the groom has vanished. Will you be able to trace his steps during the wild stag do and found out what happened? The puzzles are various and super fun to solve. Definitely one of the more original game and storyline Ive played lately. I would advise to play this room with a group of 4 (no more, no less). Finally I'm only putting a 4out5 because I thought the conclusion of the game was a bit underwhelming but it won't keep me from coming back!

I've done a number of escape rooms and was really excited for this one. I think the problem with…read morethese new high tech escape rooms is that the technology can be very temperamental. I did the Patient Zero room and found that one locker door didn't open and set me and my partner by 10 minutes because we didn't find a decipher for the code. The code itself was hard to distinguish -without giving too much away. At the end, there was a keypad of sorts on an ipad and it was so sensitive that it would only register with a very light touch which was not obvious during gameplay. This meant that we didn't get out in time and questioned our own deciphering of another code which was actually correct. Disappointing.

I was invited by Love Popups London to try out the new Project D.I.V.A room at Escape Rooms' Angel…read morelocation. This room is set in the future. On Mars! And, of course, there's a rogue computer AI system that is trying to kill humanity. Fun times! The reception room is a bit on the small side, but there are toilets available and ample seating, and you won't wait for very long, as long as you're on time. After a short briefing, we were handed three smartphones with custom apps that are necessary to solve this escape room, as well as the standard puzzle room issue walkie talkie and pad of paper. This was promising to be fun already as we were told there would be no padlocks, but a linear story to work through. I love immersive escape rooms like that! While running around finding random codes and clues is all fun and games, a realistic experience is absolutely fantastic. And no spaceship would have a number padlock which is opened with a code found through a chess game. Without giving away too much about the room, this one is really well done! The first room is dark, full of electronic devices and futuristic lighting. It's unfortunately a bit on the small side with devices on the floor, so not suitable for a wheelchair. The first clues and codes were deciphered quickly and upon solving them, drawers slid out of walls and hidden doors opened. Everything is automated and I absolutely loved it. The riddles and codes all made a certain amount of sense for the setting, the smartphone apps were exciting to work with and it all felt very immersive and interactive.  Later on in the game, there are secret passages and lasers and a whole lot of other exciting challenges! You definitely need to be comfortable in confined spaces and like working with interactive technology, then this game will be an absolute delight! The only negative points I can find are that you also need to be able bodied, or at least have several able bodied people on your team, and the room is incredibly dark with no torches provided, so sight impairments might be an issue as well; unfortunately accessibility tends not to be a huge consideration for immersive rooms in this industry.  The other point is that the computer voice is very quiet and we couldn't understand what she was saying, it didn't seem important though, as we still managed to escape with 18 minutes to spare!  Other than that, it was one of my all time favourite rooms! Definitely not for beginners, but those with a few escape rooms under their belt will love this one!

Wow what can I say but last night I played Project D.I.V.A. which I was transported to the future…read moreto a space station set in Mars. It was up to me and my team (Love Pop ups London) to destroy a corrupt D.I.V.A (Defence Interactive Virtual Assistant) whom sent us a cryptic message warning us of immediate death to all humanity. Us agents had to intercept ER-27, get on board and destroy D.I.V.A and regain control of the station by infiltrating her core and removing her 4 hard drives to disable her. I loved this room with it's high tech technology gadgets and the puzzles. Most puzzles involve lots of numerical coding so if you love codes and maths you'll love this. I would most certainly recommend this room but highly recommend 4 or more players. This is now one of my top 5 greatest escape rooms.

OK, if you thought that was a movie blog coming up, you have been mislead my friend.. It is…read moreactually an escape room experience from London Escaped. London Escaped have recently opened two rooms and myself and a few bloggers from the Love Pop Ups London community were invited to come and escape The Prisoner. As usual, I don't want to give too much of the atmospheric build up away, however, I can let you know that this escape room is located in the east London venue, just off the Commercial Road. It's located in an underground parking allotment. Upon entry you'll find the slopy entrance, be careful its very steep so mind your step! So what does London Escaped say about their new room? "The Prisoner known as The Bloody Elbow. It is the time of the Holy Medieval Inquisition around the 14th century. You have all been accused of witchcraft and imprisoned awaiting your death by the hands of a executioner nicknamed "Bloody Elbow". He is infamous for his love of using horrifying torture to obtain confession of your crimes, this often lead to a slow and agonising death if you were lucky, "Bloody Elbow" has left you for a rest between the bouts of torture, this is your chance, you have 60 minutes to escape your hideous dungeon and change your fate forever"  The room can take up to eight players, however I would recommend a maximum of five as I felt that would give the players more to do when there are less people.I didn't feel that there was much problem solving involved. More finding keys and the right object to aid your escape. The first part of the game does require some team work and the game does mention sharp objects were involved.. And I totally vouch for it, but I would recommend no drinking before. As this is all for fun, so let's avoid all injuries OK!  So you have been accused of witchcraft and the aim of the game is to escape before the executioner returns to torture you to death.. With that in mind I would be the first to try and get out..  As the game is recently opened there are still some finishing touches that the owners are looking to finalise and whike speaking to them you can really picture their vision and I would be interested on returning to see what changes they have made to the room.  As I am writing this review you will be happy to know that my team and I managed to escape in 48 mins I do admit the first 5 mins was just a lot of screaming.. I will let you figure that part out for yourself. I would say that this is one very immersive room, so and I really enjoy the props the owners have put in the design of the rooms.  This is a 3* from me for the difficulty of the room but definitely a 4* for the immerse design.  Disclaimer: This is a sponsor post, but reviews are all my own.

This venue has a bunch of different rooms, and while not all of them are great, they do have a few…read morerooms suitable for two players, which is rare! The White Walker room was especially brilliant (though it's physically small, so wouldn't recommend for more than 3 players) and one of the best rooms I've played. Unfortunately some of the tech was being finicky, but that's easily fixable. School of Magic is a great room for junior players, but also suitable for a team of two. Not the most complicated, difficult room, but great for Potter fans and a fun challenge. Some of the props need fixing and a better clue system would be great. There's some really good rooms available here, especially for smaller groups!

This was a really interesting find in London. Four of us looking for something fun to do together…read more This was perfect. The virtual reality used a customized Oculus with attachments for the weapons. We did a space mission with no weapons that was like an escape room. Then we did a zombie escape room. Which was a lot of fun. No matter what experience you try this is well worth your time!

I got to try their new adventure Hypersomnia in the new Hackney location, and it's absolutely…read morebrilliant! Great storyline, well made props, and even the hint system fits into the surroundings and is fully immersive. Staff was super friendly and engaged as well, overall a fantastic experience, can't recommend them enough!

From the owner: Modern Fables is an immersive, sensory, story-focused Escape Room experience that allows you to…read morelive an urban legend.

Looking for an escape room with more of a story and a murder mystery feel? Enjoyed playing cludeo?…read moreWell this one aims to satisfy both needs. Based in an outside venue, this challenge you to observe and digest the vast amount of information placed in front of you to firstly find the missing pieces to help you fix the time machine that could take you and your fellow investigators back to the future. A failure to do so and your story could end up very differently from the story you started with. This game is based on the number of players a maximum of 8 and each of you will be given a character to play.. Dress up if you are that inclined to really get into character.. Always a bit of role playing to get everyone in the mood. Without giving too much of the game away, you have 60 minutes to find all the pieces and to get the time machine up and running again.. While a secondary challenge is to find out which one of you is the murderer and what do you have to hide? Each one of you could be it and how are you going to find our? A really interactive game, though I would say the vast amount of reading you have to do for this is a little overwhelming and you may end up with only half of the team even knowing what was going on in the story. I suggest less paperwork to digest so that everyone can all participate in the murder hunt! Overall, a really enjoyable game and great for the warmer weather where you can enjoy the great outdoors with a bit of interactive problems solving. Thanks to Inkwell Investigation  and Love Pop Up London for the invite to the game

We were all given a new identity to take on for the duration of the game. These are given out…read morebeforehand, so you have the chance to dress up appropriately and bring props if you really want to role play for this adventure. This is ab outdoor game, so keep that in mind when you choose your attire for the day. At the beginning of the game, we were given name badges that give a basic overview of the characters and what their connections to one another are. Unfortunately this name badge also has the "secret" on the back, so it states whether your character is innocent or guilty and what their hidden agenda is. This means you cannot actually wear the name badge as the danger of accidentally flipping it over and exposing your secret is too great. It also means that while they are being handed out, there's a chance some members of your party might spot who the murderer is, as it's written in bright red on that characters name badge and might shine through. This could definitely be solved by not placing the secrets on the name badges but handing them out separately, in a small envelope perhaps. Once we knew the basics of the game, we got started by being given letters written by our future and/or past selves with clues, instructions and riddles on them. While the riddles and puzzles were great fun to work on, there were also A LOT of letters to read that gave information about personal intrigues and hints about who had the means, motive and opportunity for the murder, which we needed to solve at the end. Many of the clues were also about finding items in the park, which was a really fun element of this game. Some were quite ambiguous though and it seemed faster for us to just try hacking one or two numbers on the combination locks rather than trying to figure out the riddles. Overall a really fun game with LOTS to do, but a few game play issues. Firstly, the name badges could definitely be done better if they were independent of the secrets, as previously mentioned, and secondly, there is way too much to read for all team members to read every single one of these letters. Which means only one or two members of the team will have the opportunity to read everything and relay the information to the others, if these team members are also under suspicion for murder, the rest of the team will of course not believe their conclusions, which makes solving both the game and the murder investigation more of matter of luck than skill. I almost feel like this game could easily be stretched to twice the playing length to give everyone the chance to receive full information and maybe add a few more elements than just endless reading of letters  Still, we really enjoyed the game and I'd definitely recommend it if you enjoy escape rooms and murder mysteries, or if you always wanted to play a real life version of Cluedo!