Lianne

A surprisingly tough room disguised by a fun theme. We found many of the puzzles quite complex, with several steps and lateral thinking to solve them - though that might have been down to us being a team of two tired parents(!) There was a lot to do in the game, and we were kept busy throughout. Possibly the hardest game we've done at OWE! 

We loved Stevie, our in-game cluegiver - and more importantly, Ross our GM. Both had enthusiasm and cheekiness in good measure. 

Definitely worth a trip over from Portsmouth, especially if you're an enthusiast looking for a challenge. In terms of finding the venue, it's a bit tucked away in the games room round the back of the bar in the main building on site. 

A great implementation of a unique theme. Enthusiastic GM got us into the spirit, and the soundtrack continued to boost our energy levels. 

We enjoyed this room as a new team of two - meaty enough to be a challenge, but also smooth sailing and oh so satisfying. I can't imagine having more than 3 people would've been as much fun given the space. Some really clever puzzle formats that I've not seen before. A couple of small things could perhaps be tweaked (e.g. when it's not clear that you've solved a puzzle, or that something's popped open) but the GM helped us through that. 

All in all, a solid room.

The puzzles in this pod were well-themed and cleverly implemented. We were trundling along well but did find one part in particular a bit tricky - our team of two just couldn't see the solution - but a helpful nudge from our lovely GM/barman Jack put us back on track. Perhaps having a drink beforehand affected our attention to detail! Generally good fun, and not scary (relevant, if you're a wuss like me!).

For background, Sip & Solve is a unique new puzzle bar attached to Other World Escapes' main venue in Portsmouth. It offers much more of a casual experience than 'normal' escape rooms, with puzzle pods placed throughout the bar space. You can play the 15min puzzle pods, and grab drinks from the bar - quite flexible and chilled out. It's great for escapers looking for something a bit more relaxed and to scratch that puzzle itch. The themed Dracula cocktail is yummy too.

Was meeting a friend for a catch-up drink, and as escape room enthusiasts, thought we'd try something different.

Sip & Solve is a new puzzle bar attached to Other World Escapes' main venue in Portsmouth. It offers much more of a casual experience than 'normal' escape rooms, with puzzle pods placed throughout the bar space. You can play the 20min puzzle pods, and grab drinks from the bar - quite flexible and chilled out.

We liked the mini series of puzzles, and the range of physical and mental tasks to work through - and theme is implemented well here. We were a team of two relatively experienced escapers (50+ games each) and completed fairly quickly in about 8 minutes. This pod has a relatively small puzzle space in the 'cabin' so would suggest it's suitable for about 2 people to be able to fully engage with what's going on. 

We enjoyed a drink afterwards - I can recommend the associated Western-themed whisky cocktail from Jack the barman! - and did another puzzle pod after as we'd enjoyed the first challenge. I'd say this is a fab place to scratch your puzzling itch, while enjoying a tipple with mates.

A fun themed room, with generally great quality set dressing and theming as you'd expect from Houdini's. We enjoyed the experience overall - but found some of the storyline and associated tasks little confusing and bitty. We also struggled to make out some of the key info being played to us (limited speakers and 'in character' voices). We completed the room as a two, though needed quite a few hints to get us over the finish line. Maybe a bit of streamlining and tweaks could make this a really great room. Our GM was great from start to finish.

Newly opened, and staff were friendly and helpful. The room itself was relatively simple straightforward for an experienced pair (we set the second fastest record, beaten only by a group of 4). The intro story seemed a little convoluted and a couple of the puzzles were perhaps not as clear or logical as we felt they could have been.  Personally we enjoy a bit more physical theming and set dressing, but generally it was ok. 

Other World Escape's biggest and best room yet. A very well done Indiana Jones - style adventure theme with excellent attention to detail in the room construction and props.

We were slowed down on one of the big puzzles, which was tough for us, even as a relatively experienced team - several parts and people needed to get work through it. Great to be challenged with this inventive, physical room. The love and attention from the owner / designer definitely shines through!

A fun well themed romp of a room for 2 people (would definitely say that the room size suits 2-3 best)! The puzzles were generally very well integrated for the theme, and we liked that this was a different and unique setting compared to the other rooms we've done. Brilliant hosting, as usual, and just enough nudges to get us over the finishing line.

Spellcraft has the feel of a kiddie/family friendly room, but don't be fooled. There's a whole lot going on, and in true Tulley's style, each room feels like a Tardis as it unfolds. We were a team of two, so we knew it would be tough - but we were definitely disadvantaged by not having more bodies in the room working on puzzles simultaneously where possible. 

Some of the puzzles were quite abstract and perhaps a bit random - which made me wonder how many teams find and get through them by themselves without clues. Our GM did a good job of chivvying us along to try to stop us falling too far behind - but he did have to shortcut us around a few bits of broken tech. Overall a lot of fun, with great set design, but quite a lot to take on for a small team!

An absolutely fantastic room from start to finish. It's a great theme - but also brilliantly executed in the room design. Everything felt robust and well-built, and many of the puzzles were unlike others we'd seen before in other rooms. Our GM was fab, and we loved the humorous touches throughout. Definitely tough as an experienced team of two, but a delight as it unfolded - worth the trip!

A fun room to attempt as an experienced 2-player team. I'm not normally a fan of scary rooms, but wanted to give this a go because we loved Barbershop by the same team. It was more creepy than scary, with enough of atmosphere to create the experience but with little in the way of jump scares and no live actors, which I was pleased about, as a big wuss! While it wouldn't be my personal preferred type of theme, I still enjoyed it.

The puzzles were smart, and were good implementations of the theme - and we enjoyed some of the more interesting and unique clues and solutions. 

The team at U-Escape were brilliant as usual, from the GM to the contact before and after with the team and management.

All in all a good, solid room from a great company.

A brilliant room with some very clever and unique puzzles, unlike others that we'd encountered in escape rooms previously. Barely a padlock in sight! I also loved the story concept, and the ways in which the theme had been implemented in the puzzle and room design. 

We knew that this would be a challenge as a team of 2, and it definitely was. We only just squeaked out (excuse the pun) with help and generous time-keeping from our excellent host.

The one downside is that as usual the reception area at ClueQuest is ultra busy with multiple large groups being briefed and chaperoned around, so it was a little difficult to hear and focus on our initial briefing. It'd be great if they separate out some smaller  quieter spaces for each group to get set up.

We went into Nethercott with some trepidation about the difficulty, even though we had booked a 90 minute slot and were a large-ish team of mostly experienced players.

The theming and set design were great, on par with Tulleys' usual quality - with some small jump scares. Atmospheric music and sound effects help keep the spooky feeling. There are some sections with lots of flashing lights, so be aware if you're sensitive to that (I don't think they mention it before booking!).

We felt that the main reason for longer game times seems to be the sheer volume of things going on. A larger team is definitely better if you want to complete it first time. Aside from the amount of puzzles, only a couple of puzzles were particularly difficult to work out. 

The GM was great, offering us the option of hints at the perfect time, when needed.

A solid room, though not my personal favourite at Tulleys.

A fantastic, immersive experience from the moment you walk through the doors, and well-deserving of it's reputation among enthusiasts.

The quality of the design and props was up there with the very best rooms we've done. The small touches and attention to detail are outstanding and the tech was clever, with unique puzzles we've not seen elsewhere. 

We finished quickly and easily as a group of 6 fairly experienced players. There wasn't a timer in the room, which would've been nice as we could've slowed down and savoured every moment. We rushed through and I was left wanting more of this exciting, beautiful game! 

I'd probably recommend a smaller group if you are experienced escapers - so that you can truly enjoy every detail and use more of the full hour.

Good things first: our GM was friendly, helpful and enthusiastic, and the room was cheap and cheerful. 

However the construction quality felt like it was done on a budget. Some parts are quite worn or not quite working. E.g. one hidden part popped open early, without us doing anything, and another was so worn out it was confusing what needed to be done with an item.

One other thing to note is that parts are quite cramped, and the room is probably optimal for no more than 3 people. Even the fun creative puzzles involve what felt like long periods of 1-2 team members doing the puzzle while the others have to stand around and watch on.

It was overall quite an easy room, and we completed it quickly with 3 inexperienced players. Would recommend this for first-timers looking for a bit of fun, but not experienced teams. 

Excellent immersive set design with impressive attention to detail and high quality props. Anyone who's lived in Brighton or spent time there will recognise little Easter eggs within in the theming. 

The GM was fantastic with a great in-character intro as she showed us to the room. She helped only when needed, and gave us a good chance to tackle the puzzles ourselves. We enjoyed the personalised debrief also. Excellent judgement all round!

The room itself had a couple of smart and unique puzzles that we haven't seen elsewhere - I may have yelped with excitement at times! 

It was a solid challenge for a team of 2, with only a couple of bits where we were clearly disadvantaged by not having the normal minimum team size of 4. 

Great experience, and looking forward to returning to try other rooms at Pier Pressure. 

Another high quality and impressive scale room from Tulleys. Loved the theme and some of the clever puzzles and mechanics that fitted especially well with it.

Difficulty-wise we knew we were in for a tough time, especially as we didn't have our usual team. Though we didn't make it out before the hour, we really enjoyed the challenge of Dodge City. A word of advice -  I wouldn't attempt this room with fewer than 3-4 experienced players, because of the volume and scale of needs to be done. 

Our GM was fantastic - clear, helpful and positive both before and after the room. We'd previously had a disappointing experience with a GM in Outfitters, who gave us constant hints unprompted and we got out super early. Our GM here was much more balanced, only nudging us along a couple of times when we were nearer the end and clearly behind. IMO it's much more enjoyable to be given a chance to find and solve puzzles ourselves, even if we don't 'win' the overall game.

Another immersive room packed full of high quality set design. We enjoyed the puzzles, especially as many felt quite different to others that we'd seen elsewhere. That's probably in large part thanks to the impressive and authentic-feeling props and implementation of the theme.

Our GM Verity was fantastic, only nudging us when we needed it, and adding character to the game. Fab room!

We had high expectations when booking Pudding Lane, but they were exceeded. 

I'm a sucker for a well-themed and atmospheric room, and boy did this deliver. Not only was the historical narrative unlike others we'd experienced, but the implementation and the set design was outstanding. Everything felt great quality, from the floor finish to the props, from the physical puzzles to the hint system.

Our GM Rachel was spot on, not handholding and only giving us a clue when it was clear we were stuck on one part. 

The whole experience from arrival was class. We loved it so much that we booked another room straight away! Great room, would recommend to anyone.

A fun take on the 'collect as much as you can' type of escape room, meaning you can keep going till the very end. The heist theme was definitely implemented better than other similar ones we'd done elsewhere.

Challenging as a two, because at points you could easily have 4 people working on different puzzles, so we were stretched at times. Having said that the GM helped chivvy us along so that we were able to keep on track, and we were pleased to have solved all but one 'extra' puzzle.

The puzzles were fairly unique, clever and robust. We liked the soundtrack that matched the momentum and intensity too, and clever hint systems. There were other little touches that made it good fun (which I won't say any more on as I don't want to spoil it for others!)

Clearly a place full of passion for escape rooms and sci-fi. 

Our games master James was fantastic from start to finish, and made the experience a memorable one. The sequencing and structure of the puzzles was also very clever. 

The one small drawback was that parts of the set felt a little fragile so we tried to be extra careful while exploring.

A lot of love has gone into this room, and you can definitely see and feel it. Lovely room!

This is a fun game, the main strength of which is the growing scale as the experience unfolds. Some of the puzzles were quite unique, but most were familiar and nothing that we hadn't seen elsewhere. 

Unfortunately we felt the experience was let down by odd GM-ing. We were given confusing and unprompted clues at the wrong time (e.g. while solving an existing puzzle). It felt as if we were being hurried along, without even having a chance to look for and solve puzzles ourselves.  One of the lock codes in the room had been set incorrectly, which staff confirmed when we reported it later. The GM didn't notice we'd punched in the right number and it wasn't opening - we only solved the lock by scrolling the final digit either side of the correct number, just in case. After the game ended we didn't get exact confirmation of our time, like you normally would. 

It was hard not to compare it to the quality of the other game at Tulleys we've done, including one of our all time favourite games, Mutiny.  Outfitters is probably normally a solid good room (7/10)  but our specific experience was not great (6/10).

A puzzle-heavy room, kept fun by the sheer variety of different tasks and problem solving required. Some parts were definitely more on the challenging side, and required a little thinking outside the box. There's a lot to do and it's pretty thinky at times so we were pleased to have fully completed the room as a 2. The manager and GM were both great and accomodating too.

Great decor and attention to detail across the game, and a fun, immersive start to the room too. We enjoyed the mix of physical and mental puzzles, and the ways the theme cleverly threaded through them. Enjoyable game throughout, and works well for a team of 2.

I like the twist on a normal escape room - not getting out but also about how much money you can gather before you do. There are a few rooms that offer this structure and it's especially a good format for 2 people. Though we were able to exit after 45mins, we stayed longer to collect as much cash as possible. The host was great, and offered helpful guidance when needed.

Some of the puzzles felt a little frustrating. There are oodles of padlocks and keyboxes with numerical codes, but limited indication or logic as to how solutions and locks matched up. which meant we spent a lot of time hunting for numbers and then punching them into random locks until one opened. There was also one puzzle that needed outside knowledge, and another that was almost unsolvable without spending a lot of time working on various options - but they were 'non essential' to completing the room, so I suppose added to the challenge and kept us going till the very end.

The decor was ok, but we'd recently done a great casino themed room elsewhere so it was hard not to compare them. 

Overall an ok room, but not one of our favourites as compared to others we'd done elsewhere in the country.

We attempted this room as a pair, and we're really impressed by the level of thought that had gone into the room design and decor. We loved the theme and the tactile and clever puzzles.

It would definitely work well for a competitive larger group, but the objective (collecting as much cash as possible) meant it didn't preclude us from having a great time as we tackled the puzzles. 

The GM was fantastic - clearly passionate about personalising the game to give us the best possible time based on our experience, group size and so on.

The best room we've done in Cornwall so far!

Really enjoyed the amazing quality of props and set design in this game, and the way in which it unfolded. There were a couple of puzzles that we solved but didn't quite realise we'd unlocked something else - but the gamesmaster helped direct us to the relevant sections. Obviously a well-experienced and passionate owner too - will be back to check out the other games

We did this Christmas themed room in December with our support bubble. It was certainly fun and festive, though did feel as though there were a couple of puzzles that could've been improved. We tripped up on a sensory clue, which we felt was quite subjective and not as clear or distinct as it could've been. 

Also we got locked out of a safe which meant we were sat juggling snowballs for 10 mins while we waited for a chance to enter a code again.  Would've been grateful for an intervention from the GM before that happened, as it took a lot of steam and excitement out of the game, and though we completed the game in time we felt a little deflated and frustrated.

A decent, fun game that worked well for our group of friends. We didn't find it too challenging, but enjoyed it all the same.

Fantastic room, the best we've done at the Exciting Escapes venues. The theme is outstanding - perhaps not unique in choice (we've done so many WWII rooms they're starting to blur into one!) but the implementation is spot on, from the moment you enter the door.

The way the puzzles fit into the overall story and objective is brilliant, but I was particularly impressed by the attention to detail in the props and set design. Even down to the quality of the furniture, it all felt so authentic and immersive. Several of the puzzles were unique, unlike any others that we've seen before.

The GM Poppy was also fantastic, and clearly enthusiastic about facilitating the room experience for us.

Loved the room, and would recommend it to anyone who similarly appreciates a well executed theme.

This is great room with a fab, immersive theme, like all of Houdini's games. The decor and set dressing is brilliant, especially if you're a dinosaur or Jurassic Park fan.

The puzzles too are great - challenging and inventive, and fitted with the theme.

My only minor quibble was that some of the sound wasn't as clear as it could be, which meant we wasted time listening to instructions several times. (We also lost 2 mins on our time at the end because we'd achieved the primary objective but missed a minor step to be let out, which was frustrating - wish the GM had intervened!).

Overall a great room though, would recommend to anyone who loves a well themed experience.

We attempted Witch Way Out as a couple, which was perhaps a bit ambitious! 

We were impressed with the decor and liked the theme too. We also appreciated the invitation to set the 'scariness' level of the game, and the enthusiastic and knowledgeable game master.

We did find a couple of the puzzles a little confusing or tricky to see the logic for. E.g. a couple of bits that rely on pure luck (including returning to something that had been 'used' and therefore we thought was finished with), plus more maths than we've dealt with in previous rooms!

Overall we enjoyed our time and it's a solid escape room for a group of adults - despite stumbling over a couple of bits.

A tech-heavy game including AR, VR, and clever set design - unlike any we'd done before. Found some parts tricky, especially where there was just two of us to manage the puzzles between us.

A solid room that we enjoyed, especially different aspects of the theme implementation and ways in which the puzzle unfolded into new spaces. 

The room was well built and had some clever puzzles in that fitted the theme. There were a couple of extremely sneaky ones that I can't imagine how we were meant to have just come across them. 

Our gamesmaster was a fantastic actor and set the mood well at the start. However during the game his hints and help, when asked for, were really awful - so unhelpful that it felt like he was trying to frustrate us rather than help us. Really wished that rather than speaking in nonsensical riddles, he instead gave us simple and clear hints.

The main issue we had with the game was it was during a 30C heatwave and there's no real air circulation or ventilation in these basement rooms. It was so unbearably hot and sweaty that we struggled to stay focussed on the game - and at one point I gave up and just sat in front of one of the desk fans to cool off for a few minutes.

Despite these issues, we enjoyed the room much like the other excellent rooms at Houdinis for its ingenuity and theme.

Enjoyed the physicality and immersion of the room - was tastefully done for the theme. Surprised it's listed as a 90min room, as we were out comfortably within the hour, and possibly could've done it faster.

Enjoyed the twist on the escape room (about making the right choices as well as completing the game on time). Immersion and theme was good, and it definitely felt a bit nervy at times!

Fantastic from start to finish. The puzzles included both physical and mental problem-solving, and included mechanisms and styles that we simply hadn't seen elsewhere. The game unfolded with more and more spectacular spaces with amazing set design. Only wish Tulleys was closer to us so that we could do all their other rooms!

Enjoyed aspects of the theme and details, but felt that some of the puzzles were not logical / intuitive. Difficult as a team of 2 to be able to complete some of the puzzles, probably better as a larger group.

Fantastic room for start to finish. From arriving at the secret door, to talking to the gamesmaster, to the room itself and the debrief. A lot of love and attention has gone to making this challenging room. Loved the set design too. One of my all time favourites.

Completely awful experience - more a horror maze than an escape room. Puzzles were literally impossible to complete, and the ending meant you were always destined to fail.