Jen Wells (Get Wells Soon)

A glorious puzzle-fest with an insane amount to do, this is absolutely jam-packed with things that will keep even enthusiasts busy for the entire hour.

It's great to see so many puzzles of varying difficulty packed into a space that keeps on opening up to reveal more and more; it's a guaranteed fun bonanza for teams of all sizes and experience levels and - while there's a leader board for those competitive teams who win the most points - the fear of 'not escaping' isn't there, as the focus is simply to score as many points as possible.

We are big fans of any 'collect-athon' style games, so absolutely loved this one. 

A traditional escape room with some nice twists that add to the challenge level. There was plenty to do for our team of two and it was all perfectly logical with good signposting and a lovely flow to the gameplay.

A big shout out to Mark, our GM, who was friendly, accommodating and a real pleasure to talk to. He also gave us a great coffee recommendation for our break between games!

As delightfully scrumptious as a kitsch afternoon tea, this is a lovely take on the Lewis Carroll tale. Everything in here is so pretty and the puzzles test a whole hatful of skills. Attention to detail is absolutely spot-on in here and the puzzles match up to the gorgeous decor.

We loved the varied gameplay that alternated between linear and non-linear and we particularly enjoyed the creativity of the puzzles.

Lovely hosting here, as always.

Oz is emerging as the jewel in the crown here at Xscape Now, which is an impressive feat, considering the high-quality of their other rooms. It's a glorious, shining ruby of an adventure with so many cute nods to the story of The Wizard of Oz and a plethora of puzzles that vary in difficulty. 

It says a lot about a room when you forget the outside world and are completely immersed in the world you are in; Oz delivers just this. It's a magical adventure created with love, creativity and a zeal for puzzles.

Wish I could go back in and do it again.

A corker of a room that just keeps on going! So many super puzzles and a lovely combination of linear and non-linear gameplay, meaning that there is plenty to do together and plenty to break off and tackle independently.

It was so nice to do a magic room that wasn't related to a certain boy-wizard (although we love those too) and it offered a different kind of magic that is interactive in some instances and forms well-themed puzzles in others.

GMs here are always an absolute delight and it's somewhere we would travel across the country for, as the puzzles are plentiful and the welcome is warm.

It's the puzzles that are always the standout at Beverley Breakout and Fran and the team have excelled again with an absolute puzzle-fest of a room.

You know it's going to be a fun room when there are bonus puzzles on top of a room that already has plenty to do; we had a cracking time in here and, as usual here, the welcome was warm and friendly.

A lovely way to countdown to Christmas. We really rated this one and would rate the puzzles higher than other calendars we have done. There were some really inventive puzzles in here and a clever use of different elements of the box itself. We didn't find any duff puzzles and we thoroughly enjoyed solving every single day's clue.

A very different, story-based room that really feels like a proper criminal investigation. The five star rating for this room comes from how clever it is; don't go expecting a huge, fancy set or a wealth of tech but do expect genuine clue-solving and a unique escape experience that is the brainchild of someone who just loves escape rooms and loves thinking about things a little differently.

We could have stayed for hours chatting about all things escape with Ronan, who approaches designing escape experiences with zeal and a flair for drama, which is echoed in the finale to Case Closed. So much fun and a genuine escape from the real world.

A straight-forward padlock and code escape room with decent puzzle flow and some nice details.

We flew through it so it would be great for beginners or families, as it's not tricky and is very linear but there are some nice moments that we enjoyed.

Jon was our host and he was an absolute delight.

The first room to open in Escapable's brand new venue, this is a typically festive Christmas offering with well-designed puzzles, a decent amount of locks and plenty of seasonal references that one would expect from a game set in Santa's house.

Great hosting from Luke - who was a real pleasure to chat to about all things escape room - and a nice set of inventive puzzles. 

Escapable always deliver great puzzles and a friendly welcome and this year's festive offering at their main site is another classic, lock-filled Christmas bonanza.

As keen padlock-enthusiasts, there is nothing that makes us happier than charging around a room with a key or code to put into a lock and this provides that thrill in spades. Puzzles are cute and inventive and this room really got us in the Christmas spirit.

We'd read how beautiful the sets are here and were not disappointed - it really does feel like being in a castle. The atmosphere inside the room is indeed magical and there are some lovely magical puzzles.

Be warned that the lighting in here is dim, meaning it can be a little tricky to see codes in padlocks at times.

This game is advertised as being family-friendly, which I totally agree with - there aren't any tricky puzzles in here and it's a straightforward, linear game.

Mike and Elaine have done it again! Christmas in Chapelgate is utterly magical, with a sprinkling of Dickensian charm and the usual attention to detail. The puzzles are plentiful and varied, beautifully handcrafted and an absolute joy to solve.

This is a classic Chapelgate escape room with a festive twist so you won't find tinsel or puzzles about the twelve days of Christmas; what you will find is 60 minutes of sheer escape indulgence in a setting we didn't want to leave. Truly - and literally, this time -  a gold star escape room.

Space-themed games aren't our normal top choice but we really enjoyed First Contact; it's a well-trodden theme that's been approached from a different angle here and it was lovely to see something a bit different.

There are some common spaceship tropes but also some quirky elements that added to the nice variety of puzzles.

Hosting was particularly good - our GMs were really friendly and suggested a lovely cafe for us for our wait between games.

A solid offering with some nice quirks and straightforward puzzles. It is definitely one that's on the easy side, as we flew through it, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable and we appreciated the different kind of take on a common theme.

The hosting here is incredibly friendly and welcoming.

A cracker (excuse the pun) of a Christmas room, there are two layers to this game that gives enthusiasts something to work for and that will appeal to the whole family.

Finding Santa's Naughty and Nice list is your main objective but finding all thirty letters to Santa is your additional quest and, for a small space, there is enough for a decent 45 minute game (although the listing here says 60 mins, it is a 45 mins game).

Some nice puzzles, a cute setting and a decent amount to do meant we really enjoyed this one.

A very practical, hands-on kind of game that had some really great physical puzzles and a different kind of take on a popular theme. For us, we didn't quite gel with this one as it required a lot of searching (not our strong point!) but we did enjoy how the puzzles were constructed and the immersive acting element.