Salisbury Escapists

We returned to Other Worlds to try the Pub Lock inn, as we had previously played Chip Shop we wanted to give the Pub a go.

As we were being introduced to the team a member possibly the meanager decided to walk through our team and force us out of the way which seemed very unproffessional and rude. He could have waited until our host finished her tinrtoduction and let us into the room and then moved passed us. 

This room is not one to take your kids to as there are a fair amount of adult humour involved which, we actually enjoyed and helped be part of the game and theme.

The puzzles were lots of codes and locks with a few others sprinkled in, but most were logical and required a good bit of teamwork.

Overall we found this room similar to the Chip Shop, nothing groundbreaking but pretty standard overall and a similar amount of puzzles and a similar style to the game.

Still a decent game but for us another ticked off the list of local games played, very disappointed with the manager incident but in all we enjoyed the room but it isn't one that you'll be talking about for very long afterwards.

For our tenth Escape room we came to Bournemouth to become M.A.R.V.O agents and were met by Agent Dan who was very friendly and got us into the mood to hunt for artifacts right away. 

Firstly the lobby where you have your briefing is amazing, so many items from movies accross the ages that you'll be amazed but, soon after entering you're right into the thick of the action, the set design is fantastic and very well looked after, everything worked well  first time. 

This is a great room for working as a team because at no point were we stood around waiting for another team member to finish something before we could move on, it is a huge teamwork room. Communication is absolutely paramount, all the way through the story plays out right to the end and the puzzles just keep coming and are super fun and very well designed.

From start to finish we all had a fantastic time and this escape room became our number 1 overall favourite, thank you to the M.A.R.V.O team for the work they put into this room, we cannot wait for part 2 which hopefully will be released early in 2026!! 

The previous glowing reviews here led us to try this room and they were not wrong, a great room, super fun, well designed, well hosted, just what you hope to get when you go to any escape room. Unmissable in our opinion 10/10 

Chip Shop brought our total up to Ten for the number of Escape rooms we have now done and in general we enjoyed it, the decoration and overall design was aesthetically good and our host David was very pleasant and very good throughout the room and once we entered we found the puzzles a good mix of mental and skill games. 

We wouldn't say that the puzzles are overly difficult but a good difficulty and some of them were certainly original and good fun at the same time.  

The clue system works well and we had to ask for two or three when we found ourselves stuck only to realise that we didn't need the clues it was just our lack of reading exactly what was in plain sight, the only real downside to the Chip Shop is that there is a second room which isn't big enough to hold more than two people to solve the puzzles inside, our experience was that I stayed out of the room whilst my other escapists were solving the puzzles inside. There is a lot of moving to be done in the small room and I was just getting in the way rather than actually helping so I spent my time stood outside waiting for our team to solve the puzzles which put a dent in the fun of the room for myself personally. I would imagine teams larger than ours would also feel the same way and would end up swapping in and out of the room depending on who would be able to solve the puzzle, not only that but the access to the small room isn't the easiest to get in and out of.

All in all Chip Shop is fun and we enjoyed ourselves in general, not our favourite but good family fun and a successful escape to boot! Other World Games have some good rooms and we'll be back to do another one of theirs!

We followed up our Reading trip with a visit to one of our local escape rooms, we were met by our host Maisie who was very friendly and explained the ins and outs well, she got into character just before we started to get us prepared for the tasks at hand.

The story was good and the way the rooms are decorated and designed fit well into the gardening theme, there are a good amount of puzzles, a good mix of mental and skill games and a decent amount of padlocks but, not too many and not one after another that would have felt like overkill. 

 We enjoyed the fact that finding something in one room may or may not have use in the same room but would be essential in one of the next rooms. 

Overall we enjoyed the room and made our escape with seconds remaining, we asked for help twice, one occasion that was totally unnecessary but sometimes you miss things that are in plain sight due to the clock ticking down. We rated it as normal difficulty but some groups may find it a little more challenging, especially first time players or players new to escape rooms.

Having a timer in the room was good, we knew kind of where we were at and whther or not we were falling behind or ahead of the game. 

One thing that we could say as a small negative point, would be that there are so many pictures and posters on the walls that we found ourselves studying them meticulously as it felt that they had to be involved in solving some of the puzzles however, they're mostly just for aesthetics and whilst they fitted the theme. It caused us to lose a fair bit of time looking for plant names and uses on them that would help us move forward but then every room we've played and I'm sure moany other groups have done the same here and in previous escape rooms.

We'd like to thank Maisie for being a good host and for creating this game, our advice for those thinking of playing would be, come to sunny Salisbury and try to help solve a murder!! 

Our  Seventh escape room and one we decided to try based on a lot of good reviews and feedback from others.

We were 15 minutes early and met by our host Owen who asked if we wanted to get cracking so we said yes and made a start. After a brief intro we entered the cave and the story started to play out, the scenery and aesthetics of the rooms were superb and really felt like we were in a cave as well as the other rooms looking great and fitting in with the story.

The puzzles had a good amount of variety to them and allowed some of them to be soloed with some requiring more teamwork and communication than others, overall we felt that there was a very good mix of puzzles, some skill some logical and one or two mental ones. The puzzles though were not overly difficult and fairly easy to solve but fun nonetheless.

There are very few negatives we can think of, the main one being that the story kind of gets lost and there is no reminder or additions to the story it is told at the start and that’s it. 

Asides from that it’s hard to knock the game and the overall feeling is that it is very enjoyable and certainly family friendly, great if you love magic, potions and spells.

We had a great time and will be back to try other games here! 

Escape room number 6 for our team of 3, one we had been looking forward to and it didn't disappoint! Our host Ross was very friendly and explained the game very well.

If you read any  mentions saying this game is similar to the "Crystal Maze" there are similarities but we'd say the rooms aren't as big as you might think but the way the puzzles playout and how they are designed are similar to the TV show.

For a team of three to finish 6 minutes under time without any clues tells you that , a team of 4 would probably be the ideal number but, any number would be able to complete the puzzles.

The game design and overall theme was excellent and the games were fun and intuitive, a lot of logical puzzles mixed in with a skill puzzle or two make this a fantastic experience.

Our only negative comment would be that air conditioning would've been great as it was 24 degrees outside and wearing helmets in small spaces, we were all sweating profusely, had it been 30 plus degrees outside, the rooms would have been excrutiatingly hot. there are small hand held fans available and we regretted not taking them but, our overall experience was not ruined due to this matter.

If you haven't played Journey to Xibalba, book up and enjoy, you won't regret it!!

Our fifth escape room took us into Seven Sins, our first scary/horror themed room. 

Our GM was friendly and explained the rules and the game very well, the theme was good and very "Saw-esque" whilst also being aligned with the 7 deadly sins, the puzzles were good and whilst some involved one person solving them the majority needed a good bit of teamwork to resolve. Many of the puzzles had padlocks to open which felt a little overkill but seeing as the theme was based on the Saw movies it didn't detract from our enjoyment. 

The clue system works very well and instead of simply asking for help there is a penalty system which we used a couple of times, the clues were a bit too much of a giveaway and led to us instantly solving the puzzles we were struggling with however, this is just our personal feelings, smaller hints rather than a larger explanation would have still had us solve the puzzle but would have steered us in the right direction rather than solving it instantly. 

It was nice to have a timer in the room as well as small flashlights to help see in the darker parts of the room. 

For anyone wanting to play but are unsure of the scare level, i'd say the scares aren't quite as bad as we'd expected but there were a few jumps and the overall theme and sounds definitely add to the atmosphere but, I wouldn't let it put anyone off, they're really not that bad but we were always aware the next jump scare was an unopened box away.

All in all we enjoyed Seven Sins and would recommend giving it a go, well worth the price and a good atmospheric experience. 

We entered potions and peril and found ourselves in a world of magic and witchcraft, the surroundings were very nice and the room itself set the tone very well. Our host was good but our team found that there was a lot of information to try and take in that would have helped us had we been able to remember everything.

The puzzles were very well done and they came in different varieties,  there were plenty to do and they were all good from logical puzzle solving to skill  and physical puzzles to solve. 

All in all we'd say this room is very good and definitely fun for all the family but I would imagine some children may find some of the puzzles quite difficult to solve. 

Our only real issues were that the lighting needs to be brighter, even a small amount or even some brighter lamps would help, especially as there is a photo that is part of the experience and it is difficult to see even with the lamps in the room.

One other thing, our host could've been dressed up as several other staff hosting other games were, it's hard to believe someone dressed in casual gear trying to set the story and get you in the right mindset for the room. 

These issues shouldn't put anyone off, the room is good fun and we'd recommend this for newcomers and for those with some experience.

Our third Escape room brought us to Dino Deadlock, upon arrival we found the location a bit tricky to find and some better signs might not go amiss. Our host was a very nervous young lady who did her best but she didn't seem particularly confident and between the reception area and her introduction we were already feeling that we'd made a bad choice.

The puzzles are very linear and very easy apart from one puzzle which had us stuck for a little longer than it should, even though we were a group of three we often found ourselves getting in each others way and at most points watching what our teammates were doing rather than participating.

The room is very dark even after you get the lights on which hindered us at times and If you have any dust allergies or are asthmatic I would not recommend this game as there is a lot of dust and the game is not particularly clean, understandable based on the theme of the game but everything felt dirty and well worn.

Some of the puzzles are quite good but one of the items got jammed whilst we were there and also there is one item that has fallen into its cylinder that you think you may need to get but then realise that is has only fallen off and is not retrievable so some maintenance is required to make this room more appealing and functional.

Overall we'd say that for a first time challenge the game is OK and family friendly but for more experienced escapists I would avoid, the puzzles are too easy and very linear.

Our second escape room based on a recommendation and boy what a great game, as soon as you walk in the door the building is very clean and looks amazing, the actual escape room is also well maintained and looks fantastic.

Alex greeted us and led us to Sub Terra where the three of us had to escape from, the puzzles are very good and non linear which is perfect for larger groups as the three of us were always doing different parts, time absolutely flies in this game but the puzzles keep coming and they are all very well done. We completed the main task within the hour and also managed one more bonus objective just about in time.  

All in all I can honestly say that this room is the standard to which all rooms should be held to, if you've never done it, book now! My only negative comment would be the small video clip at the start of the room didn't seem very convincing but in no way did it spoil the experience.

This was our first Escape Room as we embark on our journey of one escape room per month across the UK.

Our host was very good and played the part well and made us all laugh plenty, the puzzles were quite tricky for a first attempt but nevertheless logical and immersive and showed us that some of the key points are to be thorough when searching for items and also to communicate better as a team. The number of clues given was good in times of need but all in all we enjoyed the experience and would recommend this game, either as a first time choice or for those who may have already played some rooms but, most importantly we escaped with a few minutes to spare :)