Escape Rooms in the UK

Finding a good escape room in the UK

An escape room is a themed room, or a set of them, that a team of two to eight has an hour to get out of by solving puzzles, finding clues and cracking locks, with a games master watching on camera and feeding hints when you are stuck. Themes run from heists, prisons and spy missions to haunted houses, Victorian mysteries, pirates, space stations and the licensed horror rooms that are genuinely frightening; difficulty ranges from rooms built for children and first-timers to the ones with a 20 per cent escape rate that regulars hunt out. Most venues have three to six rooms and run them back to back from late morning to late evening.

Booking well means matching the room to the group: family rooms for mixed ages, with children admitted from about seven with an adult and from ten to twelve without; horror rooms with age limits of 14 or 16 and a health warning; teams of four to six for most rooms, since two struggle and eight get in each other's way; and a difficulty the group will enjoy rather than lose to. Prices fall per person as the group grows, rooms are booked online by slot, and venues run birthday parties, hen and stag packages and corporate team-building with several rooms in parallel and a room to debrief in afterwards.

The listings here show each venue's rooms, themes and difficulty, group sizes and ages, prices, hours and contact details, so you can see what is nearby, which rooms suit children or veterans, and where people in your town escaped from last.

What escape room venues offer

Rooms: three to six themed rooms per venue, from 45 to 90 minutes, rated by difficulty, with a games master, hints and a leaderboard.

Themes: heists, prisons, spy and detective missions, haunted houses and horror, fantasy, science fiction, historical mysteries and children's adventures.

Families and children: family rooms from about age seven with an adult, kids' parties with the room and a party area, and school holiday sessions.

Groups and events: hen and stag packages, birthdays, corporate team-building with rooms in parallel, exclusive venue hire and catering with partners.

Variations: virtual reality rooms, outdoor and city-wide games, and escape games sent to your home or run online.

Before you book an escape room

• Choose the room for the group: family or beginner rooms for mixed ages and first-timers, hard rooms for veterans.
• Check age limits and whether children need an adult in the room; horror rooms are usually 14 or 16 and over.
• Book a team of four to six; the price per person falls with numbers and the room works best at that size.
• Arrive 15 minutes early for the briefing; late arrivals lose time from the hour.
• Say if anyone is claustrophobic, pregnant or sensitive to strobes and loud sound; rooms vary and staff will advise.
• Book weekends and school holidays a week or more ahead; the popular rooms sell out.

What escape rooms cost in the UK

As a rough guide, escape rooms cost £20 to £35 a person for a team of four to six, more for pairs at £30 to £45 each and less for larger teams, with peak evenings and weekends priced above weekdays; children's parties £15 to £25 a child plus the party area; corporate packages £30 to £60 a head with several rooms and a debrief; and virtual reality rooms £25 to £40 a person for a shorter game. Gift vouchers are sold by every venue and are one of the better presents for a family.

A room for five at £25 each costs what a cinema trip does and is the only hour all week when nobody looks at a phone.