We’re traveling overseas escape room enthusiasts (375+ rooms) who actively seek out the “best” London escape rooms every time we visit.
Of course, “best” is subjective. These are a list of our favorites, but we encourage our readers to read our whole article and pick a game based on what appeals to them the most. If you do any of these rooms, let your host know that you heard of them through EscapeRoomTips.com!
Best London Escape Rooms
- Secret Studio – Escape in Time (3-6p)
- Battle for Britain – Escape Plan (2-7p) 🔰
- The Adventure Begins – Escape Plan (2-6p) 🔰
- Revenge of the Sheep – clueQuest (3-6p) 🔰
- Heist Plan: The Garage – Breakin’ Escape (3-6p) 🔰
- School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Enigma Quests (3-5p) 🔰
- The Million Pound Heist – Enigma Quests (3-5p)
🔰- Our top recommendations for beginners
We also have special mentions for Crystal Maze (not quite an escape room), Panic Room Gravesend (not in London, but a short train ride away), Sherlock: The Game is Now.
Two-Player Games – All games here with a listed minimum of 3 are actually doable with 2 experienced enthusiasts (Breakin’ Escape discourages it though). The rooms with a listed minimum of 2 offer reasonable pricing for 2 players. 2 Tickets 2 Ride at Clue Adventures is specifically made for 2 but is booked out far in advance (we didn’t get to play it because it was all booked).
We owe a lot to UK-based escape room enthusiasts (Ken of The Logic Escapes Me, Toby of Escape the Review, Dean of Escape Review, Sera of S2, and Thomas of London Escapists) for detailed reviews and recommendations. We’ve included links to two London escape room blogs that have been active since the pandemic.
More detailed reviews about each of these games are below.
1. Secret Studio – Escape in Time
Photo Credit: Secret Studio
Secret Studio is Escape in Time’s only game. They run 4 identical copies of it, which can all be run in parallel. The game makes some bold decisions that are executed excellently and absolutely pays off. The game is somewhat “scary” – but more so in the psychological sense rather than the “horror’ sense. Their set of choices was absolutely unique and unlike anything we’ve seen before in any other escape room. We loved the cinematic experience and would recommend this to any enthusiast – especially anyone looking for something very… different!
Booking: https://www.escapeintime.co.uk/ (check here for discounted time slots)
Enthusiast Ratings:
- Escape Room Tips: ★★★★★
- The Logic Escapes Me: ★★★★½ (review)
- Escape the Review: up to ★★★★★ (review)
2. Battle for Britain – Escape Plan
Photo Credit: Escape Plan Ltd
Battle for Britain is Escape Plan’s second game. In this game, you and your team work to gain access to the Operations Room, where you will mobilize Britain’s Royal Air Force in the effort to defeat the advancing German Luftwaffe. This game features a frenzy of fun puzzling featuring a number of interesting contraptions and ideas. All of the puzzle solutions come together in an exciting climax that finishes the experience well. This is a score-based game, so you and your team will likely need the entire time.
Booking: https://escapeplanltd.com/
Enthusiast Ratings:
- Escape Room Tips: ★★★★★
- The Logic Escapes Me: ★★★★½ (review)
- Escape the Review: up to ★★★★½ (review)
3. The Adventure Begins – Escape Plan
Photo Credit: Escape Plan Ltd
The Adventure Begins is Escape Plan’s first game. This WWII-themed game is absolutely true to its theme, with appropriate decor throughout. You follow along with the story of Bob Hails as you and your teammates try to escape the barracks. Despite being mostly a low-tech game, the atmosphere of this game is stellar and this game comes with a wide variety of fun, physical puzzles. We enjoyed the theme and overall experience and would recommend this to any enthusiast visiting the area.
Booking: https://escapeplanltd.com/ (use promo code TAB10 for 10% off your game on weekdays)
Enthusiast Ratings:
- Escape Room Tips: ★★★★½
- The Logic Escapes Me: ★★★★½ (review)
- Escape the Review: up to ★★★★½ (review)
4. Revenge of the Sheep – clueQuest
Revenge of the Sheep is Cluequest’s third and latest game. This popular location has multiple copies of each of their three escape rooms, which makes it easy to coordinate large corporate bookings where everyone plays the same game simultaneously. Revenge of the Sheep is particularly notable for a fun mixture of physical puzzles, interesting technology, and a bunch of interesting surprises. Enthusiasts should definitely try out Revenge of the Sheep, we think it’s clearly the best out of their three games.
Booking: https://cluequest.co.uk/
Enthusiast Ratings:
5. Heist Plan: The Garage – Breakin’ Escape
Breakin’ Escape is a new entrant to the London escape room scene with 6 Romanian-designed rooms, mostly based off of popular movie franchises. From enthusiast reviews, Heist Plan seems to be the most impressive out of their 6 rooms. We enjoyed Heist Plan because of the unique and well-developed theme, with plenty of physical puzzles and fun large set pieces to move around. This game is clearly inspired by the Fast and the Furious series and will be a delight to both fans of the series and those less familiar with it.
Booking: http://breakinescaperooms.co.uk/
Enthusiast Ratings:
6. School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Enigma Quests
Photo Credit: Enigma Quests
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a Harry Potter inspired escape room and the first game by Enigma Quests. This room rewards careful observation and the following of instructions, and includes a bunch of moments that are simply magical. The attention to the little details in the thematic decor of the room is strong, which makes combing through the set very enjoyable. The organized structure of the game and the inclusion of a bunch of fun surprises makes this game appropriate and fun for both escape room beginners and enthusiasts alike.
Booking: https://enigmaquests.london/
Enthusiast Ratings:
7. The Million Pound Heist – Enigma Quests
Photo Credit: Enigma Quests
The Million Pound Heist is a score-based game that is the second and latest of the escape rooms offered at Enigma Quests. While this is a fun and well-done room, we liked their original School of Witchcraft and Wizardry better because of the greater ability to interact in various ways with the set. Still, The Million Pound Heist has some fun technology and a score-based final winning condition that rewards careful searching, attention, and ability to sort through things quickly.
Booking: https://enigmaquests.london/
Enthusiast Ratings:
More Games
These games are worth looking into as well.
- Check out cQ:OriGENES, which is ClueQuest’s newest game. All accounts that we’ve heard of say that’s its their best game yet.
- The Crystal Maze Live Experience is a lovingly accurate live reproduction of the popular British game show. Your team (of up to 8, with public booking) will go through 16 challenges spread across 4 categories (Physical, Mental, Skill, Mystery). While it’s pricy and features public booking, this maze of games creates infectious energy and a whole lot of fun. This isn’t on the above list since it’s not technically an escape room.
- Panic Room Gravesend is not technically in London but is a short (<30 minutes) train ride away. LOOP is likely the best game there, with creative puzzles and a crazy time mechanic. Dino Land was like being in an action movie. Revolution Ole had a fun score-based mechanic. All three of those games are in the same facility, so you can play them all back-to-back. This company is prolific and runs a whole lot more games. If you’re planning to play multiple games, check out their Panic Pass loyalty card (£10). This isn’t on the above list since it’s not in London.
- Sherlock: The Game is Now is notable as the next project by the creators of Time Run. It opened back in 2018, but we haven’t had a chance to play it yet, but we’re for certain wanting to check it out the next time we’re in the area!
If you’re a traveling escape room enthusiast and are looking for escape room day trips from London, check out Toby’s comprehensive guide on Escape the Review.
Also check out our list of Best Escape Rooms in Paris, including a spreadsheet that compiles all of the reviews from the two main enthusiast blogs in France.
For more London reviews and “best” lists, check out The Logic Escapes Me, Escape the Review, London Escapists, Escape Review, and Two Bears’ Life.
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May 23, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Interesting list though I do feel you overrated somewhat Revenge of the Sheep and surprised you did not include The Killer at Enigma Escape. Did you go out to Gravesend in Kent ad try the rooms at the Panic Room?
May 26, 2017 at 1:16 am
Great article and a list that I’d pretty much agreed with.
In response to Christopher’s comment: The Killer’s highly rated on TripAdvisor but the feedback I’ve had from enthusiasts has always been that it’s a disappointment to them and sits firmly mid-table. I played very early on in its history, so I can’t fairly judge it myself. IMO for two player teams it works much better than for larger groups so worth considering if you’re going as a couple.
I’m excited to be heading to Gravesend next month – I’ve played two of their games in Harlow but from what I’ve heard the latest and greatest experiences are far better.
September 7, 2018 at 7:16 pm
This is quite belated, but we’ve finally had the chance to go out to Gravesend and try out some rooms at Panic Room. We still haven’t played The Killer, it hasn’t really been as much on our radar (we usually rely on other enthusiast opinions to find games to play in London).