Grand Escape — Attraction in Birmingham

Sadly, this is the first escape room experience out of many we have had, where the whole team felt underwhelmed despite escaping in a very good time. The puzzles were for the most part, a tactile endeavour, which was nice, with lots of different parts to move around. However, we had completed many of these puzzles accidently, as they were quite simple. Many of the puzzles could just be worked out by changing the order of the components a few times. In addition, some of the puzzle pieces were broken, with cables exposed, which further removes the immersion into the room.

The escape room experiences that we have found most enjoyable, require some logic and challenge to solve, and when completing them you feel very satisfied as you have managed to gather all of the correct information, and use it in the correct manner. You do not really get that here.

An authentic escape room experience relies heavily on the immersion that the employees and the rooms bring, as it can make the whole process feel more real. The games master did not do any exposition for the room, other than saying "Find the diamond", just before we entered.

We spent £104 pounds for four people, ended up finishing a room in 30 minutes, mostly by accident, and all felt like we had spend money on half an event. If anyone ordered a pizza, from an expensive restaurant, and they only received half a pizza, they would feel most disappointed.

For anyone who got this far into the review, we did the Mayan Escape room. I have also attempted the Alice in Wonderland room several years ago, and recall having a similarly...

1409 is the room to play is you're a fan of Stephen King's psychological horror story, 1408. For those who don't know about it, there's also a film (1408 with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson) that has inspired the ER design and atmosphere. It's worth watching before playing the room to get the full effect. But don't worry if you haven't watched it. You don't need to know the film to solve the puzzles.

In a few words: Beautifully immersive decor, creative puzzles (this is NOT a padlock-heavy escape, so be warned if you are used to more traditional ERs) and some smart scare moments too.

Beware amateur escapists: It's a challenging room. We did it as a couple with almost 45 rooms under our belts and still escaped by the skin of our teeth. Admittedly, we had some dumb moments too, but that's precisely what makes the room so fun to play. More experienced players or outside-the-box thinkers are likely to need a little less time, though. If you're unsure, I'd suggest going as a team of 4 to 6 to boost your chances of escaping.

Grand Escape is a gem in the ER scene in the West Midlands. Fully independent, fiercely creative, and diabolically fun, you're guaranteed to come out with a huge smile on your face. (and cold sweat at the back of neck from the...

As an avid lover of escape rooms, both my partner and I were exceptionally disappointed with the quality of the escape room we did here. We booked for the magic spell (costing around £50 for 2 people) and to be honest, the whole thing was lacklustre. The host lacked enthusiasm (there was essentially no backstory given for the room or context) and it felt like they didn't want to be there. When we got into the room, there was little to no actual logic to the order of the puzzles, and so many of them could be brute forced (as in trying multiple solutions rather than physically manhandling!) due to poor design. One puzzle we asked for a hint, and it solved a puzzle for something that was already open due to poor design! The props were all broken and poorly maintained, with loose magnets and very shabby decor. When we reached the end we didn't even known we had - there was zero indication there was an exit and the host had to tell us on the screen that we were done. We had to actually ask before we left what our time was too!

Overall, it was a poor experience. There are better places for escape rooms in Birmingham, and since they are all similarly priced, this is one I will avoid in the future, and would recommend...