007: Shadow Of Spectre by HiddenCity — Local services in London

Wow, we enjoyed this experience way more than initially expected. It's the second time I've done such a game (having done the Gourmaze food hunt). This one blew our minds away. Without giving out too much: you walk around London looking for clues/streets to solve a mission whilst receiving instructions via WhatsApp. This will take you to several pubs, shops and other surprises on the way. It was two of us and I think the perfect number is probably 2 or 3 although we saw families doing it. Some clues may be tougher for kids. What I thought elevated this hunt compared to others is the actual props used during the game, from the map you are given to some of the clues you receive (again won't give it all out). Another thing which is class is that you often see other teams but then they head in different directions so I suppose there are various routes, maybe even various scenarios you play; and then different teams will meet up in key hubs which are usually the pubs.

Logistics: -best for a sunny day as you mostly walk outside -make sure you to have full battery on your phone (I was running out towards the end) -it took us 3h to complete without break. You have two optional breaks during the game, one at a pub and one for food. 3h is on the longer side of things I'd say.

Things to improve: -English language was quite sophisticated, we had to google some words which were not obvious to us despite being fluent speakers -when you are stuck which we were on one occasion, you can ask for help which we received. However, it basically just skipped to the next clue instead of providing the answer. So I am still losing sleep as to what the masks on the Royal Opera were!

Overall 10/10 for all ages, whether you are a 007 fan or not. Good value for money, great idea...

Took me a couple days to leave this review but here I go - without any exaggeration, this experience has, by far, been the peak of my recent trip in London. I have seen other reviews and my standards were somewhat high but I NEVER expected to have so much fun doing it. It is a fantastic mix of complex (not so much, don’t worry, it’s not impossible but complicated enough to keep your brain in good shape for a proper 2-3, or even 4 hours) tasks and challenges, and puzzles. It is so interactive to the point where even people in pubs and venues were going along with it, which was highly unexpected. I will not spoil too much, but you are meant to solve clues and mysteries around London, whilst looking for locations. I did the 007 tour. Even more, it involved having to interact with objects from the environment, but many more I won’t mention. I am still full of emotion and I can’t be patient enough for my next trip, where I will do 1 or 2 more. Please wear comfortable shoes as you will walk a lot. Also prepare yourself with battery and maybe some water as the time spent between breaks could be high, depending on your skill and ability to solve the puzzles. Please for the love of God make this a must do in London. I promise you won’t regret it. And many thanks for the developers and everyone who worked together to make this happen. Also thanks to Silvia who took time to reach out...

We did this game as a birthday treat for my partner and we were completely blown away by how brilliant it was. From the minute you start at the National Theatre you are in a James Bond movie - we even went to one venue where the doorman saw us approaching and opened the door saying “we’ve been expecting you!” I must admit I squealed a bit as it felt so real! We look our little dog Teddy with us and he came into all the venues with us and was welcomed. We’ve lived in London all our lives and saw parts of it we’d never been too before and found wonderful pubs that we will go back to. The staff at Hidden City are very responsive to emails and extremely friendly. I honestly wish we could go back and experience this again for the first time as it was completely mind blowing! We even made friends on the way round and had a laugh meeting up at the next venue and then teasing each other trying to throw them off the scent!!!! Everyone who is doing it is friendly and you can tell that everyone is having a great time. We will definitely be telling all our friends about it and recommending it wherever and whenever we can! If you have an afternoon in London I strongly suggest doing this - we did it in the rain and even that didn’t dampen our spirits. 24 hours on I’m still smiling at the wonderful memories that were...