While there are tons of ways to have fun with family and friends, visiting the best escape rooms London is absolutely something you should not miss out. This type of game mainly revolves around unique concepts and missions that players can choose from. Players will then have to find clues and solve the puzzles in order to win and escape the room. The best part about it is that everyone can master it.

So whether you a regular escape room player or a first time, here are some things you should take into consideration when playing.

Choose your escape room goal

Since an escape room is a group activity, make sure to have one goal that you and your teammates will focus on. Do you just want to have a good time? Or you’re planning to win big? Having a player group with mixed motives can lead to stress and even arguments. In mixed groups containing both kinds of players, the “speed players” often feel frustrated by the slower pace of the “for fun” players, and the “for fun” players can feel pressured and rushed by the “speed players”. Deciding what style of play the group will utilise can prevent problems ahead of the game.

Don’t overdress!

If you’re planning to dominate an escape room after a fancy dinner out, maybe bring a change of clothes. Otherwise, wear clothes that will allow you to move comfortably. You don’t want to miss solving a puzzle that required you to sit on the ground because you can’t afford to ruin your dress. Escape rooms are usually pretty clean environments, so that’s not really a concern.

Pay attention to your escape room introduction

Most of the best escape rooms London have information they have to convey to players before the players begin their game. These details can usually be in verbal, video, audio or written form. These intros usually include two different types of information: general safety and rules, as well as the introduction to the storyline of the room.

Storyline intros are useful to all kinds of players. Many of them explain the specifics of the goal your group must achieve to win the game. Many owners incorporate helpful hints or clues into their storyline introduction. So if you do not want to miss out on any clues or hints, make sure to pay attention to everything inside the room.

Divide and conquer to search

One of the best tactics in playing an escape room game is to split up your group and have each one of you and your teammates check every corner of the room for clues or hints. This helps make sure that the room is thoroughly inspected, and helps prevent the case where certain areas are overlooked, and certain other areas are repetitively combed over.

Work efficiently and be proactive

Escape rooms are not a spectator event. If you aren’t contributing to solving a particular puzzle, try to move on to another one! Tackle the hard puzzle that everyone else gave up on. Rotate back through the room and double-check whenever you can. Sometimes, a fresh pair of eyes is all that’s needed. Remember that missing out hidden clues might cause you to lose the game.

Bring a wristwatch

A wristwatch is potentially the only thing you’re allowed to bring into an escape room and use during the game. It will let you keep an eye out for exactly how much time is left, which is very helpful when the game does not provide a clock or only provides a clock in one of the rooms. Also, you never know when you will need a source of light to shine on a dimly-lit lock, right?

Don’t be afraid to lose

Some of the most satisfying escape rooms were ones where you failed to escape. The game is a lot more fun when you solve puzzles genuinely and don’t rush chaotically to finish the game. These games can be hard but are also simultaneously fun and immensely satisfying. Enjoy yourselves, and embrace the game and your friends, not the outcome, and you will have lots of fun!

Have fun!

Having a great time and just enjoying the escape room adventure is always its main goal. Embrace the challenge, but arguments with teammates over a game has a way of sucking the fun right out of everything. Don’t take life too seriously. You will never escape it alive anyway!

Going on an escape room adventure is definitely something you and your group will not regret. But of course, aside from having fun, winning the game should never be excluded in your goals. So whether you and your group are booking the best escape rooms London for a short activity or perhaps a social event, you might want to consider the above-mentioned tips first.

RELEASED March 17th, 2020 

Links to buy the book on via the author’s site - dianaurban.com

Six teens are invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. They’ve been lured to a dining room and locked in with a bomb and a syringe of poison, along with a note instructing them to pick one of them to die….or they all will. The book retraces the events of the last year, flashing back to each character at times that reveal various connections between each of them and all kinds of twisted secrets. Who could have known how they were all connected and how will they choose who will die?

This is a smart contemporary, perfectly combined with mystery, a whodunit that keeps you guessing until the end. The cast of characters has been compared to that of ‘The Breakfast Club’ (only one of the best 80’s coming-of-age teen movies ever); the queen bee, the star athlete, the stoner, the loner, the valedictorian and the music geek cover just about all the usual cliques and stereotypes you’ll find in American high school. Over the decades of movies and books, they haven’t really changed that much but this story felt fresh.
As the teens’ stories are revealed through their past timelines, multiple themes are focused on such as bullying, mental health issues, drug abuse, and suicide. While this makes clear that these things could be triggering, I want to say how skilled author Diana Urban was in writing such complex issues into such a thrilling book. So much action happens over a relatively short period of time and in a small space with a lot of characters, and it takes some really crafty writing to pull that off. Having worked in film, and doing continuity on set, I pictured a lot of these scenes in my head while reading and marveled at how complex it is to write scenes like them to build action within such tight parameters.

If you like classic mysteries like those by Agatha Christie, this is a perfect read.
If you love the board game (or the super fun 80’s movie) CLUE, this book is for you. I really enjoyed the ensemble cast of characters.
If you need a book where the characters are feeling just as shut inside and claustrophobic as you during this virus quarantine, then this is definitely THE book for that. And you will pass the hours by way too quickly because this will just suck you in. The most fun to be had while ‘stuck’ in one (imaginary) room.

‘All Your Twisted Secrets’ is a brilliantly written, smart mystery that I couldn’t put down once I started it; I truly hope there’s so much more to come from Diana Urban! Easily a 5 star read.

ABOUT DIANA URBAN
Diana Urban is an author of dark, twisty thrillers. When she's not torturing fictional characters, she works in digital marketing for startups. She lives with her husband and cat in Boston and enjoys reading, video games, fawning over cute animals, and looking at the beach from a safe distance. 

YIKES!! What a twisted tale! The Escape Room by Megan Goldin is a mystery/thriller that had me thinking twice about getting into the elevator when I went to the doctor yesterday. Ms. Goldin has produced a book that is well-written, even though it's part 3rd person and part 1st person, it totally works in this story. The characters are such a variety and your feelings for them will change throughout the story. Sarah is a business school grad that is having a hard time finding a job. When she lands a job in NYC, she's happy that she'll be able to help her parents with all the medical bills from her father's long illness. Her story is loaded with drama, a few bits of humor, murder and edge of your seat suspense. I enjoyed reading The Escape Room and would happily read more from Megan Goldin in the future. Even if it does mean I'll have no nails by the end of the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Escape Room starts with a hair-raising prologue followed by a bit of a slow start as the characters are introduced, but don't let that little bit of a lag deter you. This one quickly develops into a sharp thriller. The chapters alternate between the present in the escape room and the past with one character's story As the story unfolds it's not hard to figure out what's going on and at least some of the why, but that doesn't diminish the thrill at all. There are still plenty of great twists in this one and lots to ponder as the tension builds. It turns out that four people trapped in an escape room may have more secrets than they thought, and the close quarters may be more than they can handle. All in all, a solid debut from Megan Goldin, and I will certainly be watching for whatever she does next. 

A special thank you to Edelweiss, NetGalley, Macmillan, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are high-rollers in the world of finance. They are relentless in their pursuits and are masters of their craft and their lavish lifestyles are proof of their successes. But this life of luxury comes at a great cost—a gruelling schedule and oftentimes unrealistic expectations and deadlines.

The four are called in for an after-hours meeting on a Friday night. Given the out-of-the way location, and their recent failure to close on too many lucrative deals, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam fear that they've been summons as a result of their poor performance and that they are going to be made redundant. Vincent informs them that they are actually there to participate in an escape room challenge. Agreeing that it is smart to be on their best behaviour before bonus day, and their competitive personalities getting the best of them, they pile into the elevator. But when the doors shut and they are plunged into darkness, it quickly becomes apparent that they are trapped.

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

What starts off as a game turns into survival. Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam need to put aside their differences and work together to solve clues in order to be freed. But when the game reveals the secrets they've been hiding from one another, they realize that the terrible things they've done to get them where they are come at a high price. The final puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

Goldin's debut is a stomach-dropping ride. Alternating between past and present, the cast of characters are completely ruthless and will stop at nothing to succeed. They are fuelled by the rush that comes with making high-profile deals and will do anything that the company asks of them. Despite the unlikeable characters, or in spite of them, this story is totally compelling.

There are a few times where the reader has to suspend their disbelief and in this case, I'm willing to overlook it because it was so enthralling! Also, there were pockets in the narrative where it got repetitive and a touch (dare I say) predictable. But because it was so entertaining, I was completely captivated.

Whether it is a commentary on corporate finance or greed itself, the writing is clever and razor-sharp and I can't wait for more from Megan Goldin.