Review: The Gr8 Escape

If you grew up playing online escape games (Crimson Room, Viridian Room, Blue Chamber etc) like I did, then you’ll be well aware of what The Gr8 Escape is all about. It’s basically a live version of these games, where the aim is to escape a room in a set amount of time by solving a number of puzzles and games to open the locks.

My first real experience of this kind of live action game was in London a year or two ago when I went to HintHunt. We were locked in a room and had to find our way out by solving puzzles of all kinds. I absolutely loved it. So much so, that I remember thinking, “wouldn’t it be great if Belfast could eventually have something like this?”, little did I know it already did and there is actually more than one!

The Gr8 Escape is situated on Blythe Street in Belfast (it’s a wee bit tricky to find, but just head up the stairs, following the Gr8 Escape leaflets and you’ll find it on the top floor), the building is a bit warehouse-y, with bric-a-brac lying around and it’s quite cold, but once you get your briefing and you enter the room it’s all forgotten, you’re on a mission now!

The rooms change every couple of months which is great as it means you can keep coming back for something new. We’ve tried to escape three rooms so far (and succeeded!) – a Halloween Room, a Christmas Room and the Mad Hatters Tea Party and each has been well thought out, challenging and a little different from the last.The rooms require you to lift, open and look at everything you can; count things, look at colours, shapes and positioning. The puzzles depend on lateral thinking, with abstract solutions it’s often just something you’d never have thought of. Keeping a calm head and communicating with your group is key. You can ask for hints too if you need them, but a small donation to charity is suggested if you do get a hint, which we think is a great idea.

Prices vary depending on the size of group and the room you want to try and escape from, but it’s worth keeping an eye on deal websites like Groupon, because they’ve been known to do good deals for larger groups. You can book over the phone or through the Facebook page, where you can also keep up to date with everything that’s going on.

Ideal for stag/hen parties, birthday parties and team building, The Gr8 Escape is a triumph. The next room is Prison Break and we can’t wait to try it, but there’s also kids rooms available for birthday parties which look like great fun too! Can you escape?