The Game is Now is definitely one of the best escape rooms we have done, everything from start to finish was themed perfectly and so much fun. It’s really difficult to explain how good it was without giving away some of the surprises so you may just need to trust us when we say it was brilliant and you need to give it a try.
The Game:
The game is a 60 minute escape room themed around the BBC series Sherlock and includes the main characters as part of the game.
The theming starts as soon as you arrive and ring the buzzer at Doyle’s opticians which is the front for the game in a shopping centre in Shepard’s Bush. The staff members play their parts perfectly and the whole thing feels like a top secret spy mission rather than just an escape room.
Without spoiling the actual escape room, it is a series of puzzles to solve and things to find in order to defeat Moriarty and was pitched at just the right level. We needed a couple of clues to get us on the right track at various points but other that everything was just about the right level of difficulty for us.
We only fell out once during the game and we are definitely much better at escape rooms now than we were the last time we attempted one! We managed to escape in exactly 60 minutes without even a second to spare.
What you need to know:
- The game last 60 minutes but with the briefing at the beginning and the story setting it took about 100 minutes.
- The game is for age 10 and over but over 7s can play when accompanied by a parent/ carer. Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult.
- The is a photo opportunity at the beginning of the game and an opportunity to purchase digital photos or prints in the gift shop at the end of the game.
- A storage case is provided at the beginning of the game for your coats and bags, these will hold a normal sized back pack. The key is kept with you and your storage case meets you at the end of the game.
- You are able to keep your phone with you but photography and filming are not allowed during any part of the game.
- You should wear comfortable clothes, the games aren’t overly physical but do involve quite a lot of moving around.
- The ideal team size is between 4 and 6 players but you can still play if there are only 2 or 3 of you.
- If you are booking for 2-3 people then you can choose from a private experience or shared experience where you will be paired with another team. There were 3 of us and we opted for a shared experience but it ended up being just us anyway.
Facilities:
Toilets are available at the start and end of the game.
If you arrive early then you are able to wait in the Mind Palace bar where you can get hot and cold alcoholic and soft drinks. There are also board games available for use and additional puzzles if you need a mental warm up before you play the game.
Secure storage is available for bags and coats but it is best to travel light.
Afternoon tea and cocktail making sessions are also available to book in the Mind Palace.
Accessibility:
The game doesn’t have any steps and is wheelchair accessible. There is some walking involved getting around the experience and they do have a wheelchair to borrow.
The experience is only partially accessible to deaf players as some of the videos and audio have subtitles and transcriptions but not all.
They also have a relaxed game and ear defenders available to use.
For accessibility requirements you can contact the game on info@thegameisnow.com
Our thoughts:
We thought this was incredibly well done and probably one of the best thought out, themed and hi-tech escape rooms we have done, They currently only have 1 game but are hoping to add an extra one soon so we will definitely be ack to play again.
We played in May 2023 as a team of 3 when Pip was 11.
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