Case Closed is an escape room and immersive mystery venue in Edinburgh, UK. Housed within Secret Solstice Games, a board game cafe and prime spot for creatives, it offers four different experiences to choose from. These include TERPECA 2025 finalist, The Murder of Max Sinclair and a unique radio station murder mystery called Radio Nowhere.
Case Closed is easily accessible via tram from Edinburgh city centre, taking around 15 minutes. Getting off at The Shore tram stop, it’s a short 5-minute walk to the venue.
Accessibility: This venue does not have wheelchair access.
Arrival
As our tram approached The Shore in Leith, it was enveloped by a mysterious fog that seemed to roll in from nowhere. It couldn’t be a more perfect vista as we approached Case Closed for our first couple of rooms. We arrived ahead of schedule, so after signing in, we ordered some hot drinks from the cafe and made ourselves cosy. There wasn’t enough time for a board game, but we took a moment to browse the wide selection on offer.
It wasn’t long before Ronan, our GM and founder of Case Closed, came over to introduce himself. I’ve said before that a great GM can really make or break an escape room experience. Ronan was literally the best GM that we’ve had so far. I cannot overstate how much passion, enthusiasm and creativity he brought to the experience. He’s clearly extremely invested in crafting and sharing immersive experiences that evolve to serve the players and push boundaries in the space. I can confidently say that he has achieved this across all of the experiences at Case Closed.
Brief Case: Deep Cover
Players: 1-4 | Duration: 60 mins
“Less of an escape room, more of an immersive investigation game. The Bureau of External Affairs has undercover agents embedded in organisations worldwide. But our cover is blown, and time is of the essence. Everything is about to go very wrong, and we need to get our people out of there alive.”
Our thoughts
Deep Cover is the first of two ‘brief cases’ that Case Closed offers. These experiences are shorter alternatives to the 90-minute escape rooms, with the built-in flexibility to allow for expansion with future cases. The room is set up like a detective’s office and furnished with the sorts of items you’d expect to find, such as a computer, pinboard and briefcase. The intention is for players to feel as if they are stepping into a real office space they’ll feel at home in, and return to for future cases. An interesting approach is that the room is used for both cases on offer, so some items you encounter during one case may only be relevant for another. Housing more than just what’s needed for your current mission makes the office space feel more lived-in and realistic.
Ronan briefed us on our mission and handed out security clearance passes and a locked metal briefcase. It was then down to us to crack the case by piecing together evidence and answering questions on the computer. The interface was straightforward to use and allowed for structured gameplay, where it was always clear what we had to work on next. The office was so immersive that we really felt like actual detectives. Along the way, we got to use some fun special agent devices, which I won’t spoil! You definitely won’t just be sitting at the desk the whole time. There was one particular laugh-out-loud moment involving the computer that showcased some of Case Closed’s unique brand of humour.
We really enjoyed the mix of tasks in the room, which included some fun puzzles, as well as more traditional detective work. It was also a great warm-up for the rest of the rooms we would play. We sadly didn’t have time to play Case 2: Director’s Cut during our flying visit; however, we will definitely be back in future.
Radio Nowhere
Players: 2-8 | Duration: 90 mins
“Radio Nowhere is the station everyone’s listening to. But when a body turns up in the recording booth, things get deathly silent. Identify suspects, narrow down your lines of investigation, and decipher secret broadcasts. Sounds like a normal enough case, but there’s a catch. The show must go on.”
Our thoughts
Radio Nowhere is the first of the 90-minute games that we tackled. Although the two rooms can be played in any order, Ronan normally recommends that players tackle The Murder of Max Sinclair first. When asked why, he shared that some escape room enthusiasts struggle with Radio Nowhere because it doesn’t follow standard escape room conventions. There aren’t loads of padlocks to open, traditional puzzles to solve or hidden mechanisms. It definitely leans heavily into deduction, pushing you to interrogate the evidence and make connections. The Murder of Max Sinclair is also not a traditional escape room, but it is a little closer to one so a good starting point.
Our experience with Radio Nowhere started before we stepped into the room, when we were given a clipboard of information to review at a table in the cafe. This gave some key details about a murder that had taken place, along with instructions on where to start when we entered the room. A short while later, we were led into the main Radio Nowhere HQ, and given complete control of the airwaves. We beamed at each other as we caught sight of the studio set-up, with its funky lighting, tape deck and microphone.
The game is comprised of several acts, each of which requires you to complete key objectives to progress. These are delivered in the form of a questionnaire that is posted through a letterbox into the room. Once you’ve managed to answer all of the questions, you post these back through the letterbox and await the outcome. If all the answers are correct, the lights will dim, and some audio will be played that progresses the investigation. If incorrect, the questionnaire will be posted back through the door with the wrong answers highlighted. The first task we were given was to identify potential suspects. As the game progressed, we were then tasked with establishing motive, means and opportunity for each of these, with the ultimate aim to uncover the murderer.
The most impressive thing about this room is how personalised it is. It’s been designed to allow the GM to adapt to the players’ strengths and weaknesses. We definitely weren’t as comfortable as some might be with the role-playing aspect, which was toned down in the second half of the game. You can live your best life as a radio host, taking listener calls and unlocking new nuggets of information. Or you can focus more on uncovering physical clues throughout the space.
I was surprised at the joy of finding new cassette tapes hidden throughout the room that allowed us to unlock new songs to play on the radio station. There were some fun interactive elements, such as an old computer, a mixing desk and a radio that you can tune to different frequencies. There is also an LED listener count display that updates in real time, based on how much engagement you have with the audience.
Radio Nowhere is unlike any escape room we’ve played! Part murder mystery, part immersive experience, it took us out of our comfort zone and surprised us in fun and unique ways. The incredible personalisation really elevated the experience for us and I honestly cannot recommend it enough. It’s superb!
The Murder of Max Sinclair
Players: 2-8 | Duration: 90 mins
Note: Recommended age 15+. An adult must accompany under-18s.
“A Private Investigator, neck deep in a case. He was found in his office late last night, the walls soaked with warm blood and ill intent. The other cops see no sign of foul play, just a man at the end of his tether. But you’re not like the other cops: You’re detectives. What really happened here? We need you to find out.”
Our thoughts
We were glad to have taken 24 hours to digest the previous day’s games before tackling our final Case Closed room. Detectives Poirot, Haggis, Clueless and Facepalm may not have been the first choice for the case, but we were available and willing. Our task was simple: to investigate the murder of Max Sinclair, a private investigator who was found dead in his office.
Ronan jumped straight into character for our briefing, which took place in the cafe, before taking us through to the room. His improvisation skills were second-to-none, as he questioned if Detective Clueless was related to a certain DJ Clueless – one of our characters from Radio Nowhere. His perfectly-timed facepalms were also a joy! As we stepped into the room, we literally felt as though we’d entered a film noir. The ambience was incredible, heavily utilising dynamic lighting and music throughout to enhance storytelling.
As with Radio Nowhere, this room is broken into “acts”, with each requiring that you correctly answer a series of questions about the investigation. The answers are written on a questionnaire sheet, that you post through a letterbox in the room. If the answers are all correct, the lighting will change and you’ll hear a voiceover aka your “internal monologue” which unlocks the next stage of the case. Once you’ve successfully completed all of the acts, you’ll discover the identity of the murderer and face a final challenge.
Our first task was to identify aspects of the crime scene that didn’t add up, which was a great test of our observation skills. Compared to Radio Nowhere, The Murder of Max Sinclair leans more into puzzle-solving, as well as deduction. As such, you can expect to find more traditional puzzles and locks, alongside the murder mystery elements. It felt like a full forensic investigation, in which we tested blood, searched for hidden messages, compared handwriting and listened intently to cassette tape recordings. All in an attempt to find key pieces of evidence that would lead us towards the killer. The experience manages to pack in a significant number of tasks across the 90 minutes, with plenty to share out across a larger team.
Before our visit, we were delighted to learn that The Murder of Max Sinclair had been announced as one of only 7 UK-based TERPECA 2025 finalists. Having now played the room, we can totally see why. It is a real treat for fans of the noir/detective genre and a great fusion of escape room, murder mystery and immersive theatre. It was an absolute joy to play and I cannot wait to see what Ronan dreams up next.
Ranking
We sadly didn’t have time to play Director’s Cut, the second of the ‘mini’ cases, but we will be back to play it in future. Our current rankings for the rooms we have played at Case Closed are:
| 1 | Radio Nowhere |
| 2 | The Murder of Max Sinclair |
| 3 | Deep Cover |
We escaped… now what?
We had an absolute BLAST at Case Closed, despite our mostly serious looks in the photo above. We’d been told that the rooms here were special, but we hadn’t anticipated just how memorable they would be. Ronan’s enthusiasm for all of the experiences was infectious, and we were honoured to have him running all three rooms for us. There was no time pressure at all, with the focus more on the experience, rather than escaping within a certain time. This allowed us to fully engage with the cases we were tackling, and take time to work through and piece together the evidence.
Case Closed is an absolute must visit if you are in Edinburgh. These aren’t traditional escape rooms, but if you enjoy playing detective, fancy yourself as a radio DJ, or just want to experience something unique, then I’d highly recommend giving these a shot. You won’t regret it!
Please note: We weren’t charged for the rooms we played; however, this in no way impacts how we cover this venue and our experiences. This article includes my honest opinions about each of the rooms, and I don’t shy away from highlighting both positive and negative aspects.
Find Case Closed online
Discover more from The Escape Puzzler - Puzzle Game Reviews and More!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
