clueQuest (London, UK) // Review

clueQuest is an award-winning escape room centre based in the King’s Cross area of London. Home to five unique rooms, it fuses traditional and technological elements to offer original immersive experiences. With rooms for beginners and escape room enthusiasts alike, there really is no excuse to stop by!

We weren’t charged for the rooms we played, but this is an honest reflection of our experience on the day.

Overview

What is clueQuest?

I’ll let you in on a secret, and if anyone asks, didn’t hear this from me. clueQuest isn’t an escape room venue; it’s actually a top-secret spy agency headquarters. They market themselves as an ‘escape room’ venue in a clever plot to attract curious minds with an affinity for puzzle-solving. Individuals with this specific skillset are vital to the agency’s attempts to fend off the nefarious schemes of criminal mastermind Professor BlackSheep.The agency’s chief mouse in command, Mr Q, needs all the help he can get!

We were granted the highest clearance level for the duration of our visit, so we might assist with three time-critical incidents. While some missions can be tackled by civilians (beginners), the ones we took on were particularly challenging; perfect for experienced spies (enthusiasts). Where many venues offer a set of completely unrelated rooms, we loved the mission structure here. Each game feels like part of the wider ‘universe’, with familiar characters popping up across each of them. Missions can be played in any order, although I’d recommend working through based on difficulty level.

The Venue

clueQuest is a short 10-15 minute walk from King’s Cross St Pancras Underground and train station. On-street parking is available, but spaces are limited, and charges may apply.

The clueQuest building is massive, boasting multiple versions of its current slate of five escape rooms. This makes it the perfect venue for large groups, as it can accommodate a high volume of players. It is also possible to arrange head-to-head matches, where multiple teams race to complete the same room simultaneously. As we wound our way through the seemingly infinite series of corridors, we encountered lots of bespoke artwork and wall installations. These all fit within the overall theme and sparked joy as we headed towards our next room.

We came across four different waiting areas during our visit, and these allow teams to be spaced out throughout the venue. There were some larger, more raucous groups while we were there, but we were quickly relocated to a quieter space. Helpfully, each waiting zone has a QR code that can be scanned to order food or drinks to your table.

Accessibility

All games, excluding IAMAI, are accessible to wheelchair users via a wheelchair lift. IAMAI is only partially accessible, as you need to be able to climb four steps to reach the room. clueQuest may be unable to accommodate powered wheelchairs due to weight restrictions for the lift. Some puzzle elements may be out of reach for wheelchair users. My recommendation is to contact the venue in advance if you have specific access requirements; they can then advise on if/how they can accommodate these.

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The Rooms

Revenge of the Sheep

Players: 2-7 | Duration: 60 mins | Age: 14+ | Difficulty: 4/5

“Technology used by Professor BlackSheep poses a serious threat: by transforming anyone in the range of its evil rays into a placid sheep! To make matters worse, the Professor has set up several such devices in key locations around the planet! You have 60 Minutes to locate and deactivate these devices before it’s too late for mankind!”

Our thoughts

Revenge of the Sheep features a blend of linear and non-linear gameplay, which worked really well for us. We were given a clear objective: locate and disable a series of innocuous-looking post boxes that have been turned into weapons by Professor BlackSheep. Most of them must be disabled remotely, but the final post box requires manual intervention.  The mission kicks off in a relatively small space that manages to conceal some unique, tactile puzzles.  It took us a little while to warm up, but when we did, we had a wave of lightbulb moments. Before long, we were on a roll and a larger room revealed itself. This is where the hard work really began!

Of the three rooms we played, this one had by far the most traditional padlocks. It also featured some really creative hiding places, fragments of answers discreetly hidden and really fun physical items to interact with. The clueing for puzzles was great, and given how much there is to get through, that was welcomed. One particularly memorable puzzle involved the clever use of an umbrella. It took a while for it to click, but once it did, we were thrilled. We also enjoyed using a bespoke tape measure for another task, which was something we hadn’t come across before.

clueQuest really excels in its use of technology, which was perfectly exhibited through the use of augmented reality. This is my first encounter with AR in an escape room setting, and the extra dimension it adds to gameplay blew my mind. Some of the team felt a little left out due to only one person being able to operate the device, but it wasn’t long before more teamwork was required. The game had a very satisfying climax, which left us excited to play the rest of the rooms.

You can use the provided walkie-talkie to communicate with your GM, if needed. We struggled a little with the sound quality, and preferred the method used in IAMAI for requesting hints. On the flip side, I never thought I’d be raving about a torch, but this room had by far the best torch I’ve ever come across. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to contend with a weak beam or faulty connection in an escape room, so this was a godsend! Ironically, we didn’t need to use it too much, but this sort of quality should be industry standard.

I want to end with a shout-out to our wonderful GM, Confidence, who spotted that an item was missing from the room during our briefing. Mistakes happen, but if a GM spots them, this can save a team from a lot of frustration. She resolved the problem very efficiently and ensured that we had the best experience playing the room.

cQ ORIGENES

Players: 2-7 | Duration: 60 mins | Age: 14+ | Difficulty: 5/5

“To stop Professor BlackSheep from breaching our firewall, you and your team will have to access Mr Q’s old base. The only way in is to shrink down to the size of a mouse with the help of the Shrink’o’Mat. You’ll have only 60 minutes to counteract the cyber attack and secure the mainframe before the Shrink’o’Mat’s effect wears off and things get messy.”

Our thoughts

If you’ve ever watched Honey, I Shrunk The Kids or Ant-Man, you’ll have some idea why we were so excited to play cQ ORIGENES. It features a really fun mechanic, where the team must shrink down to the size of a mouse to access Mr. Q’s old base. Why do they need to do this? Well, to avert a crisis, of course – this time, a cyber attack orchestrated by none other than Professor BlackSheep.

Before starting the mission, we were each assigned a role, such as Captain or Navigator. These were important early on, so thankfully we all did a good job of remembering them. This room combines linear and non-linear gameplay across two distinctly different rooms. In the first, your job is to fire up the Shrink’o’mat, which is trickier than it looks! Once you’ve shrunk down, you’ll explore the old base, which is full of secrets, hidden objects and mind-bending challenges.

As with the other rooms at clueQuest, there is a large element of searching. I actually relished in the role of key searcher, which meant I wasn’t left standing around while others were tackling a puzzle. It was thrilling to step into a space where everything was super-sized. A gigantic working padlock was particularly impressive, along with a huge box of matches and a giant cassette player. Interestingly, the giant padlock is the only traditional lock in the room. Instead, you’ll be moving sliders, turning gears and slotting objects into place. Standout moments were firing up the Shrink’o’mat for the first time, with all of the cool sounds and lights, and when the ah-ha moment hit with the giant cassette player.

Our team of four felt like the perfect size, and we each had moments to shine. There was one very fiddly puzzle right at the end of the game that cost us a large chunk of time. It relied heavily on teamwork, and with the added time pressure, it certainly kept us on our toes. Our hearts raced as we frantically fired up the Shrink’o’mat to return to our normal size, finishing with minutes to spare. cQ ORIGENES was a big hit with our team, in no small part because of the supersized nature. We can only imagine what they could do with this concept in an even bigger space.

IAMAI

Players: 4-8 | Duration: 72 mins | Age: 14+ | Difficulty: 5/5

“MM7 has retreated to one of our safe houses after being attacked by an unidentified assailant. Your objective is to reach MM7, prevent a system-wide breach, and capture the rogue AI threatening the world’s online safety. Word of caution: our intel suggests the AI is evolving fast, and it may not remain contained for long.”

Our thoughts

IAMAI is clueQuest’s newest addition – and they’ve gone all out to create a large-scale immersive experience that’s perfect for enthusiasts. With a 5/5 difficulty rating, even the most experienced players will be challenged, and we were certainly no exception to that. One silver lining is that IAMAI features a slightly longer playtime than the other CQ missions, running at 72 minutes. I’d recommend playing the easier missions first if you don’t have much escape room experience; that way you’ll get to appreciate IAMAI fully.

Before we were taken to the room, each team member had to undergo a routine facial scan for security reasons. With MM7 under attack by AI, our handler needed to be sure that we hadn’t been corrupted before granting us access to the facility. With the security checks passed, Rowen led us into the room where we were all taken aback by its sheer size. Even a team of eight – the maximum recommended team size – would have plenty of room to move around. It’s worth flagging that this is the only clueQuest room with a four-player minimum requirement, for reasons that will become apparent when you play.

There isn’t a single physical padlock in the room. Instead, the technology-driven space features numerous screens, buttons and joysticks to interact with. This led to some inventive puzzles that challenged our approach to puzzle solving, putting our communication skills to the test. A standout moment was the exciting reveal of an impressive animatronic that added an extra dimension to the gameplay. Given the heavy use of technology, we were very astonished by how slick everything was. There were no technical issues at all, and that is a real testament to how well-built the room is. 

Several tasks required multiple team members to work on a puzzle simultaneously, which we welcomed. Some puzzles involved multiple stages, with each building on the next, which was also really satisfying. The room was super tactile, with lots of physical items to interact with in unique ways. The icing on the cake was some fun personalisation, but I won’t comment on that any further to avoid spoilers!

If we had to highlight anything negative at all, it’s that it was a shame it was just one room. There are lots of smaller spaces that open up throughout the game, though, so there are still plenty of surprises. We had an absolute blast playing IAMAI! It really is an exceptional room that’s definitely among the best I’ve played in the UK. If the quality is anything to go by, future clueQuest rooms will continue to push creative and technological boundaries!

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Ranking

Our team rankings for the rooms we’ve played at clueQuest are:

1	IAMAI
2	cQ ORIGENES
3	Revenge of the Sheep

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Mission(s) accomplished… now what?

Our day at clueQuest was fantastic, due in no small part to the creative, challenging rooms and the exceptional customer service. Confidence and Rowen were superb Game Masters: highly attentive, full of energy and good humour, and genuinely lovely individuals. They elevated our experience, and I’m not just saying that because Rowen chose us as her ‘team of the week’. I’d go back just to spend time with both of them, although I also have two other rooms to complete…

In addition to the traditional escape rooms on offer, clueQuest also offers a range of outdoor experiences. These ‘Glitch Hunter’ missions take place on the streets of London, Brighton or Canterbury. Race across the city to locate hidden locations, solve puzzles and unearth sinister secrets along the way.

On our way out, we stopped by the merchandise stand. It had a whole range of fun mementoes to choose from. These included key rings with your team photo, mugs and a range of play-at-home missions in puzzle book form. Printed team photos are available, but you do need to pay for these. You will also receive free high-resolution team photos for each room you’ve played.

Until next time, Mr Q! This post will self-destruct in t-minus 30 seconds…

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Find clueQuest online

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