Escape Rooms Cardiff (ERC) is located in the heart of Wales’ capital city, just a stone’s throw away from Cardiff Castle. It currently features seven uniquely themed escape rooms, offering options for all tastes:
“From retro-futuristic space adventures to medieval heists, a zombie apocalypse, archaeological dig sites, haunted hotel elevators, and creepy apartments to the classic Sherlock Holmes rescue, every adventure is a race against the clock where every second counts.”
We arrived by car for both of our visits; however, the venue is a ten-minute walk from Cardiff Central train station. The city is also full of great coffee shops and food spots that are perfect for refuelling. I’d recommend visiting Cardiff Market, situated nearby, as it features a plethora of food options from all over the world. We stopped at WhoCult for delicious coffee and giant donuts, followed by a lunch break at Vietnamese restaurant Pho!
Arrival
We made two separate visits to ERC over a couple of months, both of which were superb. I’ll cover each of the rooms we did in this article, except for one. Oculus the Serial Killer has closed for a revamp since we visited (closed as of August 2025). As the decor and puzzles will be changing, I’ll wait until we play Oculus 2 to share my thoughts. The fact that ERC regularly update their rooms, including cosmetic changes and new puzzles, solves a big issue I have with the lack of escape room replayability. Rooms that have been refreshed have a ‘2’ after the name to clearly indicate that it’s a new version.
A special shout-out to Alex, who was a fantastic host for both of our visits. Strong Welsh accent and witty banter? Check! Motivational/hype skills? Exceptional! His passion and enthusiasm for the job really boosted the experience for us.
The Cardiff Castle
“It’s the 1404 and the English have occupied Cardiff’s most precious asset – our castle. Glyndwr has plans to take it back – an epic battle – but first he needs your help! You need to search around the castle to find the secret entrance and retrieve the plans so he can formulate his attack!”
Cardiff Castle was first up! If a medieval heist sounds like your cup of tea, then this may be the adventure for you. It spans multiple rooms, each with a distinct look and feel. It also features a variety of traditional manual locks and mechanisms. The historical theming was wonderful and perfectly fitting due to the company’s proximity to the actual Cardiff Castle. Goblets, dusty portraits and locked chests adorned one room, which felt like a set from Game of Thrones.
The game followed a mixed linear/non-linear structure that tested our communication, dexterity and observation skills. There were lots of puzzles to work through, with a good variety of tasks that gave each player their moment to shine. Unfortunately, we lost some time trying to open a particular lock, only to discover later that it had malfunctioned. This is always frustrating, but we ultimately got it open and the GM apologised for the inconvenience.
Overall, we enjoyed The Cardiff Castle, which was a fun historical jaunt into Cardiff’s medieval past.
The 13th Floor
“The 13th Floor takes place in the abandoned Henderson Hotel with a dark and twisted past. In your exploration, you are met with the ghost of the hotel’s final owner. He strikes a bargain with you to find his fortune within the hour. Step into the elevator, and ascend to the 13th Floor, but be warned – this is no ordinary elevator, and if you fail, 13 floors is a long way to fall…”
We’d heard a lot of buzz about TERPECA 2024 nominee The 13th Floor, which is the newest addition to ERC. This was our second game of the day, and quite a departure from the more ‘traditional’ Cardiff Castle. It stood out from the other games we’ve played due to its effective use of a smaller space and the novel approach to gameplay. It is a modern 2.0 escape room that utilises electronic locks, along with other immersive elements, which add some extra surprises. This technical wizardry, made possible by the room’s modern technology, boosted immersion and led to some fun reveals along the way.
The set design looked so authentic that one of our team who is afraid of heights, was scared to enter the lift at the start! Alex (GM) had to reassure us that it wasn’t an actual lift, but that the technology used would simulate the feeling of movement. As we stepped inside and the doors closed behind us, we had no idea what to expect…
The 13th Floor is a fantastic linear room that slowly reveals each puzzle in a fun way as the elevator ‘ascends’. There are lots of tactile puzzles to solve, with plenty of teamwork required. The story was also engaging and had us invested in urgently working through each level. Despite its spooky vibes, I wouldn’t class this as a horror room – it was unsettling at times, but never felt all-out scary. We escaped with about 10 minutes to spare, after losing a decent chunk of time on one puzzle. We kicked ourselves as we had missed a key detail that would have allowed us to solve it much more quickly.
This room was a big hit with us and definitely deserves its TERPECA nomination! Kudos to the team at ERC, who have managed to create a very memorable experience in a relatively small space using some great technological enhancements.
Astro Quest
“Your brother Andy won’t let you play on his copy of the latest video game sensation, Astro Quest. When the opportunity presents itself to break into his room, you can’t resist. Can you find the game and complete it before he gets home?”
We were all hit by a wave of nostalgia as we entered the retro-themed kids’ bedroom that makes up the first part of Astro Quest. It was like being thrown back into our childhoods. We were mesmerised by the many familiar items dotted around the bedroom: an old game console, posters of 80s/90s blockbuster films (Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park), a Thunderbirds toy and a lava lamp. The puzzles in this room were really fun and creative, fully making use of the retro theme. I was particularly fond of one that utilised a book collection identical to one I owned as a child. The mechanism for unlocking the path forward was also a magical and thrilling moment.
We shot through the bedroom portion of the game very quickly, before being magically transported onto a spaceship. The theming, as we’ve come to expect from ERC’s rooms, was fantastic. Neon lights, mechanical doors and a control room with various screens and panels. There was a mix of linear and non-linear puzzles that utilised all of our different skill sets; communication was key. A task involving wires nearly tore the team apart, but we pulled together and raced to the end. All-in-all, it took us 39 minutes to escape, which we were extremely happy with!
Astro Quest is a solid room full of heart and wonder. It’s retro theming ramped up our nostalgia, before transporting us to space for the second half of the mission. We left the room grinning from ear to ear, and ultimately, what better review is there for an experience than a huge smile?
Ranking
Our current team rankings for the rooms we’ve played at ERC are:
| 1 | The 13th Floor |
| 2 | Astro Quest |
| 3 | The Cardiff Castle |
We’ve escaped… now what?
Our GM Alex snapped some team photos before escorting us back to the main reception, where we were issued with collectable stickers. One is handed out for each room you complete, and there is no additional charge for these. The free swag is a neat touch, but if you want to make your visit even more memorable, I’d recommend checking out the enamel pins. These exquisitely designed keepsakes are available for each room and are a must for pin collectors! I was tempted to buy them all, but decided to only buy one when I’ve completed the corresponding room.
We plan to return and complete the remaining rooms later in the year, so keep an eye out for part two! The rooms we still have to play are:
- The Tomb 2: Curse of the Serpent
- Sherlock 2: Moriarty’s Revenge
- Z (Zombies!)
- Oculus the Serial Killer 2
We LOVED both of our visits to Escape Rooms Cardiff! The staff were incredibly friendly, funny and accommodating. Although these trips were relatively close together, there were notable changes in the lobby when we returned for our second visit. New cinema-style seating had been added to make the short wait to play your game even more comfortable. The gift shop also sells a great selection of branded souvenirs and escape games from different publishers (i.e. Unlock games). We cannot wait to head back soon to play more games and, of course, buy more enamel pins!
Please note: We weren’t charged for some of these rooms; however, this in no way impacts how I write about 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.
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