There are a multitude of Escape Rooms in the Bournemouth area; 7 companies offering a total of 14 real life escape rooms, plus a further 15 Virtual Reality escape rooms, to be precise. These cover a broad spectrum of theme and difficulty, from trying to rescue a scared animal to trying to escape a deranged cannibal.
I won’ t go into too much detail, as that kind of defeats the object of an escape room. So, without giving too much away, here is a run down of the Escape Rooms based around Bournemouth:
Escape Room Companies
- Arcadia
- Clue HQ
- Escape Hunt
- MARVO Mysteries
- The Lockey
- Ouija
- Centre VR
1. Arcadia
Bournemouth’s newest Escape Rooms are at Arcadia on Poole Hill, with four different rooms on offer locally, plus a fifth room (The Crypt) in Fordingbridge. The basic price is £26.99 per person. They also offer VIP admission, which includes a photo booklet, for £29.99.
Escape Rooms
- New York Underworld
- Cadaver
- The Street Artist
- House of Dolls
| Players | 2-8 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost per person | £26.99-£29.99 |
New York Underworld
New York Underworld “takes place in 1930 on the streets of Little Italy. You have been tasked as an undercover federal agent to investigate the old barbershop, as something fishy is going on inside!“
- Difficulty rating 3/5
- Suitable for Age 12+
Cadaver
In Cadaver; “You’ve been abducted by Dr D Ranged and have woken up in his laboratory of horrors. Here he takes innocent bystanders and turns them into mutilated experiments… But you have a chance to escape before your time is up!“
- Difficulty rating 3/5
- Suitable for Age 16+
The Street Artist
In The Street Artist; “Reporting on the story of the world-famous graffiti artist who is hiding in the city. Your news firm will pay top dollar for information leading to his identity, so when tipped about the whereabouts of his hideout your aim is simple… or is it?“
- Difficulty rating 3.5/5
- Suitable for Age 10+
House of Dolls
In House of Dolls; “Located in the depths of a dark forest, you and your friends have found the abandoned Haunted Manor of Lady Elinor Black, and her collection of dolls. Once inside you and your team are sealed within, and now must find the skeleton keys to escape a fate worse than death...”
- Difficulty rating 3.5/5
- Suitable for Age 16+
2. Clue HQ
Clue HQ is based inside Laser Quest in central Bournemouth. It is underneath Glenfern multi storey car park, so a convenient choice if you are driving. It offers three different escape rooms. The cost depends on the number of players, ranging from £30 per person for two players to £20 per person for a group of six.
Escape Rooms
- Bunker 38
- Cell Block C
- The Betrayal of Cluetankhamun
| Players | 2-6 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost per person | £20-£30 |
Bunker 38
In Bunker 38; “You’ve been living in an underground bunker for years due to a radiation leak. Now you’ve been given the all clear, but you’re locked in and oxygen levels are running low! With only 60 minutes of breathable air left, will you be able to escape in time?“
We chose Bunker 38 for my teenage niece and nephew. It was necessary to solve a range of puzzles in order to make their escape. They managed it in the nick of time, with a mere three seconds to spare. And I thought teenagers knew everything?
- Suitable for Age 10+
Cell Block C
In Cell Block C; “You’ve been framed for a crime you didn’t commit, and you’re about to be sentenced to a lifetime in prison. You know that notorious criminal Danny Badd is responsible, but with only 60 minutes before you face the jury, you don’t have the resources to prove your innocence. Can you escape the top security Cell Block C and buy yourself some time or will you be locked away forever?”
- Suitable for Age 10+
The Betrayal of Cluetankhamun
In The Betrayal of Cluetankhamun; “Just over a month ago the long lost tomb of Cluetankhamun was unearthed for the first time in over 3 millennia. A team of explorers were sent in to recover the Cluetan Crystal, a jewel believed to possess the power of the Nile. It has been several days since last contact with the exploring party so it’s time to send a new expedition down into the tomb to retrieve the crystal. But watch your step – Who knows what happened to the last exploring party?“
- Suitable for Age 10+
3. Escape Hunt
Escape Hunt, based in the BH2 Leisure Complex, has five rooms on offer. Prices are from £21.25 to £30, depending on player’s age and day of the week. We opted for the Escape the Wild West room, further details below.
Escape Rooms
- Alice in Puzzleland
- Blackbeard’s Treasure
- Aladdin and the Magic Vault
- Curse of the Pharaoh
- Escape the Wild West
| Players | 2-6 |
| Duration | 60 mins |
| Cost per person | £21.25-£30 |
City Hunt
In addition, there two City Hunt games, which involve solving clues on a trail (distance approximately 2 km) around Bournemouth. It costs £15 per person over the age of 8.
- Return to Wonderland
- Time Cops
| Players | 2-6 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Cost per person | £15 |
Alice in Puzzleland
In Alice in Puzzleland; “Step into Wonderland, where the Hatter has been accused of stealing the Queen’s tarts. With Alice nowhere to be seen, it’s time for you to fill her shoes. Find and return the Queen’s tarts in 60 minutes, or it’s off with the Hatter’s head.“
- Suitable for Age 8+
Blackbeard’s Treasure
In Blackbeard’s Treasure; “Step onto a pirate galleon in the middle of a battle. The captain, Blackbeard, has just been killed and his ship is sinking fast. You decide to steal Blackbeard’s treasure chest before jumping ship. You’ve broken into his cabin, but now the door has jammed shut and you have 60 minutes to escape or drown.“
- Suitable for all ages
Aladdin and the Magic Vault
In Aladdin and the Magic Vault; “Abanazar has tricked Aladdin out of his magic lamp and whisked it away to a Magic Vault, secured with powerful spells, in a heavily guarded palace in the desert. You must break the spells, retrieve the lamp and rescue the genie before it’s too late.”
Suitable for all ages
Curse of the Pharaoh
In Curse of the Pharaoh; “an ancient curse has been unleashed and a fearsome mummy roams the land. Archaeologists have opened a pharaoh’s tomb and taken a sacred amulet. But taking the amulet has unleashed a walking curse in the form of a hideous mummy, which now stalks the land taking revenge on all who desecrated its master’s tomb. Your must lead a team of adventurers into the pharaoh’s lair, return the amulet and break the curse before it’s too late.”
- Suitable for Age 8+
Escape the Wild West
In Escape the Wild West; “the frontier town of East Victoria is celebrating the discovery of gold. But the celebrations turn sour when news arrives that the bloodthirsty Bill French Gang are on their way to claim the gold – and kill everyone in East Victoria for good measure! With no sheriff around your only hope is a rusty old locomotive that hasn’t worked in years – but with just one hour to get it going and escape with your lives, you need to think fast and work even faster.“
- Suitable for Age 8+
In this ‘lock & key’ style escape room, you must work through the clues and challenges in a series of rooms, collecting as much gold and coal as possible along the way. Then, you can use the coal to fire up the locomotive at the end to escape with the gold. We enjoyed this room, although it was quite challenging and we escaped with just a minute to spare. Yeehaw! There are plenty of props in the foyer for that post escape selfie.
Return to Wonderland
In Return to Wonderland; “The looking glass is shattered, and Wonderland’s citizens have disappeared. By order of the Queen, help the White Rabbit to return everyone to Wonderland or it’s off with his head. Tick Tock.“
- Suitable for all ages
Time Cops
In Time Cops; “A message from the future reveals that Bournemouth is ground zero for a global catastrophe caused by an A.I. going rogue and destroying humanity. Your team of Time Cops are the only hope of preventing this disaster.”
- Suitable for all ages
4. MARVO Mysteries
MARVO Mysteries in Boscombe offers just one game, but has three copies, thus giving larger groups the opportunity to compete against each other. Room 2, a sequel game is currently under construction. The cost is £28-£32 per person, depending on the size of the group, with a 10% discount available on certain days.
Escape Rooms
- MARVO
| Players | 2-8 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost per person | £25-£32 |
In MARVO; “You enter the world of MARVO as Volunteers looking to recover a Mysterious Artifact. But all is not what it seems. Old myths and legends give a glimpse into another world, a mirror world, a wonderland filled with powerful Artifacts, has someone found a way to travel between them?”
- Difficulty rating 42%
- Suitable for age 10+
5. The Lockey
The Lockey is based at two locations in central Bournemouth. It offers two actual escape rooms, plus one escape game, ranging in difficulty and scariness. The escape room price is £26 per person, while the Mask game costs £18. Various offers are also available.
Escape Rooms
- Hannibal
- Jungle Hunt
| Players | 2-8 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost per person | £26 |
Escape Game
- The Mask
| Players | 2-8 |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Cost per person | £18 |
Jungle Hunt
Jungle Hunt is a family friendly escape room, where; “Two warring jungle tribes decide to marry off the prince and the princess from either tribe. They need the help of a sacred white bat, the, which is an important part of the ceremony, but someone has kidnapped the bat. You must hunt down and rescue the bat in time for the wedding or risk being trapped in the jungle when war breaks out.” This room is located at 2 Yelverton Road.
- Suitable for Age 7+
Hannibal
In Hannibal; “You thought it was a simple dinner invitation, but things have taken a chilling turn. You awaken in a cage, your heart pounding as your captor informs you dinner is to be served in just one hour. Hannibal, infamous for his sinister desires, is your dreaded captor. Can you decipher the clues, outsmart the fiend, and escape the clutches of a cannibalistic nightmare?” This room is in Centre VR in Richmond Gardens.
- Difficulty rating ‘challenging’
- Suitable for Age 12+
The Mask
In The Mask; “Your team must decipher a sequence of challenges presented by the nefarious antagonist, The Mask.” This is more a game than a room, and is played using a giant touch screen to examine clues, solve puzzles and receive communications from the Mask. The game is located in Centre VR in Richmond Gardens.
- Difficulty rating ‘very challenging’
- Suitable for Age 7+
6. Ouija
Ouija offers two different immersive horror-themed escape experiences. The rooms are in Charminster Road, Winton, approximately 1 mile north of central Bournemouth. The cost is £25 per person during the week and £28 at weekends.
Escape Rooms
- Crematorium
- The Infirmary
| Players | 2-6 (2-11 for Crematorium) |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost per person | £25-28 |
Crematorium
Ouija aren’t giving much away about Crematorium, other than that it’s scary. Note, if one person leaves the game, you have to forfeit and everyone must leave. A recent reviewer on Trip Advisor gave the game 5/5, then went on the say it made him pee his pants. Whatever turns you on….
- Suitable for Age 16+
The Infirmary
Ouija’s latest game is the The Infirmary. Again, they are not giving much away and I won’t be trying it out as I’m too much of a wimp.
- Suitable for Age 16+
7. Centre VR
As well as The Lockey, inside Centre VR are a selection of 14 Virtual Reality Escape Room adventures (plus a seasonal offering at Christmas). There is a diverse range of scenarios from playing croquet with Alice in Wonderland to a sabotaged space station, to being trapped in the House of Fear. The basis price is £25 per person, with special offers available.
VR Escape Rooms
- Dream Hackers
- Escape the Lost Pyramid
- Survival
- Cyberpunk
- The Prison
- Alice in Wonderland
- Beyond Medusas Gate
- Mission Sigma
- Sanctum
- Christmas
- Prince of Persia
- House of Fear
- Signal Lost
- Chernobyl
- Jungle Quest
| Players | 1-6 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost per person | £25 |
I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.
- Updated: November 2024
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