When we went to Edinburgh, Scotland, at the end of November, on a business related trip, we were looking for a room for more than just the regular 6 people to play. We got the recommendation to check out Can You Escape? Edinburgh because they offer a room that is mirrored, meaning you can race against another team to finish first, which sounded amazing. In the end, we didn’t end up going in a big group but of course we still checked it out. Here is our Review.

Can You Escape?
Edinburgh, Scotland

Location: 5 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, Scotland
Games: Operation Deadlock (Operation Odyssey)
Group: 5 People
Website: www.canyouescape.co.uk

Our Experience

It was actually our first night in town when we decided to spontaneously look if one of the Escape Rooms in the area would still have a room in the evening. Luckily, Can You Escape? was pretty close to our Hotel and they had an open Spot for Operation Deadlock. On Facebook, we already were told to check them out.  So we took the chance, booked the room and took of with part of our Bears Escape Expert Team and a complete escape room Newbie, who wanted to try his first Escape Room with us.

We were able to walk to them from our dinner location in High Street, so we arrived on time, with a full belly and ready to give all. We were welcomed by two very nice game-masters who seemed super excited, which is always a good sign. They told us the basics and the back story of the room.

We had to give a team name, separate spy names and also could take part of a charity challenge were you can put some money into a char and if you beat the high score, you get what is inside – or the content goes to charity each month, which is a super cool idea.

Operation Deadlock

You’ve never have heard of The Agency but they’ve heard of you. The Agency are a top-secret organisation recruiting only the highest calibre undercover agents. Teams will have to crack a range of puzzles, clues and riddles set by The Agency and retrieve the briefcase. Your team will be given the opportunity to pit your skills against another hopeful team in order to see who can retrieve the suitcase the quickest. 

All aspiring recruits must pass the test and the Agency will be watching. Do you have what it takes to join?

The time starts once you enter the room and the door locks behind you. The goal is to solve all so-called skill set puzzles to get to the briefcase, which will ultimately give you the code to leave the room. The different skill set puzzles are well done and offer a variety of challenging and cool tasks to solve.

It works especially well as a team room because you can do each skill set independently, while still having to communicate with your colleagues to find fast solutions. It is a single room experience. The game-master watches through cameras and communicates with you through a telephone on the wall, offering clues if needed.

We had a good time as a team and made it out with a good time. Sadly, we did not beat the record, but we can live with that.

Final Roar

It was not the technically advanced room or the one with the best room design we have played lately, but we had really good time as a team. Operation Deadlock is, in my opinion, a really well design group escape room. A two person team may end up struggling with all the different puzzles, whereas a bigger group is able to do more stuff simultaneously. In theory, you can even race against a second group in a mirrored-room right next door, which sounds amazing.

Interestingly, the game has a lot of padlocks, but it fits well into the story and the way to find the right combinations are not repetitive or boring at all. Yes, padlocks can be old-school, but we had absolutely no problems with them, if they are used in a clear way like in this room.

The game-masters were really nice and welcoming, showing a clear appreciation for their work. Our booking was pretty late, but we never got the impression that they would have preferred to be somewhere else, which is nice. We even got some little presents in the end.

Score

Where can I find them?

[mappress mapid=”13″]

Have you ever played this escape game? Or can you recommend any other location for us to try? Please let us know in the comment section.

Also – check out and follow us on YouTube and Like our Facebook Page to stay up-to-date about our posts.