For the latest current Covid Procedures, please see here
We are usually open 7 days a week. First Game starting at 10am and last game starting at 8.30pm, except for Sundays where last game start is 6.45pm.
For ALL rooms, there must be someone 16+ in the room responsible for anyone under the age of 16 as per Terms & Conditions. We recommend to become fully involved in the experience, players are ideally 12+. Minimum age we suggest is 10+. You may bring younger children but their participation will be more limited. It is not recommended for a 1 adult and young children team within the Treasure Of Green Beard room. For The Haunted, the minimum age is 14 and for The Maniac, the minimum age is 16.
Prices start from £50 for 2 players up to £125 for 6 players. Please see Prices page for full information.
For the comfort and enjoyment of our players, teams are minimum 2 to maximum of 5 players for Green Beard, Tomb of Akhenaten and The Maniac; and minimum 2 to a maximum of 6 players for The Haunted, Magic School & Mafia Robbery. If you have more people than this, then you will need to book more than one game.
You are welcome to bring extra people to join your game as long as you keep within the maximum number of players per room. (5 people for Green Beard, Tomb of Akhenaten & The Maniac; and 6 people The Haunted, Magic School & Mafia Robbery). Additional players need to pay on arrival and you are ready to join the escape.
Availability and booking are on the Booking page. To check availability for a specific date, input date into calendar and all vacant slots will be shown.
The whole experience should last around 80mins. This would allow 10mins prior to game time for introduction, 60mins to complete the game, and 10mins for debrief and photo opportunity if required.
No. No excessive physical activity is required in our games. There are some small staircases and steps to navigate to our reception, but that is it :)
There are no scary things or spooky stuff involved in our Green Beard, Magic School & Mafia Robbery escape rooms – its a fun game! Tomb of Akhenaten does have a mummy, but not overly scary. The Treasure of Green Beard room may be unsuitable for those who suffer severe claustrophobia. If in doubt, contact us for information. The Haunted room however speaks for itself :) For some it may be scary, hence our minimum age restriction of 14+. The Maniac is age 16+ (please see the specific room page for details of this)
All you will need is your brains and your team mates. You will also need to bring reading glasses if you need them, they would be a big help :)
When the big day arrives and you come to Cryptic Escape – please arrive at your scheduled booked game time, for your briefing and introduction. As these are live-action events, you MUST arrive on time in order to participate. We cannot wait for latecomers as this is unfair to later groups whose times would all have to be pushed back. Therefore leave ample time to allow for traffic and parking. The clock will start 10 mins following your game time, so if arriving late, you may have less time to complete. Should you arrive more than 15 mins after your game time start, you may not be allowed to participate, and there are no refunds or exchanges. Should you arrive earlier than your game time, we may not answer straight away, as we may still be resetting rooms from the previous customers, so please bear with us and we will ensure to get you in ASAP and on time. See T's & C's for more information.
Should you arrive much earlier than the booked time, we may not be able to allow early entry. This would be because we are finishing the setting of the rooms from the previous customers, and due to our building having shared occupancy, we are not permitted to allow customers to wait unattended. Therefore, please bear with us and if early, we will get you in ASAP.
At Tombland we do have one staff toilet which customers are more than welcome to use. However, as we have 4 rooms, this can be impractical if everyone arrives needing the WC, so we ask to please try and use alternative facilities prior to arrival to avoid delays and loss of game time. At Rose Lane you are welcome to use the Car Parks indoor toilet facilities on the ground floor. Please try to use before arriving at the game.
Tombland site: We are sorry, but due to the nature of the building, access is difficult and unsuitable for wheelchair users as there are steps to the rooms, and two of the rooms and reception are within the basement.
Rose Lane: This site can cater for single wheelchair access to our Magic School room.
Please see Access Statement here
For Tombland - Our nearest car park is St Andrews multi storey on Duke Street.
For Rose Lane - Nearest parking is of course Rose Lane Multi Storey where we are located.
Our confirmations are automated, so the main reason you may not receive one is because it may send to your Spam/Junk folder, especially if you have a Hotmail account. Please check these. If not there, please email us and we will investigate and forward it to you, as the next main reason is an incorrect email address entered at the booking stage :)
This is a live event game, and once the booking is confirmed, we cannot accept cancellations or provide refunds. You may be able to reschedule the booking for another time by giving us at least 7 days notice. Any changes, if accepted, less than 7 days notice will be subject to a re-booking admin fee. Please see “Terms & Conditions” for full details.
Due to the nature of our business (i.e. live experience) we can not refund in case team members drop out, but we will do our best to help you reschedule when possible if this affects the capacity of the rest of the group to attend, under our Terms and Conditions which may involve a re-booking fee. If you are unsure of the final numbers attending a game session, then we advise to book for the minimum amount of players required per room, which is 2. You can then add more players on the day of your booking, whom will pay just the additional cost per person on arrival.
Please contact us for any Corporate Event requests, as we may be able to offer a discounted rate for large bookings of 20+
Should you require conference facilities, meeting rooms, accommodaton etc for your corporate event, then please contact our preferred partner, the nearby Maids Head Hotel. For enquiries contact Rose on 01603 272008 or email events@maidsheadhotel.co.uk.
If you’d like to give the game experience as a gift to your friends or relatives, Cryptic Escape’s “gift voucher” is the answer. These are now available 'online' and are printable or may also be forwarded by email to the recipient with a personalised message. The gift vouchers are valid for 1 year and must be redeemed for a Cryptic Escape game that takes place within 1 year from the purchase date. Gift Vouchers may be purchased from the Gift Voucher page and click on the blue Gift Voucher button.
