Love love love escape rooms. Anyone reading this who used to watch the Crystal Maze? Well, you’re in for a treat because Escape room – Never Give Up on Scotswood Road in Newcastle is like the Crystal Maze version of escape rooms and what fun we had!

There are two challenges, Dr Fitzakerley’s Dungeon and King Tut’s Tomb. Our friends had booked us in to do the second one which had a difficulty rating of 3. The Dungeon has a rating of 4 so we figured that would be in our favour for our first attempt.

Not exactly an escape room, more an escape maze challenge. The story behind it is that King Tut the ruler of Egypt built a hidden temple in the desert to store all his wealth and in order to protect it he created rooms and puzzles to test skill, mental and physical abilities. Only the brightest, strongest and quickest will be able to escape the tomb and find his treasure. Was that us???? Ermmm, not exactly but we had fun finding out!

There were seven of us in our team, and we nominated a team captain who was assigned with the task of organising us. They put forward who they thought would do well for each of the 3 minute physical, mental and skill based challenges. These last about 35 minutes. Each challenge you complete earns you a ‘cluesphere’ to use in the final game at the end where you all work together to get out. This takes about 25 minutes. I won’t put any spoilers in here, but I will mention that the game can be a little dark and scary. It can involve some climbing, crawling and confined spaces so wear suitable clothing and make sure you’re up for it, as once you’re in, you’re in!! If you’re not the physical type though, then you could just play the mental and skill games instead.  If you want to try the physical games they don’t require you to be a high level of fitness so there will definitely be challenges that everyone can try. You have a guide with you throughout the maze who will help, encourage, laugh at and with you, so any difficulties just let them know. They are a vital part of the game and really set the mood.

You do get exclusive use of the maze for your team, so you won’t be mixed in with people you don’t know, and as 13-16 year olds can play without being accompanied by an adult it’s perfect for teens who want to have a bit of a fun without their mams and dads around and still be safe (a parent or guardian is required to sign a disclaimer at the start). Younger ones need at least 1 adult present and due to the very slightly scary nature of it they aim it at 8 year old and up.

There are peak and off peak prices, we went on a Sunday when it was a little cheaper. It was £20 per adult, £12 for children, £15 for teens and a family ticket based on 2 adults and 3 children was £70.

It’s a great 1 hour of fun for all ages and although we went with a group of friends, even if you were a couple or small family, it would be just as much fun. You can play as a minimum group of 2 people, up to 12 max. The good thing about it is that you only pay for who attends, unlike some escape rooms which charge per game regardless of how many are taking part.

But we didn’t get out…………………

Well, eventually we did, but we needed some help. 🙂

My friends over at StreetAway are currently offering an exclusive voucher to get entry for 6 for the price of 5 for the 1 hour Egyptian escape room. Make sure you call the venue to book once you have purchased. They have lots of great offers, so be sure to check them out.

And if that all sounds like too much fun, you can try Exit Games without leaving the house! We bought the one below from Amazon for my daughter for Christmas and had great fun, although we did scratch our heads a lot to begin with.

Exit:The Abandoned Cabin

Have you tried Dr Fitzakerley’s Dungeon and King Tut’s Tomb at Escape Rooms? Or both? Which did you prefer? Let me know in the comments below and also mention if you’ve tried any of the other Escape/Exit Rooms in Newcastle? We need a few recommendations as to where to go next.