Locked City: The Curse of Covent Garden

Legend speaks of a curse haunting the inhabitants of Covent Garden and turning them to stone. Follow the cryptic trail and lift the curse before it is too late…

Rating: Great Fun!
Completion Time: 1hr15
Date Played: 19th of July 2020
Party Size: 3

The Curse of Covent Garden … Something is afoot in the West End! A mysterious curse turning people across Covent Garden into stone? Spooooooky!

For me at least, outdoor games are the perfect remedy for the slowly-coming-out-of-lockdown season (that’s a mouthful!). It’s sunny out, summer has arrived – and if you’re not yet comfortable going back into an escape room, it’s a good way to reconnect with friends in an environment you can control.

So in all, what better way to spend a friend’s birthday than running around a gorgeous area in London, hunting for clues, and learning genuinely interesting facts? There is no better way, Locked City’s Covent Garden experience is fantastic!

In terms of gameplay, The Curse of Covent Garden has you solve 19 clues and travel to 19 locations within a small area in London. The clues range from spotting things in your environment, to some quirky local knowledge (nothing you couldn’t figure out though!), to cipher shift puzzles, to anagrams, and of course directional puzzles too. There’s a little bit of everything in this game.

The walk comes in at (my guess) 2 – 3km and it starts and ends in roughly the same location which is perfect. Without giving any spoilers away, you’ll have to walk down to the river at some point, see some very cool art at another point, and pass some very cool looking places to eat!

Compared to all of the other outdoor hunts I’ve played, I’d probably pitch this on the easier end of the scale? We didn’t get stuck at any point (zero penalties – woop!) and, apart from doubling back on ourselves just once, the route was easy to follow. For the seasoned puzzler, you’ll whizz through like we did (in fact, here’s a challenge – can you beat our leaderboard score?!).

For the more relaxed crowd, this game is perfect. I’m recommending this one for a family group in particular! The kids will love fighting over the mobile phone and reading clues… With plenty of cafe and pub stops, honestly you can afford to take it easy, look at the sights, stop for an ice cream or two … Or even pose in front of the giant rainbow currently outside Covent Garden 👇

All in all, a really good time. Honestly, I just had a lot of fun! I cannot wait for Locked City to expand their hunts to more areas of London … More, more, more, please!

The Curse of Covent Garden can be purchased for £25 a team on Locked City‘s website. You can start at any time from purchase, so does not need to be booked in advance.