The best escape rooms in Edinburgh

It’s official, I’ve played all the escape rooms in Edinburgh – well, at least as of my time of writing this! Thankfully new and even more brilliant rooms are popping up all the time, so it’s impossible to ever really say you know a city’s escape rooms through and through. But it’s a question I (and we at The Escape Roomer) get asked a lot. With beautiful historical architecture, excellent art events, and of course the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh is a big tourist destination for visitors both from around the UK and further afield. So without further ado, thought I’d finally put a common question I’m asked into one helpful article:

What are the best escape rooms in Edinburgh

Edinburgh has approximately 35 escape rooms spread out over 8 venues. 9 if you count one venue having multiple locations. These venues are, in alphabetical order:

• Can You Escape
• Case Closed
• Department of Magic
• Escape Edinburgh (2 sites)
• Escape Hunt
• Escape Reality
• Escape the Past
• Locked In Edinburgh

In addition, Edinburgh also has a number of outdoor puzzle trail companies:

• Edinburgh Treasure Hunts
• Thunder Dices
• Treasure Hunt Edinburgh

And of course, puzzle trail companies which are available in many cities around the UK – including (but not limited to) Edinburgh:

• Killer Trails
• My City Trails
• Mystery Guides
• Questo
• Treasure Trails

The “Must Not Miss” List

If you’re travelling to Edinburgh and want to try an escape room that is either exceptionally good, or wholly unique to Edinburgh, then check out the following (in alphabetical order by room name).

Radio Nowhere by Case Closed

Radio Nowhere is equal parts satisfying escape room, and immersive experience with delightful moments of theatre both from the hosts and from the players. Whilst solving a murder, you’re also tasked with running a radio show, leaving plenty of room for shenanigans along the way.

As well as a great atmosphere there are several gimmicks (though I hesitate to use that word), that really elevate the gameplay to the next level. Simple moments of interaction I can safely say I’ve never seen at any other escape room.

You can read our full review here.

The Anatomist by Escape the Past

I always recommend The Anatomist not necessarily because it’s a fantastic escape room, but mostly because it’s so steeped in Edinburgh’s local history and as a form of media I absolutely love that. The Anatomist challenges players to step into the world of murder, mystery, and malpractice in a true story you uncover as you play.

Our review is a little old now and we may update it soon, but if you’d like to read it you can here.

The Deacon’s Cabinet by Escape the Past

Hot on The Anatomist’s heels is the newest room by Escape the Past: The Deacon’s Cabinet. Again, purely on my “highly recommended” list as this room is unique to Edinburgh in it’s local history. This room could quite literally not exist anywhere else, and if you like learning about the city you’re in and also solving puzzles at the same time then you’ll love this.

Whilst it’s been a long time since I played The Anatomist, I can’t help but compare the two. They sit very nicely together as companion pieces. In terms of theme, they both address iconic Edinburgh historical tales, but both have their own unique spin on the story they tell and the role of the players.

You can read our full review here.

The Murder of Max Sinclair by Case Closed

Max Sinclair is a great example of discovering a hidden gem. On a rainy Sunday morning we stumbled into it expecting something fine, and came out in agreement that this was without a doubt the best escape room in Scotland. Since then, the team have created more, better rooms (Radio Nowhere for example), but Max Sinclair is still something special. It’s a classic murder mystery, using video game mechanics like from the Golden Idol and Obra Dinn to help the players along, cumulating in a dramatic finale I hope all escape room designers experience and take note of.

One of the things that made Case Closed so special to me was that attention to detail, love and care. Case Closed is an escape room created by two enthusiasts and veterans of the theatre and escape room industry. They had a brilliant idea for an escape room, saved up, found a location, and brought the whole thing to life themselves.

You can read our full review here.

The “Really Good Rooms” List

The next batch of escape rooms are still, in our opinion, absolutely excellent, and definitely worth checking out once you’ve exhausted the Must Not Miss list. (in alphabetical order by room name).

Ritual by Escape Reality

If you’re surprised to see an Escape Reality game on our top list, then don’t worry – so are we! But it’s well deserving of it’s place. Ritual is a multi-room experience with fantastic set design, taking place in the mysterious headquarters of a bloodthirsty cult. It’s got great puzzles, dramatic moments, and a lot of love in it. That said, I have heard from other players that since we played some of the changes they’ve made since we played detract from the experience rather than enhance it – so take this recommendation with a pinch of salt. As for us, we loved it.

You can read our full review here.

Space Academy by Locked In Edinburgh

Sci-fi is my favourite genre of escape room, and Locked In Edinburgh have done it really well in Space Academy. So if you like sci-fi, this is probably the best room in Scotland for it. The whole thing is set inside a space shuttle and has a really fun method of passing between rooms. When we played, we had a dog with us – it’s excellent that the place is dog friendly, but oh boy was our pupper confused by suddenly being in space. If I had only one criticism its that our team photo didn’t really come out very well.

You can read our full review here.

The Pirate’s Riddle by Edinburgh Treasure Hunts

The Pirate’s Riddle is an outlier on this list as it’s actually an outdoor puzzle trail. Yet I think in terms of it’s puzzliness and excellent use of the environment and city, it’s very deserving of a place on this list. In The Pirate’s Riddle, you explore Calton Hill – a mysterious ‘desert island’ poking up out of the ocean. With you a backpack is packed full of things you’ll need, such as a telescope, pirate maps, locked boxes, and more. It’s utterly creative, light-hearted fun, and the host is probably one of my favourite puzzle designers in Edinburgh. Sabi is a pleasure to chat to!

Unfortunately you can’t read our review because I forgot to write one! Oops.

The Secret Lab by Locked In Edinburgh

Another entry by Locked In Edinburgh comes in the form of The Secret Lab. Long time favourites in the city, Locked In Edinburgh is located in Summerhall and sports a number of rooms. The Secret Lab is by far their most popular (though not necessarily my personal favourite), and it’s a large room that would be suitable for a big team. In The Secret Lab, you start locked in cages and must puzzle your way to freedom, and then onwards to solve even more puzzles. One of my favourite things about The Secret Lab is the fact it uses it’s original architecture well. The building was originally a laboratory for animals and it still very much looks like one.

Again, you can’t read our review because I forgot to write one. I’ll have to go play it again (haha, oh no! how terrible! jk)

The “Perfectly Good Escape Rooms” List

As we work down the list, I want to make it super clear these next rooms are still good! It’s just that if you only have a limited time in the city, or just want to try something super special, we’d recommend the ones above first.

Operation Odyssey by Can You Escape

I only recently discovered that Can You Escape is owned by the Escape franchise, but Can You Escape in Edinburgh manages to maintain it’s own sense of identity. Again, I’m a big fan of sci-fi and I think Can You Escape does it pretty well in Operation Odyssey. Your task is simple – restore all of the malfunctioning spaceship parts before the time runs out and the next asteroid hits. It’s a solid sci-fi escape room with some excellent puzzles and always nice hosts. Thumbs up from me.

Prophecies Quest by Department of Magic

If you like ‘magical school’ escape rooms, you’ll enjoy this one. In fact, you’ll enjoy the whole venue, since this escape room is tucked away behind a potions themed bar which you can also go to for a quick drink before or after your escape. As a “whole experience” including arriving at the site, having a drink, then going into the escape room, then Prophecies Quest is great. They’ve got the theme down perfectly, and it’s honestly a great night out. As an escape room by itself, it’s good. Probably the better of the two on offer by this company, and definitely appealing to fans of a certain wizarding franchise.

You can read our full review here.

The Cutting Room by Locked In Edinburgh

More Locked In Edinburgh? You bet! I did say they had a lot of rooms… And they’re all pretty great. The Cutting Room in particular is their first foray into “scary” with some very well timed jump scares and bloody, gorey bits. I’m not usually one for horror, but this one was absolutely fine to handle. The decor was plain, but this worked well for the hospital setting and kept the focus on the puzzles themselves which were, by and large, great fun to solve.

You can read our full review here.

The Distillery by Locked In Edinburgh

The final entry on this list comes again from Locked In Edinburgh and this time it’s The Distillery. With the exception of Space Academy, The Distillery reminds me a lot of all the other rooms at Locked In Edinburgh. It’s in a similar room, has a similar scale and length, and similar style of puzzles. Which, if you enjoy Locked In rooms, you’ll love. The Distillery’s unique theme is that it uses props from, and is connected to an actual distillery on the site.

Edinburgh Escape Rooms – Honorary Mentions

Last but not least, we’d like to extend some honorary mentions to the following escape rooms:

Operation Spellbound at Can You Escape – A magical and fun little room that has several puzzles I find particularly memorable! Whilst I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, I personally had a great time at this room.

The Magic Emporium at Escape Edinburgh – Wouldn’t be on the list only we invited a puggle (puzzle muggle) and she absolutely loved it to pieces. I’m always particularly glad when someone discovers a love of escape rooms, so The Magic Emporium must have done something right!

Literally all the experiences at Edinburgh Treasure Hunts – If it’s a sunny day outside, these are guaranteed a good time. I whole-heartedly recommend them all.