With its longstanding reputation as a city of innovation, it’s no surprise that Manchester is at the cutting edge of the latest craze in town centre leisure activities - escape rooms. And it’s not only the regional capital that’s got in on the action, because top quality escape room centres can be found on high streets throughout Greater Manchester.

What exactly is an escape room? It’s a fair question, because this activity is still in its infancy, or perhaps adolescence, having cultivated a community of mega fans while still not reaching all sections of the population. For those who’ve yet to try it, an escape room is like a huge, interactive puzzle, arranged around an immersive, themed environment. You have to interact with your surroundings to find clues, unravel ciphers, reveal hidden items and spaces and, in short, beat the room! And for those who’ve already experienced a number of escape rooms, you haven’t seen anything yet! Greater Manchester boasts some of the most innovative, well designed rooms in the country, and with great value for money, you get a lot of bang for your buck. There’s no excuse for missing out on this opportunity! Read on to learn more.

Where are the best escape rooms in Greater Manchester?

• Manchester: Unsurprisingly, it’s in this Northern Powerhouse that you’ll find the most escape rooms. And with the sheer number of options, comes an enormous variety of games. Are you a history buff? Travel back in time to the golden age of pirating, the Wild West, Samurai era Japan or the time of the Vikings. Perhaps you like sci-fi and fantasy, in which case we suggest a session inspired by Doctor Who, Alice in Wonderland, Frankenstein, the zombie apocalypse or outer space. Or for a more down to Earth, crime thriller vibe, take on the role of a detective, escape a kidnapper, try to survive a Psycho motel, defuse a bomb or rob a bank! You can even take the fun from the rooms and out onto the street, completing a challenge in Manchester city centre with the help of Augmented Reality.

• Ashton-under-Lyne: One of the smaller urban areas in Greater Manchester packs one of the biggest punches in the world of escape rooms. Several escape room installations in Ashton-under-Lyne offer great problem solving adventures. One of them is located in the supposedly haunted Crowley Manor, and invites you to solve the mystery of the old house, or withstand the horror of an exorcism within its walls. In another, you can try to unravel a huge conspiracy that hides the reality about alien visitors to our planet, or enter a fantasy realm inspired by the Lord of the Rings.

• Stockport: All tastes and preferences are catered to in Stockport. Adventurous types will have their dreams come true on an expedition to Atlantis, a lost temple deep in the jungle, or Merlin’s magical laboratory. Horror fans can get their kicks in a recreation of a morgue, a room inspired by the Saw film franchise. And there are kicks of a different kind for the football enthusiasts here - we know there are a lot of you! - in a game that puts you in the position to influence the outcome of the league final!

• Altrincham: You’re given the chance to discover the secrets to endless electrical power and solve humanity’s energy crisis here in Altrincham. Or if you’re not feeling so altruistic, you could try and identify the real, priceless masterpiece in an art forger’s studio. And you’re also welcome to join King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table on a dark ages adventure!

• Trafford: This is the starting point of journeys through time and to distant realms. There’s a secret science lab to explore, and a dance with the devil that will see you fighting to close the portal to the underworld.

• Wigan: We all know that clever is the new cool, and Star War geeks and sci -fi nerds are welcome in Wigan to board a space station and solve the mysteries of a deep space nebula.

• Bury: Finally, in Bury, your choice will determine whether you find yourself running for your life from a killer on Route 66, or walking through the wards of the asylum of Bedlam. Whichever you choose, you’d better have nerves of steel!

Requirements to do this activity

You probably know a child, and perhaps you were on yourself, who has an inquisitive mind and a love for solving puzzles. A trip to an escape room is the perfect treat for youngsters like this, and most escape room centres in Greater Manchester are suitable for all those over 10 years of age. For even younger kids, you can find some challenges which have been designed with those between 8 and 10 years old in mind. It’s important to note that all participants who are less than 15 or 16 years old should be accompanied by an adult.

And it’s not just age where accessibility is a priority. Although some escape rooms are in buildings with stairs or include spaces that you have to crawl through, you don’t have to look too hard in Greater Manchester to find wheelchair friendly spaces. In addition, most rooms use visual clues, which means that the deaf or hard of hearing are able to decipher clues just as well as everyone else. If you or someone in your group suffers from asthma or epilepsy, you should talk to the game masters in advance, as they’re often able to disable flashing lights and smoke machines when necessary.

Of course, when it comes to solving the mystery of an escape room, two heads are better than one, so you need a companion to make a booking with. But why stop at two, when every extra person will bring their own skills to the game? In addition, groups can benefit from discounted prices, all the more the reason to get your friends involved. The size of escape rooms varies between something like 10 and 20m2 and in some places, the number or members of each group is limited to 4, while it’s 6 in others.

What’s the duration of a game here?

After you arrive at your chosen centre in Greater Manchester, you’ll be welcomed and given an instruction and safety briefing before entering the room. Once inside, the countdown begins! You have 60 minutes to beat the room, using all your creativity and ingenuity to follow the story to its conclusion. The exception is the escape room activity that takes you through the streets of the city, in which you need to cover around 2 kilometres to collect all the information necessary to solve the case. You get 90 minutes for this outside the box game.

Let us help you escape from your routine for a while, you won’t regret it!