Blog

It’s October, and you know what that means! Paint your faces; cut holes in your sheets; get ready for a sugar-rush, Halloween is here! But fear not… Well, no more than you should this time of year. By Mr Q’s orders, our mission this month is to make sure we stay family-friendly.

Alexis’s background in both sales and escape rooms was well established by the time he joined us in 2017. His passion for people is evident to anyone who has booked through him, and he himself attests to the importance of respect and empathy that his role has taught him. We caught up with him to discuss his route into his current role, the misconceptions he’s regularly met with and the positive changes he’s witnessed clueQuest make for companies.

It’s been a week since this year’s CIPD People Management Awards, and as proud supporters of human resource innovation, the clueQuest team was in attendance. Not only were we supporting the nominees in the category we sponsored though, but also one of our very own team members…

Is it by pure coincidence that Alex came to us around Christmas-time? We think not! He’s exactly who we’d been asking for, so staying on the nice list must have paid off. Alex was President of the Adventure Gaming Society at the University of Kent, where he also completed his Mathematics degree before joining us in a front-of-house role. So when the clueQuest Assessment Programme (CAP) required a head for numbers and a heart for adventure, we were lucky enough to need look no further than right under our noses...

In a moment of serendipity, Lindsey first joined us while at LSE studying the use of escape rooms to observe group dynamics, just as we were developing what is now the clueQuest Assessment Programme. In our brief chat she elaborated on her findings which have been instrumental to the programme, as well as her feelings towards the role she has since moved in to at clueQuest.

For better or worse, everyone’s management style is different... Which can make it extremely hard to assess your own. You may find common ground in the styles of your peers or idols, but without set labels, how will you develop a consistency to your methods; an ethos that feels complete? Luckily, the work of social psychologist Kurt Lewin boils it down to just three styles, complete with each one’s observed effects on a team.

A self-confessed perfectionist, Eszter has an eye for detail and a keen interest in people. As a result, her impact on the company in the past 18 months is visible in anything from staff morale to the imminent launch of the clueQuest Assessment Programme (CAP). We caught up with her to discuss her balancing of multiple roles, from our head of HR to the leading force behind CAP, as well as the rewards of laying out our core company values. 

Four months have now passed since the release of Ubisoft Blue Byte’s Beyond Medusa’s Gate, their second virtual reality escape room set in the world of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Along with its predecessor, Escape the Lost Pyramid, it has been available to play at clueQuest ever since. But is it the way of the future, or simply a gimmick? That’s the very question we’ve been posing ourselves, so without further ado, here’s all you need to know.

With almost a year under her belt, Hannah’s love of stories is what keeps her enamored with Mr Q’s super-secret spy training facility. Being surrounded by fellow actors, comedians and performers is not something she takes for granted. Rather, she considers her colleagues friends for life. Never one to break character, she modestly chalks her newfound adaptability down to Mr Q, but it’s clear that it’s the result of hours of commitment. Our conversation ranged from her initial thoughts upon arrival at clueQuest to her most hilarious customer anecdote. 

Between his everlasting influence on ethics, art, poetry, politics, and pretty much everything in-between, Plato’s name probably comes up in conversation more often than anyone is bothering to keep track of anymore. But if there’s one topic on which I never expected Plato to have weighed in, it’s the advantages of escape rooms from a team-building standpoint. 

For Sahin, working at clueQuest has opened his eyes to a world beyond that of just the company, but of high-octane escape missions across the nation. He’s managed to average more than one mission a month - at clueQuest and elsewhere - since joining us, and the practice is clearly paying off. Not only have his initial nerves completely subsided; he also proudly holds the honour of being this year’s Easter Egg Hunt champion.

It’s been over a month since the LCCI PA club showcase, and as proud members of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we sent two of clueQuest’s sharpest agents on a mission to inspire fellow business owners and employees to enhance their workforce’s productivity by paying Mr Q a visit, and learning about themselves and their company in the process. Below you can find a selection of photos from the day, as well as a link to the video.

A trusted member of the team for coming up on four years now, Jemina has recently moved into a different position within the company. It would be to the dismay of many customers if she disappeared from view totally though, so she’s currently splitting her time between FOH and BOH duties. Our chat was full of insights into when the atmosphere’s at its best, how she’s learnt to cope with nerves, and how she’s feeling about her new role.

Wondering who to bring along for the greatest chance of escaping? A former games host has compiled their perfect (fantasy) quartet, complete with the reasons why. Find the closest comparisons in your life and you should be fine…

With so much talk around the rooms themselves, it can be easy to forget about another of the main aspects of the customer experience at clueQuest: Customer service. Far’s the man who makes sure that our standards stay as high as they are, and we’re pleased to say that our reviews seem to attest to his success. Far can often be seen quite literally wearing his love for secret agents on his chest, in the form of an Alias and Mission: Impossible T-Shirt, so it’s no surprise that he’s all about the clueQuest theme.

We love a school trip here at clueQuest. After all, there’s nothing more life-affirming than seeing people, young or old, bettering themselves with education. Mr Q certainly likes to see it too. The way he sees it, more sharp minds out there makes for a wider pool of potential agents to recruit. So we’ve taken it upon ourselves to streamline the process for teachers and school administrators, with changes to both our website and pricing. Below is everything you need to know.

Shhh… Hear that? That’s the sound of Mr Q quietly sobbing. He hasn’t stopped ever since he had to wave goodbye to the greatest group of agents clueQuest has seen in years: Arsenal’s Junior Gunners. Last month, a total of 60 of their members - adults and kids alike - recently won the chance to test their wits against our arch nemesis Professor Blacksheep as part of their Family Members’ Event. Watch the video here.

MoMath, Jack london Park, and now clueQuest. These are the latest venues to receive the prestigious Editor’s Choice Award from DatingNews.com; an online news outlet created specifically to help daters improve their love lives in interesting and unique ways.

Jonnie joined us fresh from the stage, having recently finished a period of appearing in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock. An actor by trade, he fell in love with clueQuest when he first came to play as a customer. These days it’s not just the flexibility of the job that’s appealing, but also that feeling of passing on an experience which he found to be so personal and rewarding. Like all our agents, Jonnie’s a busy man, but he was kind enough to oblige me to the following chat.

The wait is almost over, VR fans. Beyond Medusa’s Gate, the new VR escape game developed by industry leaders Ubisoft Blue Byte and set inside the world of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is just days away! Here’s what we know so far...