Cluedini Live Escape Rooms

What Cluedini Live Escape Rooms does

Cluedini Live Escape Rooms is a family-run entertainment business founded in 2016 by Chris and Kathryn, operating two physical escape room venues in North East England — Yarm (North Yorkshire) and Darlington (County Durham). Each venue runs themed hour-long rooms where teams of one to six players complete simultaneous, non-linear puzzles rather than linear sequences, ensuring every participant contributes. The Darlington venue additionally supports a head-to-head configuration of two identical rooms and can accommodate up to 24 players simultaneously for corporate team-building events. Six distinct themed rooms are available: Anubis (Egyptian), Hex (witchcraft), Outlawed (Wild West), Santa Clues (Christmas seasonal), Scrumdiddlyumptious (candy), and Sleuth (detective).

The underlying technology is custom-built in-house rather than off-the-shelf escape-room kits: electronic locks, sensors and triggers, RFID tags, magnets, lighting, audio-visual effects, and screens are assembled by the founders into bespoke puzzles, enabling differentiated content and easier maintenance. Rooms are mission-based rather than physically locked doors, with CCTV monitoring for player safety, windows, and dedicated air conditioning in all rooms. Cluedini monetises live sessions at £55-£99 per group depending on player count, alongside ancillary products: 16 boxed EXIT: THE GAME titles at £14.99, five Detective Trails (outdoor treasure hunts across Yarm, Darlington, Newcastle, Ripon, and Tees Valley) at £9.99 each, online games (e.g., Quest for the Golden Phoenix) at £9.99 for 30 days of access, and 12-month gift cards. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer advance booking via the website, phone, or email; there is no walk-in availability. The company operates as two UK private limited entities — Cluedini (Yarm) Limited and Weddingsday Limited (trading as Cluedini Live Escape Rooms) — and is founder-owned with no institutional investment identified.

Name

Cluedini Live Escape Rooms

Legal name

Cluedini (Yarm) Limited

Website

https://cluedini.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cluedini Live Escape Rooms operates two themed escape room venues in North East England (Yarm and Darlington) plus complementary products including detective trails, boxed exit games, and online puzzles, serving families, friends, and corporate teams via advance booking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Escape Room Entertainment

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131), Amusement Arcades (71312), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (459420)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Mini Golf & Attractions Centers (Mini Golf, Go-Karts, Laser Tag Complexes) (THAJAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Escape Room Games & Mystery Puzzle Boxes Retail (CRALALAM)

Keywords

• Live escape rooms
• Team building activities
• Outdoor treasure hunts
• Play at home puzzles
• Immersive puzzle experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Yarm

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Live Escape Room Sessions: Per-group booking sessions for escape rooms at both Yarm and Darlington venues. Pricing varies by number of players (2-6 players). Sessions are one-time experiences lasting 1 hour.
2. Play at Home Exit Games: Sale of boxed EXIT: THE GAME products - play-at-home escape room experiences priced at £14.99 each. These are single-use physical puzzle games delivered by post.
3. Detective Trails (Outdoor Treasure Hunts): Physical postal delivery or instant digital download of treasure hunt experiences covering Yarm, Darlington, Newcastle, Ripon, and Tees Valley. Priced at £9.99 per trail.
4. Online Games Subscription: Online treasure hunt style adventure games (e.g., Quest for the Golden Phoenix) offering 30 days access for £9.99, playable multiple times within the access period.
5. Gift Cards: Gift cards for 2-6 players valid for live escape room sessions, valid for 12 months from purchase. Redeemed via phone or email booking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cluedini Live Escape Rooms operates themed one-hour live escape room sessions at two UK venues in Yarm (North Yorkshire) and Darlington (County Durham), serving groups of 2–6 players with non-linear, mission-based puzzle experiences. The business extends its offering with outdoor Detective Trails (treasure hunts in five locations), retail sale of 16 boxed Exit: The Game play-at-home puzzle products, a 30-day access online adventure game, and gift cards redeemable against any live game.

Product overview

Cluedini Live Escape Rooms operates a portfolio of themed puzzle room experiences across two physical venues in Yarm and Darlington, UK. The core offering consists of six live escape room games with distinct themes (Egyptian, witchcraft, Wild West, Christmas, candy, and detective), each lasting one hour with varying difficulty ratings. The business extends its entertainment portfolio through complementary products including outdoor Detective Trails (treasure hunt adventures across five locations), boxed play-at-home Exit: The Game titles (16 puzzle adventure boxes), and online virtual games. The Yarm venue hosts two rooms (Hex and Scrumdiddlyumptious) while the Darlington venue hosts four rooms (Sleuth with head-to-head capability, Anubis, Outlawed, and seasonal Santa Clues). Maximum capacity is 6 players per room. Pricing follows a per-group model rather than per-person, ranging from £55 (1-2 players) to £99 (6 players).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Anubis Escape Room Ancient Egyptian themed one-hour live escape room (difficulty 5/5) at the Darlington venue in which players enter the tomb of Anubis, locate the Golden Ankh and escape within 60 minutes. Designed for up to 6 players.
• Hex Escape Room Witchcraft and magic themed one-hour live escape room (difficulty 4/5) at the Yarm venue in which players must thwart a hex cast upon local towns by a vengeful witch. Designed for up to 6 players.
• Outlawed Escape Room Wild West themed one-hour live escape room (difficulty 4.5/5) at the Darlington venue in which teams locate dynamite, blast into a gang's hideout and retrieve stolen gold before Mad Dog and Co. are released. Designed for up to 6 players.
• Santa Clues Escape Room Seasonally operating Christmas themed one-hour live escape room (difficulty 3.5/5) at the Darlington venue in which players help Santa locate a missing gift from his sack. Available during the Christmas season.
• Scrumdiddlyumptious Escape Room Candy themed one-hour live escape room (difficulty 4/5, ages 11+) at the Yarm venue in which players prove their worth to candy queen Leila Bon-Bon to take over her confectionery empire. Designed for up to 6 players.
• Sleuth Escape Room Detective themed one-hour live escape room (difficulty 4/5) at the Darlington venue in which players undergo a job interview as elite detectives. Features head-to-head capability via two identical rooms, enabling simultaneous team competition. Designed for up to 6 players per room.
• Detective Trails Outdoor treasure hunt style puzzle adventures based on real-life historical events and crimes, available for Darlington, Newcastle, Ripon, Tees Valley, and Yarm. Priced at £9.99 per trail and delivered physically by post or as an instant digital download via payhip.com.
• Exit: The Game (Boxed) Retail range of 16 boxed play-at-home escape room puzzle products (Dead Man on the Orient Express, Kidnapped in Fortune City, The Abandoned Cabin, The Cursed Labyrinth, The Forbidden Castle, The Forgotten Island, The Gate Between Worlds, The Haunted Roller Coaster, The House of Riddles, The Mysterious Museum, The Pharaoh's Tomb, The Polar Station, The Secret Lab, The Sinister Mansion, The Sunken Treasure, Theft on the Mississippi). Priced at £14.99 per game, designed for 1–4 players aged 10+, single-use as materials are marked, folded and torn to solve puzzles.
• Online Games (Quest for the Golden Phoenix) Virtual puzzle adventure game played online via web browser. Includes 'Quest for the Golden Phoenix', a family-friendly 60–90 minute treasure hunt style game split into 10 destinations around the globe. Sold via payhip.com at £9.99 for 30 days access with unlimited plays during that period.
• Gift Cards Gift cards redeemable against any live game room experience for 2–6 players. Valid for 12 months from purchase; redemption handled via phone or email (no online redemption).

Quantifiable outcome

• Recommended minimum age of 11 for unaccompanied play, 8+ with adults
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hint Hunt: UK escape room chain operating multiple London-area venues with themed puzzle rooms serving corporate, family, and tourist customers. Directly comparable business model and customer segments.
• Puzzled Room: Scotland-based escape room operator offering themed live puzzle experiences and outdoor treasure hunts. Directly comparable mix of live rooms, outdoor detective trails, and retail puzzle products.
• Clue HQ: UK escape room operator with multiple venues focused on immersive, technology-driven puzzle experiences. Closely comparable product offering and target customer base to Cluedini's themed rooms.
• Tick Tock Unlock: UK escape room operator with themed puzzle experiences and corporate team-building focus. Directly competes for the same regional/UK market and customer segments as Cluedini.
• Escape Hunt plc: UK-listed escape room operator with multiple venues across the UK and internationally, offering themed live escape experiences. Directly comparable business model, customer segments (corporate, families), and product structure to Cluedini.
• The Crystal Maze Live Experience: London-based immersive team challenge attraction based on the TV show, with multiple UK locations. Competes for the same friends/families/corporate team-building spend as Cluedini but at a larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• KidZania: UK family entertainment centre offering role-play experiences for children. Competes for the same family/corporate group entertainment spend as Cluedini but with a different format and at much larger scale.
• Breakout Games: US-based escape room franchise with 20+ locations. Comparable themed-room operating model and customer base, but operates at materially larger scale and geographic spread than Cluedini.
• The Escape Game: Largest US escape room chain with multiple themed rooms per venue and corporate team-building offerings. Operates a broader portfolio at much greater scale than Cluedini but in the same product category and customer segments.

Others

• Kosmos (EXIT: The Game publisher): Publisher of the EXIT: The Game boxed puzzle products that Cluedini resells through its online store. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but a key supplier and category creator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/reviews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cluedini

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cluedini Live Escape Rooms