GUIDES
BEFORE YOU PLAY.
Honest, useful reads from the Clue HQ Birmingham team.
Your first escape room: what to expect
Never played before? Here is exactly what happens from the moment you arrive, so the only surprises are the good ones.
Read the guideHow to choose the right escape room for your group
Four rooms, four very different hours. Here is how to match the room to the people you are bringing.
Read the guideGroup activities in Birmingham that everyone will actually enjoy
Organising a group is hard: different ages, different fitness levels, different ideas of fun. Here is what works.
Read the guideBirthday ideas in Birmingham for adults and teens
Past the age where a party bag does the job? Here are birthday plans that get people talking.
Read the guideTeam-building ideas people actually enjoy
The best team days do not feel like team days. They feel like fun that happens to involve the people you work with.
Read the guideHow to plan a corporate away day in Birmingham
A half-day that people talk about afterwards, planned in the right order so nothing lands on you the morning of.
Read the guideTeam-building for small teams of four to twelve
Most team-building is designed for fifty people and falls flat with eight. Here is what works when your whole team fits round one table.
Read the guideWhat an escape room reveals about how your team works
Sixty minutes and a locked door will tell you more about a team than a year of stand-ups. Here is what to watch for.
Read the guideTeam building in Birmingham on a budget
You do not need a day rate and a facilitator. Here is what a good team afternoon actually costs in Birmingham.
Read the guideOffice Christmas party ideas in Birmingham
The meal is booked and nobody is excited yet. Here is how to put something in front of it that people will actually turn up for.
Read the guideChristmas nights out in Birmingham beyond the market
The Frankfurt Market is lovely for forty minutes. Here is what to do with the rest of the evening.
Read the guidePlanning the work Christmas do: a month-by-month guide
Whoever ends up organising it usually starts too late. Here is the honest timeline for a Birmingham Christmas do.
Read the guideFamily days out in Birmingham that suit every age
A day out with a nine-year-old, a fifteen-year-old and a grandparent is a scheduling problem. Here is what actually works.
Read the guideRainy day ideas in Birmingham for families
The forecast has ruined the plan. Here is what to do indoors in Birmingham with children who were promised a day out.
Read the guideSchool holiday ideas in Birmingham
Six weeks is a long time. Here is one afternoon that works for a wide age range and does not need good weather.
Read the guideHalloween escape rooms in Birmingham
A locked room, a clock and something that is not quite right. Here is how to spend Halloween in Birmingham without queueing for a club.
Read the guideThe best escape rooms in Birmingham
What is actually in Birmingham, which room to pick first, what it costs and how to get here. Written by the team who run the games.
Read the guideFive things to do in Birmingham
Making a day of it in Birmingham? Here is what we would do, starting with an hour with us and then the places we send people afterwards.
Read the guideCorporate nights out in Birmingham
An hour of something before the food and drinks, and the evening looks after itself.
Read the guideNew Year ideas in Birmingham
The bit between Christmas and going back to work, and the first cold weekends of January, when nobody wants another walk.
Read the guideValentine's Day in Birmingham: something other than dinner
A table for two at a restaurant doing a set menu it does not normally do. Or an hour where you actually talk to each other.
Read the guideMother's Day in Birmingham: better than another bunch of flowers
She does not want a card. She wants everyone in the same room, off their phones, for an hour.
Read the guideFather's Day in Birmingham: he does not need more socks
Another gadget he will not use, or an hour where he gets to be competitive with his own children. Not a difficult call.
Read the guideEaster holidays in Birmingham: what to do with the family
Two weeks off, unreliable weather and an egg hunt that lasts eleven minutes.
Read the guideSix weeks off: summer holiday ideas in Birmingham
By week three the novelty has gone and the phrase "I am bored" has been said out loud. Here is one day sorted.
Read the guideHalf term in Birmingham: one day that is not the soft play
A week off, a couple of days of it wet, and a list of places you have already been twice.
Read the guideHen party ideas in Birmingham
Something for the afternoon that everyone from the bride’s best friend to her aunt will actually enjoy.
Read the guideStag do ideas in Birmingham
The part of the day that gives everyone something to talk about later, before it all becomes about the pub.
Read the guideThe best way to start a night out in Birmingham
The hour between meeting up and the evening properly beginning is usually wasted in a pub deciding what to do.
Read the guideThings to do with teenagers in Birmingham
An age group that has opinions about everything and enthusiasm for very little. This is one of the few things that lands.
Read the guideSchool trips in Birmingham: end of term, rewards and enrichment
A trip that fits in a morning, costs less than a coach to a museum, and that the class talks about for the rest of term.
Read the guideScouts, Guides and youth groups in Birmingham
An evening or a weekend activity for Cubs, Brownies, Scouts, Guides, cadets and church groups, booked in one go.
Read the guideCorporate pricing, packages and drinks
What a team day at Clue HQ Birmingham costs, what we can put together for you, and how to get it on one invoice.
Read the guideOnline escape rooms: how they work (and who they’re for)
Same puzzles-against-the-clock feeling, played from your own sofa with people who might be hundreds of miles away.
Read the guideOnline escape rooms for families in different cities
When the family is spread across the country, a video call runs out of things to say after twenty minutes. This gives everyone something to do.
Read the guideOnline team building for remote teams that actually works
Remote socials fail for a predictable reason. Here is what to do instead of another quiz.
Read the guideRunning a virtual away day with an online escape room
A full away day on a video call is a hard sell. Here is a half-day shape that people stay awake for, built round a game in the middle.
Read the guideFive reasons to play an online escape room
Why a game you play from your own front room keeps earning its place, whether your team is spread across three time zones or you simply cannot face going out.
Read the guide