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Explore your city. Solve cryptic clues. Discover hidden secrets.
Locked City is an immersive SMS-Based treasure hunt style game through the streets of London.
Rated ★★★★★
"Devilishly tricky, enormously fun!"
Join the hunt!Locked City turns London into a giant puzzle. Gather your team and we'll send cryptic clues to your phones over WhatsApp, each one pointing you down real streets to crack codes, spot hidden details and uncover history you'd usually walk straight past. No app to download, nothing to carry but your phone.
Race the clock to climb the leaderboard, or take it at your own pace and enjoy the afternoon.
If you love escape rooms, scavenger hunts, or just seeing your city in a new way, you'll love a Locked City adventure hunt.
Gather your team of up to five players and you're ready to go. Got six or more? Split into teams and race each other to the finish.
Every game is played through WhatsApp, with no app to download. Each player gets the trail of cryptic clues, and any team-mate can reply with your answer.
Book online and your team captain instantly gets a welcome message. From there they just add everyone else into the game over WhatsApp. All that's needed to book, is a team captain and a witty team name!
Our hunts are completely flexible. Need to change your start time, or caught out by bad weather? No problem. Just start whenever you're ready.
Grab your team, pick your hunt, and let the city become your game board. You play through WhatsApp, so there's no app to download and no kit to carry: just message in your answers, unlock the next clue, and feel the story unfold around you as you move through real London streets.
Match wits with Holmes and Moriarty in a Baker Street mystery, or race to lift an ancient curse before it turns you to stone in Covent Garden. Solve fast, climb the leaderboard, and see if your team can take the top spot.
Step into the captivating world of Sherlock Holmes as the renowned detective himself invites you to join his esteemed agency.
Legend speaks of a curse haunting the inhabitants of Covent Garden and turning them to stone. Follow the cryptic trail and lift the curse before it is too late...
A Journey through time
Travel back through time and witness the moments that shaped London. Discover the historic gems hidden within the modern city.
Our hunts are designed to explore well known sights and hidden gems you never knew existed.
Whether you’re new to the area or a local, you’ll be sure to embark on a fantastic experience and discover fascinating history, eye-popping street art and hidden details in the city.
All clues are sent to your phone via text message. The answers you will need to find are hidden in your surroundings.
Each clue will challenge your team to explore your surroundings, uncover secret locations and work together to solve the puzzles.
Locked City is great for friends, family, colleagues and even dates looking for a new adventure!
Love Escape Rooms? Love Scavenger Hunts? Love discovering new locations? We know you're going to love Locked City!
Compete for the best time to make it onto the leaderboards! But don't forget, answer incorrectly and face a penalty...
Are you a large group of 6 or more people? Split into multiple teams and race and play head-to-head, racing to complete the hunt!
Each team can up to 5 phones connected. We encourage groups of 6+ people to split into multiple teams to have the best experience.
You can easily add more numbers to receive clues by replying 'Add +44XXXXXXXXXX'.
Clues and directions will be sent via WhatsApp. You will only receive the next clue once the correct answer has been sent.
Our hunts are designed to be challenging and to test your problem-solving. Expect riddle-style clues, a bit of lateral thinking, and the occasional nod to cryptic crosswords, though nothing as fiendish as a real one!
We don't recommend our hunts for children under the age of 16. This is because the clues can be quite challenging!
No! Each hunt is designed to require no local knowledge and will be of the same difficulty regardless of prior knowledge.
You can reply 'STUCK' at anytime and a hint will be sent to you. If you are still stuck, you can send 'SKIP' to skip to the next clue. These will incur a time penalty!
You can text 'LOST' at anytime and the location of where to look for the answer will be sent to you. This will include a link to what3words, to help you find the exact location.
Bring your phone with internet connection (for WhatsApp). A battery pack may be advisable if you are likely to run out of charge.
- Please be courteous to other members of the public.
- No conferring or sharing of answers with other teams.
- No deliberately obstructing other teams!
- Use of a map is allowed but is not required.
Don't worry if your phone runs out of battery! As long as another member of your team has been added to the hunt, you can keep playing. We do recommend bringing a battery pack, just in case!
Each hunt passes toilets en-route (toilets may charge a small fee) and features designated rest stops in pubs containing toilets.
We use WhatsApp to send you messages, therefore you will need an internet connection on your phone, which is often included in your mobile plan.
Yes! You can start as soon as the booking is made. You will receive your introductory messages immediately after booking.
No. Our hunts are fully flexible, so if your plans change or if you're running late, you can start at a different time. Just make sure you start before the last start time of the day, which can be found on our website or in your introductory messages.
Some of our hunts will take you through public parks which may close at dusk, therefore we recommend starting with plenty of time. Please see check the available start times on our website, or in your introductory messages to understand when you can start your hunt.
Whilst always best in good weather, our hunts can operate regardless of the weather conditions. We do advise exercising caution if it is slippery underfoot. You are welcome to start (or resume) a hunt at a later date if the weather conditions are poor.
Unfortunately we don't offer refunds due to adverse weather.
We recommend using a UK mobile number , however as our games are played via WhatsApp, most international numbers should also be compatible. If you have any questions, please reach out to our team.
Due to the nature of our hunts, we unfortunately cannot guarantee the route will be accessible by wheelchair, as there may be steps and narrow pavements.
There is no time limit. You can race to make the leaderboards or simply relax and take the hunt at your own pace. If you need to return to finish the hunt at a later date, that's possible too!
