For the full FAQs including pictures, please open the PDF version here

Where are the boxes based? What happens with transport?

Generallly the boxes are located in the West Midlands. Collection/delivery can be arranged at a mutually agreeable time (extra days for that not charged, but there might be a cost associated with transport, depending on how it happens - e.g. meet in the middle, brought to you, courier). 

What do I need to do to run the activity? 

As a leader, there’s a few things for you to do in order to run this activity successfully for your group. You will need to: 

-        Spend some time BEFORE running it to learn how it works and how to set up / give hints / reset

-        Find a suitable space/place for running the activity

-        Pack the box up and report any issues/damage so it can be addressed before the next group

What do I need to provide? 

All of the puzzles and materials to create the escape room are contained within the box, so all you need to provide is a suitable space. A suitable space: 

-        Ranges from 2m x 3m to 4m x 5m in size

-        Contains a table and 2 chairs

-        Does not contain too many ‘distractions’

See the full FAQ document for examples and pictures. 

How many adults do I need? 

It varies, according to the type of activity / queuing, number of rooms, number of girls, other activities going on, how familiar the leaders are with the rooms, and many more factors. 

Basically – you need enough adults to set up the room, give hints, and re-set the room. As a general rule, try to have 1 adult per room or per pair (2) of rooms. 

How long will the activity take? 

Teams will need a few minutes to get their instructions, then they have 30 minutes to solve the room. 

Then allow 5 – 10 minutes to ‘reset’ the room for the next group. 

You will also need to allow 15 minutes to set up the room at the start of the activity, and to pack it up at the end. 

How many boxes will I need? 

The rooms have been designed for patrols to do together, with 4 – 6 (max 7) people in each patrol. Groups of 2 or 3 people may find it much more difficult, and groups larger than 7 may find there is not enough to do for each person. 

Each room takes half an hour to do, and you will need to allow 10-15 minutes to reset between each group. 

To figure out how many you will need: 

1)      How long do you have? Divide the time into blocks for each run through and reset

2)    How many groups do you have? 

3)    Divide the groups between the time periods, how many rooms do you need to make it work? 

For a large scale event, you need to identify how they are going to run: 

Option 1 – Timed slots

-        First determine what time duration you will have, and divide into slots as above

-        Determine how many groups will want to do the activity.

-        Assess how many adults you will have available to supervise, give hints, and reset rooms

-        Use these to calculate how many boxes you need. 

Option 2 – Drop in / Queue and do activity

-        This option is much harder for the adults if there is a queue (and there nearly always is), as it gives no respite or down time between groups. It also does not allow much time for running repairs if there are any issues. As a result, leaders must be very familiar with the escape rooms, and it is only recommended if you have an experienced facilitator. 

-        Based on our experience, you can expect 4 – 5 groups per room per 3 hour block (up to 6 groups if you have leaders turning them around quickly) – approximately 8 people per room per hour (minimum 1hr 15 min block to allow for reset). 

If you are considering boxes for a large scale event, please contact us and we can discuss some options with you.

What boxes are there? How difficult are they? 

Here's the boxes were have, in approximate order of difficulty. Of course, that is entirely subjective, and groups may find different orders of difficulty: 

·       Mini Kitchen Scramble

·       Kitchen Scramble

·       The Great Guide Camp Gnome Mystery

·       Haunted Greenhouse

·       Crystal Palace Rally

·       Stolen!

·       Kidnapped!

·       Happily Never After

·       Spies

·       WAGGGS Thinking Day

·       Magic School

·       Suffragettes

Coming Soon: 

·       Foxlease World Camp

Are they suitable for Brownies? What about Rangers or adults? 

Some rooms have additional instructions to make them more suitable for Brownies (Brownie level of difficulty has 2 locks instead of 3). For Rangers and adults, in our experience they enjoy all of the rooms, and we particularly recommend the more difficult ones. 

Can you just give us the instructions and we can do it ourselves? 

Building each of the room boxes is quite an effort. If you want to have a go, we have written up 'The Great Guide Camp Gnome Mystery' in extra detail to allow you to do it yourself (link). 

What happens if we damage the room? 

Fair wear and tear happens. We ask that you fill in a report when returning the boxes so we can identify any issues and repair them promptly. 

When watching the girls doing the escape rooms, please encourage them to respect the props. You might need to remind them of things like: 

·       Don’t stand on the books, please get off the books

·       Don’t force the keys in the lock. If it doesn’t turn, you haven’t found the right key yet

·       If it doesn’t move or unlock with the force of a Rainbow, then they are trying too hard, no excessive force is needed. 

If rooms come back with significant damage due to negligence or mishandling, you may be charged for repairing the damage. Please be careful and encourage your girls to do the same, so that many others will get to enjoy the boxes in the future. 

What happens if I lose the box? 

You are responsible for the box and its safekeeping. In the unlikely event that the box is lost or destroyed while in your care, you are expected to pay the replacement cost for the entire box. This starts at £125 for a 'simple' box, up to £330 for a larger box. 

If you want to buy a box, please contact us and we can make an arrangement with you to build a box specifically for you. Taking or deliberately losing a box takes it out of circulation for others who may have already booked it. 

Help! A lock is jammed

The combination locks do not like being pulled while the combination is being entered, and may jam. Don’t panic or try and force the number wheels (because that will break them). Gently push the shackle back into the lock and the tumblers will release allowing the combination to be changed: 

You haven’t answered my question! 

Please send your questions to us: escaperooms@yesterday.me.uk (allow 2-3 days for a reply). If you have borrowed a box we will also give you a phone number that you can call if you need an immediate answer to an issue when using the rooms.