There is no shortage of fun things to do in London with kids but if you’re looking for something a little different then I can highly recommend Prison Island London.
This new interactive challenge is similar to traditional escape rooms but with a twist or two. It’s a lot of fun and a great day out, especially if you are visiting London with teens or stuck in London on a rainy day.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I have been or could be if you click on a link in this post compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See our full disclosure policy for more details.
Prison Island
Prison Island London only recently opened but the concept began over 20 years ago in an old factory in Västerås, Sweden. Then, it was called ArosFortet but the concept was similar to today: players have to solve a number of physical and mental skill-based tests against the clock.
Its popularity quickly grew and the name was changed to Prison Island with franchises opening in countries across the world. There are now over 200 Prison Island adventures worldwide. In London, Prison Island is located in north London, right next to Holloway Road tube station.
How the Prison Island experience works
Prison Island is based on the traditional escape room concept but rather than having one or two rooms, the interactive adventure involves 31 different cell blocks and each one hides a different challenge.
Some are more of a physical challenge and others require strategic thinking. You have an 60 minutes to try and complete as many cells as possible and you can attempt them in any order that you like.
I visited Prison Island London with my sister and we had a great time trying out the interactive adventure although, truth be told, we weren’t particularly good!
Here’s how the experience works:
Visitors are asked to arrive around 20 minutes ahead of your booking time. When you check in at the reception area, you are given a lanyard with an electronic fob; this is your key to entering the different cells.
When it’s your time to start, you are guided to the Briefing Room, designed to look like a court room, where a member of staff explains how the experience works and then bangs his gavel and sends you off to prison.
Teams are made up of 2 to 5 people. To be honest, the cells are prison cells are quite small so I would recommend teams of no more than three people.
There is a sign on the outside of each cell with the name of the challenge, the minimum number of “prisoners” required, the maximum number of points you can win and the stress level.
There are also scores indicating whether the challenge is more tactical, technical or physical. You are given no other information about the escape challenges which means that sometimes you enter the room and have no ideas what to do! Or perhaps this just speaks to my lack of logical thinking….
Lights on the outside of the various cell indicate whether they are free or not (green for available, red for occupied) and you can tackle them in whichever order you choose. You can also repeat rooms if you want to try and improve your score (or you simply couldn’t work it out the first time round!).
If you are successful in a cell then you get points; if you fail then it’s a big fat zero on the scoreboard!
Once the game is finished and you return your lanyard and fob then you will receive your team’s score. There are also digital scoreboards throughout the venue so you can see how you are stacking up against other teams.
There is a time limit for each challenge, which varies from 1.5 to 5 minutes, depending on the cells, and a 10 second countdown starts when your time is nearly up.
The game lasts around 60 minutes and when your time is up your fob stops working.
The Prison Island Challenges
The 31 cell blocks each hold a different challenge. We didn’t get to try all of them but we did try out a good number, with varying degrees of success. We found some of them tasks impossible to understand but others were more straightforward.
Waterfall was a physical challenge that we had great fun trying to complete but failed miserably. Maps was more straightforward and while we didn’t receive the maximum 100 points available, we did quite well. Boiler Room on the other hand, which did require lightning-fast reflexes, was not a success.
The challenges definitely require team communication and collaborative problem-solving!
One room is filled with giant inflatable balls, another is furnished with a stark set of bunk beds and little else. There’s a light up disco floor, a neon chapel with laser beams, a giant pinball machine and a game that resembles the popular childhood game “Simon Says” from the 1970s.
You definitely feel the time pressure (even if, like us, you are there for the unique experience rather than a high score) and towards the end of our time in prison we were running down the corridors trying to complete the tasks.
Visiting Prison Island London with kids
When I first looked at Prison Island website I wasn’t sure whether it would be a great experience for kids but having been, I think it would a fun family day out. The minimum age requirement for players is 7 years. Other things to consider if visiting with kids are:
- Be aware that some of the challenges may be more tricky for kids; the various cells that include a physical activity will be more enjoyable (there’s a great football-themed one and another single room filled with giant, inflatable balls).
- If you find yourself in a cell where the challenge is too hard – or not enjoyable – then you can always leave, you are under no obligation to stay until the time limit has expired.
- Make sure to book in advance, particularly over the school holidays
- If there’s a larger group of you, split up into teams of three or four – kids must be accompanied by an adult.
- Don’t expect to be able to complete all 31 rooms in 60 minutes so pick your challenges wisely, if it looks too challenging, move onto the next cell. The good thing is that there’s a wide choice of rooms and a wide range of difficulty levels so there is something suitable for everyone.
Are you ready to go to Prison?
Overall, my sister and I had a great time at Prison Island London. There were a few teething issues when we visited – a couple of the cells were closed because the challenge wasn’t working – but this didn’t detract from our experience.
What I really like about this concept is that the experience will be different every time you visit. Traditional escape rooms are fun but once you’ve completed the experience, it’s hard to return and do it again because you typically know how to complete the challenge. With Prison Island, however, it is different every time.
The number of cells means that you will inevitably leave without having completed all of the challenges. Plus, there will be ones that probably only work out how to complete once you have left – this was certainly my experience! I now *think* I know how to complete the chains challenge!
I also like how there’s such a diverse series of games and that teamwork is so central to success. This really is a great way for friends and families to have have fun together (and, dare I say it, it’s a brilliant team building option!).
So, if you are ready to go to prison then you will find Prison Island London at 5-7 Hornsey Street, N7. The closest tube is Holloway Road station. Ticket prices start at £26.90 and are available via the Fever app.
