New escape game set to make a splash at riverside spot in Leeds

REGULAR readers of City Buzz will know all about the latest craze to hit Leeds.
Challengers try out the new Code-X game at Leeds Dock.Challengers try out the new Code-X game at Leeds Dock.
Challengers try out the new Code-X game at Leeds Dock.

Escape games are popping up all over the city, offering players the chance to find and solve a series of clues to get themselves out of the game.

In fact, it was just a few weeks ago that we told you that Sheffield-based company The Great Escape was going to open a site in Leeds city centre.

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And the craze looks set to continue, as Leeds Dock has unveiled its own take on the game.

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Code-X is launching today at a disused site called Block E by the river.

The fast-paced game aims to test players’ intelligence, logic and ingenuity and combines interactive theatre, digital gaming and puzzles.

Teams of up to eight people can take part in the escape game, which lasts for 60 minutes.

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Players will be put through a series of trials and tests to discover the solution to Code-X.

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Toby Jones, game designer at Time Games, said: “It’s a fully immersive experience.

“Players get into character, including wearing high-vis vests and head torches to help find their way around in the dark.

“You will need to use all five, if not six, of your senses to succeed.”

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Mr Jones added: “We are delighted to be working with Leeds Dock and to have created Code-X to run from there this summer.

“Each game that we create is bespoke and has links and connections to where it is set to add to the fun and Code-X is no exception.”

The game follows a fictional story of a team of builders who have broken through the floor at Block E during renovation work – and found something hidden in the dark beneath.

Code-X has been created exclusively for Leeds Dock by Time Games.

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The company works with prop-makers, puzzle designers, instructional technologists, hackers, costumiers, artists and actors to create the perfect setting and performance of puzzle-based scenarios.

Tim Gee, director of Leeds Dock, said: “Escape rooms are one of the most popular challenges of the moment so we wanted to bring one of the best to Leeds Dock this summer.

“It’s an exciting launch for us and we look forward to welcoming groups of friends, families and work mates to take part in the fun.”

In the past, Leeds Dock’s Block E building was left empty but recently it has been used for exhibitions and pop-up events and was also used for the Leeds Digital Festival.

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It’s great to see some thought and effort is going in to filling disused spaces with creative and unusual events rather than being left to languish.

It’s no secret that when Leeds Dock originally launched as Clarence Dock back in 2008, it struggled to attract businesses and people to the area.

But since owners Allied London took it on in 2013, small changes are being made to gradually breathe life back into the site.

It now offers houses global media companies and brands alongside local coffee shops and pop-up bars.

We are sure the new game will make a splash at Leeds Dock and can’t wait to see what else is in store for the riverside spot in the future.