Penzance, Camborne and St Ives escape rooms join a summer challenge

For one hour, the phones go into a box and the shouting starts. That hour is what three of Cornwall’s escape room businesses want more people to try this summer, and they have found a way to raise money for a good cause while everyone is having a go.

One challenge, three escape rooms

The first Cornwall Escape Room Challenge runs from 17 August to 17 September 2026 and brings together three independent businesses from across the county. Escape Rooms Cornwall in Penzance, Locked In Escape Rooms Cornwall in Camborne and Escape Time in St Ives have all signed up.

Anyone who books a game with one of the three during those dates will be helping to raise money, with £1 from every booking going to charity. The cause this year is Quiet Connections CIC, a Cornwall organisation that works with quieter people to help them make connections, build confidence and find a greater sense of belonging. There is also a free escape room game to be won as part of the event.

How the idea came about

The challenge started with Alex Hart, who owns Escape Rooms Cornwall and wanted a way for several local businesses to work together on something positive.

Alex said: “Escape rooms are quite unusual businesses because, although we each have our own games and venues, ultimately we all want more people to discover how much fun escape rooms can be.

“They’re about getting a group of people in a room together, putting the phones away for an hour and actually communicating, solving things and laughing at each other when someone completely misses an obvious clue.”

A natural fit with Quiet Connections

So much of what Quiet Connections does is about helping people connect, which is why Alex saw it as the right cause for a challenge built around getting a group talking in a room together.

Alex said: “We thought it would be good to use that to support something local at the same time. Quiet Connections felt like a really natural fit because so much of what they do is about helping people connect with other people.”

Year one, with room to grow

All three businesses are independently owned and run different experiences across west and central Cornwall. This is the first year of the challenge, and the plan is for it to get bigger.

Alex added: “This is very much year one. Cornwall has some fantastic escape room businesses and I’d love to see the challenge expand in future years, with more venues from around the county getting involved.

“If we can encourage families and visitors to try an escape room they might not have played before, raise some money for Quiet Connections and give people a good day out at the same time, then I think it’s worth doing.”

How to take part

The Cornwall Escape Room Challenge 2026 runs from 17 August until 17 September. Bookings need to be made during the challenge period, although the game itself can be played on a later available date.

The venues taking part are Escape Rooms Cornwall in Penzance, Locked In Escape Rooms Cornwall in Camborne and Escape Time in St Ives. More information is at www.escaperoomscornwall.com/challenge.