Granny - Escape room for teambuilding
An open-world escape experience spanning seven interconnected rooms, corporate-safe and genuinely zero-cringe, designed to keep everyone actively involved through full-team collaboration β fun, but meaningfully challenging.
Key details
18 Players. One House. No Splitting Up.
Most escape rooms divide your team into separate groups or even games.
We donβt.
Up to 18 players enter the same seven-room house at the same time.
One mission. One house. One shared experience.
The Situation
Planning permission has been secured for a swanky new hotel in the heart of Bethnal Green.
One woman stands in the way of βprogressββ¦ Granny.
Granny lives in the last remaining house on Paradise Row, behind an abandoned bookshop. Sheβs barricaded herself inside, armed with a small arsenal of homemade defences, and is refusing to sell.
Developers who have entered the house to βtalk senseβ into her have come running out screaming β if theyβve come out at all.
Now the developers are desperate. Theyβre offering a generous reward to anyone brave enough to enter Grannyβs house, survive the encounter, and convince her to sell.
Will that be your team?
Why This Works for Corporate Teams
- No splitting into separate rooms
- No single puzzle bottleneck
- Seven fully open rooms from the start
- Parallel problem-solving
- Leadership emerges naturally
Built for Large Groups
The Format
Granny is an escape room β but on an epic scale. Instead of a linear sequence of puzzles across one or two rooms, the game unfolds across an entire seven-room house.
There is no prescribed order. Your team decides where to go, what to tackle, and how to approach the mission.
This format naturally encourages leadership to emerge, team roles to form, and problem-solving to happen in parallel rather than in a single queue.
Expect physical puzzles, environmental games, hidden mechanisms, and systems that respond dynamically to your decisions as the house comes alive around you.
Even the in-game clue system must be unlocked through your actions, rewarding teams who stay observant and engaged.
Teams Larger Than 18?
If your group exceeds 18 players, you can book consecutive time slots.
While one group plays, the rest can relax in a nearby reserved bar space.
Weβll help coordinate timings so rotation is smooth and everyone gets the full experience.
- Reserved seating with large tables
- 10% discount on your bar tab
- Seamless group rotation between game and bar
Why Companies Choose Granny
Entire department plays together β no splitting into separate rooms
Encourages leadership, communication and fast decision-making
High-energy, immersive and genuinely memorable
Works equally well for teams of 4β18 players
Entry Instructions
Meet outside Thorne's bookshop at the time stated within your Itinerary.
Testimonials
"Amazingly well thought-out escape room with multiple rooms and accommodating of large groups... So much fun, highly recommend." - ***** Cicero Hammy (Google Review)
"I had an absolute blast at this escape room on an outing with my co-workers!" - ***** Olivia Sorley (Google Review)
Our clients
FAQs
Why is Granny a great choice for corporate events?
- Scales effortlessly for large groups: The seven-room, non-linear house allows teams to split up and work in parallel, keeping everyone actively involved.
- Encourages natural leadership: With no fixed puzzle order, leadership roles emerge organically as teams decide how to approach the experience.
- Strengthens communication: Success depends on sharing discoveries across rooms and coordinating actions in real time.
- Values diverse skill sets: Physical challenges, logic, observation, creativity, and coordination all play a role β everyone can contribute.
- Reveals team dynamics under pressure: The immersive environment highlights decision-making, adaptability, and collaboration in a realistic but safe way.
- Creates lasting shared memories: Teams leave with strong shared stories that reinforce bonding long after the event ends.
How intense is the experience β and is it appropriate for the workplace?
Granny is not a gore-based or shock-horror experience. Thereβs no blood, no graphic content, and nothing designed to make participants uncomfortable in a workplace context.
Instead, the tension comes from time pressure, uncertainty, and immersion. The house feels alive, decisions matter, and teams must think on their feet β which raises adrenaline in a way thatβs exciting rather than frightening.
This sense of pressure is what makes the experience so effective for team building. It encourages clear communication, quick decision-making, and calm problem-solving under stress β without crossing into anything inappropriate.
For corporate groups with differing comfort levels, the experience is fully adjustable. Granny can be run without live actors, or with intensity reduced, ensuring everyone feels comfortable while still enjoying a challenging, memorable experience.
Why donβt you give a traditional pre-show briefing?
Because the experience begins the moment you arrive.
We donβt believe immersion should be something you switch on after a safety talk. Being gathered together and told βthis is a game, hereβs how it worksβ immediately pulls you out of the world weβve spent years building.
Instead, Granny starts without announcement. There is no pre-show performance, no out-of-character explanation, and no moment where someone tells you whatβs about to happen. Youβre not entering a game β youβre stepping into a situation.
Everything you need to know is communicated naturally, in-world, as events unfold. This allows tension, curiosity, and atmosphere to build without interruption, and lets you discover the experience for yourselves rather than being instructed how to play it.
Itβs a deliberate design choice.
We trust our players to adapt, explore, and work things out together β just as they would if this were real.
How can 18 players all play Granny at the same time?
Granny isnβt a single-room escape game β itβs a multi-room, live, overlapping mission designed like a haunted house you can actually play. Instead of 18 people crowding around the same lock, the experience spreads you across multiple interconnected spaces, with different objectives happening in parallel.
That means everyone stays involved from start to finish. With a mix of logical and physical challenges, thereβs something for every type of player β so no one is stuck waiting their turn to shine.
Do you have a clue system?
Yes β but not a traditional one.
There is no button to press, no camera to look at, and no out-of-world voice telling you what to do next. All information is delivered in-world, as part of the environment itself.
Guidance may appear through phone calls, printed materials, background interruptions, service messages, or systems embedded in the house. Some of it is useful. Some of it is partial. Some of it only makes sense later. Occasionally, it raises more questions than it answers.
This is intentional.
Why don't you accept late-comers?
We give our customers a 15 minute check-in window, which starts 10 minutes before the start time of your mission and ends five minutes afterwards. For example, if you have booked a 13:30 time slot, we would expect you to arrive at 13:20, which will give you ample time to scan your tickets and receive your briefing.Β
All of our systems β including safety checks, consent recording, data protection, and in-world personalisation β assume that once this window ends, the experience is already underway and no additional people will enter.
Allowing someone in after that point would place them outside those systems, which weβre legally and operationally unable to do.
For this reason, even if you let us know youβre running late, we canβt admit anyone once the check-in window has closed.
We strongly recommend arriving early and reading the pre-show information we send you. Doing so ensures a smooth check-in and allows the experience to run exactly as intended.
Will I still enjoy this even though I am not a horror fan?
ScreamWorks events are designed to be enjoyable even for non-horror fans. That having been said, Granny creates fear, paranoia and anxiety in its participants and has been given a fear factor of 3/5, so if you really donβt enjoy feeling afraid, then we recommend that you book the 'No Live Actor' version, which is identical in terms of puzzles but without an unhinged geriatric lunatic hunting you down.
Is Granny a traditional escape room?
ScreamWorksβ productions are unique, so donβt expect Granny to be like a traditional escape room or anything you have done before. You need to enter with an open mind leave all expectations at the door. If you are the kind of escape room player who likes to ask for clues, then this is not a good choice for you. Remember, its a non-linear open-world adventure so Granny is not designed to be solved on a room-by-room basis; some of the puzzles require you to move around the house or to be in different rooms at the same time to solve them.
Can Granny touch me?
You will not be intentionally touched by Granny (or anyone) and you must not touch Granny.
What is the age restriction for Granny?
The age restriction is 13+, but under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Are there live actors?
Yes. Granny might be ancient, but she ainβt dead yet.
You can purchase a No Live Actor version of the experience if you want to enjoy the fun without the scares.
Is there somewhere secure to leave my bags?
Yes, there are secure lockers inside the experience and you shall retain the key.
Can I bring my phone into the experience?
Yes β but with a few important conditions:
If you choose to bring your phone (or any other personal items) into the house and lose it during the game, we can allow only five minutes for retrieval before the next group must begin. After that, youβll need to schedule a separate appointment to return and collect it.
The house is large, dimly lit, and filled with places where items can be easily misplaced. For that reason, weΒ strongly recommendΒ the following:
-
Keep your phone onΒ loudΒ (not silent or vibrate)
-
EnableΒ voice activationΒ (e.g., βHey Siriβ / βOK Googleβ) so we can help locate it quickly if needed
Weβve never had a guest permanently lose an item at Granny, and weβd like to keep it that way. But please remember: if you bring valuables into the experience,Β you do so at your own riskΒ β and we cannot delay other guests if youβre unable to keep track of them.
Do you have a customer toilet?
There is one toilet available during the experience β but itβs Grannyβs bathroom, and youβll need to find it first. Once the game begins, you can use it at any timeβ¦ if youβre brave enough to enter. We strongly recommend using the bathroom before you arrive. Many guests stop at Mother Kellyβs nearby for a pre-show drink β they are happy for you to use their facilities and if you show them your Granny ticket, youβll receive 10% off your bill.
Can each member of my group pay individually?
The minimum cost to reserve a timeslot is 4 tickets. If youβre planning to visit Granny with a group larger than 4 and want others to pay separately, just purchase 4 tickets in one transaction to secure your slot. Youβll receive a confirmation email with all the instructions β including a booking link and password β so your friends can add themselves to your timeslot later.
I have a physical disability, is this event suitable for me?
The experience takes place on a single level and does not involve crawling. However, due to the layout of the building, it is unfortunatelyΒ not wheelchair accessible.
Some areas have uneven surfaces and low or intermittent lighting, so there is a degree of physicality involved that may make the event unsuitable for those with limited mobility or balance concerns.
If you have accessibility needs, we require you to get in touch with us before booking, so we can discuss your specific requirements and advise accordingly.
If youβre registered as needing a carer (e.g. via DLA or equivalent), weβre happy to provide aΒ free carer ticket. Just email us atΒ Β info@screamworks.co.uk
I am pregnant, is this event suitable for me?
The experience may involve moments of physical intensity, startle effects, and an unpredictable environment β all of which make it unsafe during pregnancy.
What should I wear?
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes with a good grip β trainers are perfect. Please avoid high heel shoes or any shoes which have a smooth leather bottom, like formal wear.
Where are you located?
Granny lives behind Thorne's Bookshop at 261 Paradise Row, E2 9LE. It is a two-minute walk from Bethnal Green underground station (Central Line) and a twelve-minute walk from Bethnal Green overground station. Click hereΒ to see a map.
Avoid using Google Maps or City Mapper as these third-party apps can be unreliable.
I am coming by car, where shall I park?
We do not have a customer parking facility. However, there are plenty of parking bays on adjacent streets.
What's the difference between a public and private timeslot?
A public timeslot is a shared game.
You book the tickets you need, and other small groups can also book into the same session until itβs full. Youβll still all play together in one game.
A private timeslot is an exclusive game just for your group.
As soon as youβve booked the required minimum for a private slot, we block that time off so no other groups can join. The room is yours.
Can I add more people after Iβve booked?
Yes. Whether your booking is public or private, you can add extra tickets later:
-
Go to βMy Ordersβ on our website
-
Find your booking
-
Click βBuy More Ticketsβ and complete checkout as normal
Any extra tickets will be added to the same game and linked to your existing order.
How do we access the footage from our experience?
After attending the event, you can log in using the email address you used at check-in and access your footage via theΒ Attendee Dashboard. Please note: this system is currently in beta and is provided as a gesture of goodwill β we cannot guarantee availability, functionality, or technical support. Access is only granted if all members of your group check in and no one has opted-out of peer sharing.
