Doyle's Opticians Opens in West 12 - With a Secret

Doyle's Opticians - not what it seems

A new optician has opened in the West 12 Centre but, rather oddly, they aren't open for business.

Doyle's Opticians, next door to Lidl, are not actually open to the public. When I knocked on the door yesterday afternoon, I was politely told to come back with a reservation. How to make a reservation? "Online".

What sort of optician won't open their doors to a customer? The answer, of course, is an optician that isn't an optician.

Official Sherlock Live

Experience
Behind the doors lies something altogether different from your average optician - "The Official Sherlock Live Experience", a multi-player game based on the TV Series starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

The site is located within the West 12 Shopping centre formerly occupied by a large and rambling furniture store. Today, fans of the TV series can enter the world of Sherlock.

According to the official site, The Official Sherlock Live Experience is "a 100 minute immersive escape game for teams of 4-6 people.".

"Don your deerstalker and dive into an all-new mystery brought to you by series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, in collaboration with Time Run, renowned escape room pioneers".

Sherlock comes to West 12

Escape Room 
The World of Sherlock promises "immersive sets and environments from the show", as guests "work together as a team to solve mysteries and puzzles before time runs out."

What does it cost?
The game isn't cheap, Tickets cost £54 per person and can be bought for teams of 4, 5 or 6 players.

Games run Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 10pm and tickets are now on sale from January until the end of April 2019. 

Where is it?
You can find Doyle's Opticians at the back of the West 12 Centre, near Lidl. It's where the old furniture store used to be, across the way from the Bush Doctors.

Official Site
https://www.thegameisnow.com/

Check out the reviews at Tripadvsor
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d15515881-Reviews-Sherlock_The_Game_Is_Now-London_England.html

It's an imaginative idea, and surely a good use of empty retail space, as high street shopping continues to move online. What will be done with all the empty shops on our high streets and in our shopping centres? Sherlock looks like an innovative and fun solution.

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