About
Find out about the people behind the puzzles.
A PUZZLING DECADE
The idea for Puzzleworks began on New Year’s Eve 2010, a year after the two of us had met at school.
At a family party, we were handed a boxed murder mystery and told to run it. After reading it properly, we realised that while it was technically functional, it was going to be deeply unfun. The story made little sense and solving it required logical leaps of heroic proportions.
So we rewrote it, added secondary objectives, slipped in extra clues, and quietly made everyone’s roles more interesting. The evening improved considerably. We paid attention.
A few years later, after university, we escalated. A reunion party for twenty friends became a weekend-long narrative in a country mansion, complete with custom video, original music, layered puzzles, escape mechanics, and a plot that required active diagramming. It was unnecessary and extremely satisfying.
Over time, this became Puzzleworks: bespoke, one-of-a-kind immersive adventures built from scratch rather than lifted from a box.
ISAAC BERNIER-DOYLE
Isaac is the Artistic Director of the award-winning Off West End theatre Upstairs at the Gatehouse in London.
Through his production company, Chromolume, he has led and developed critically-acclaimed shows in London, with work transferring internationally, including to Shanghai.
During his MA, he undertook a research project combining puzzle construction with songwriting, producing an album of songs that each functioned as standalone puzzles and collectively solved to a single metapuzzle phrase. Not 100% sure why.
At six, he became obsessed with a treasure hunt book for kids. He worked on it for weeks, finally arriving at the solution: “TREASURE IN THE ESCAPE PEBO”.
The treasure was, in fact, in the escape boat. All subsequent puzzling has been an attempt to recover from this awful miscalculation.
FAVOURITE PUZZLES
- Cain's Jawbone
- Blue Prince
- The Last of Sheila
JACOB RAINBOW
Jacob is a Data Engineer and professional pianist who has performed sold-out shows in London, New York, and Tokyo.
He read Mathematics at Oxford, graduating with a First Class degree, before going on to study Classical Piano at Trinity Laban. Since then, he has spent much of his life moving between logic and music, both of which reward patience and punish shortcuts.
His fascination with puzzles began playing through Myst with his dad, who at the time was a video game developer. Together they wandered through deserted islands, deciphered strange machinery, and learned to appreciate the value of a well-placed lever.
Jacob writes music and plays. At Puzzleworks, he designs and develops many of the mechanics that make the adventures function. He is happiest when a solution feels inevitable in hindsight. He just can’t get enough.
FAVOURITE PUZZLES
- enigma variations
- MYST
- SLEUTH
LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE?
We are, as far as we know, the only company in the UK offering completely bespoke puzzle-led immersive experiences across a wide range of scales and budgets.
Whether you’re planning a huge weekend away or want to deliver a meaningful narrative via cryptic letters, we’d be happy to help make it unforgettable.
We take care of the design, planning, and execution of the full event and can travel wherever the adventure takes us.
We also offer a consultation service so that you can have your event, campaign, or other work informed by the expertise of professional puzzle designers.