Operation Beehive

Escape Rooms Wellington (Wellington, New Zealand)

Time limit: 60 minutes

Player limit: 2-8 players (recommended 4-6)

Age limit: Under 16 requires adult

Difficulty: Hard

Date visited: December 2025

Our final set of games on our New Zealand trip were at Wellington Escape Rooms. I thought, since we were in New Zealand, we should play a locally themed one, so I booked Operation Beehive (the “Beehive” is the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament). Was it any good?

• This was a very interesting one. In fact, it started off as a Russian Cold War-themed room back when it was first built in the UK over a decade ago, but when owner Steve and his wife relocated to New Zealand and the invasion of Ukraine began, they decided to modify it into something less controversial and more local. Most of the puzzles, I believe, have remained the same, but certain props and the overall storyline have been changed.

• So this was quite an old game — but still a very good one in the classic, traditional sense. The set, which started us off in an ordinary looking room adorned by cabinets, looked and felt dated, though that matched the era in which the story was set. All the props and tech were in working order, which can’t be said for a lot of new rooms these days. I can imagine some of the tech in this room being mind-blowing for players a decade ago.

• The puzzles were rather challenging for us and sometimes required more common sense and attention to detail than typical puzzle-solving skills (I recall we needed 2 or 3 hints). It was the good kind of challenging, with plenty of “aha” moments, and any frustration was directed at ourselves for not being clever enough as opposed to the design of the puzzles themselves.

• One minor quibble was that, as the room had a real-life historical angle to the backstory, there were pieces of information and photos pasted on the walls. All of it was just to teach players more about the story and history, but I spent an inordinate amount of time reading them, thinking there must be clues hidden in them somewhere.

• There was a sense of urgency and meaningful stakes towards the end of the game, an often under-appreciated element in escape rooms.

• The hints were delivered via a hybrid voice-of-god system where the GM could see the players at all times and sent through hints on a screen in the room.

• In all, this was a very average-looking room that’s not going to wow anyone, yet I can’t deny that we found it positively challenging and a lot of fun, reminding us that puzzles and flow can be just as important — if not more so — than theming and immersion.

Escape time: 49 minutes and 20 seconds

Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun
B-	B-	A	A-	B+

Verdict: A classic, timeless escape room that may look and feel its age, but demonstrates why it has stood the test of time through challenging puzzles and old-school fun.

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
B+	B-	B	B