Just done my first of this interesting evolution of gaming into live spaces, the Oubliette in London (If you've got the chance to go this week, do so, it's their last and it's excellent) with three others, I think two had been to a single one before and one had been to a couple. We won with two minutes of the hour to spare, and it has some good puzzles and a top notch integration of theme.

Anyone else any experience of them on here, and, perhaps most importantly, any recommendations? (since the form of entertainment is, from what I hear, highly variable ranging the full gamut from appalling to excellent depending on where you go)

Is this like a Crystal Maze thing?

Closer to those one-room escape game take on the point and click adventure genre, but in person, but not dissimilar from the concept.

The basic concept of most is that your team is locked in a room and have an hour to escape from it, by solving puzzles. With the better ones having good themes, and good integration of theme into the experience. I think the podcast On Board Games had an episode about them, which might give a better idea of the basic concept than I can? http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/obg-154-no-escape