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About Sherlocked
Sherlocked™ is an award-winning maker of escape rooms
and immersive experiences based in Amsterdam,
founded in 2014 inside the historic Beurs van Berlage.
Three award-winning rooms, The Architect, The Vault and The Alchemist, built for 2 to 7 players, alongside team-building activities, city games and home mysteries.
We want to challenge, surprise and inspire people,
and to empower them as beings with impact.
Part of our success thus far has come from people being touched emotionally by our experiences. By them coming with certain expectations and us going far beyond them.
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The biggest goal in what we make is to help people transform themselves, even a little, through meaningful, playful experiences. By showing people what they're capable of, we hope to inspire them to apply those positive characteristics in their daily lives.
Three worlds inside the iconic Beurs van Berlage.
Three in-person rooms inside the historic Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. The Architect, The Vault and The Alchemist have welcomed players from more than ninety countries. Each is built slowly and obsessively, prop by prop, sound cue by sound cue, aiming to be remembered, not just solved. Just as popular for team outings as for date nights.
"A wonder factory, filled with technological marvels."
— David Spira, Room Escape Artist
Award-winning puzzle stories,
delivered to your door.
Each Home Mystery is a standalone adventure, built for fans of rich narratives and puzzles that reward a closer look. Play it together, at your own table, over however many evenings it takes.
"One of the best puzzle experiences you can have on your tabletop: narrative-driven and elegantly crafted"
— Room escape artist
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Adventures that turn Amsterdam itself into the puzzle.
Outdoor experiences that send you into Amsterdam's streets, weaving real historical events into a story you solve as you walk it. Every clue points to somewhere real. Popular for team building, since nobody can hide behind a laptop out here.
"I actually live in Amsterdam for almost 30 years myself and I discovered things I had never seen before and learned a lot."
— Pamela s, Tripadvisor
the sherlocked difference
We blur the line between fiction and reality, by making your story already start long before you actually enter our doors.
We work together with the best in their respective fields, artists, engineers and craftspeople to make our vision a reality.
We make riveting stories that you step into. Everything inside our experiences has a reason within that story.
We constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible, always starting from the question "what would be the coolest or most impactful thing to happen here?" and then working to get as close as possible.
Victor van Doorn is our co-founder and creative director. Since 2014, he’s shaped Sherlocked’s signature blend of adventure, realism and innovation, creating cinematic experiences that blur the line between fiction and reality.
Before Sherlocked, Victor was a filmmaker, which informed his taste for storytelling and cinematic flair. Where previously actors would enact his stories, now our visitors step into them.
Victor also co-founded The Maker Market, a popular platform for local products, designers and brands.
A former TEDx speaker, Victor often speaks at industry events, from the Immersive Experience Network in London to RECON in Los Angeles.
Victor’s own mission and Sherlocked's align: to make the world more magical.
Francine Boon is our co-director and lead experience designer, crafting immersive experiences that connect head, heart, and hands.
A sociologist turned mystery maker, she joined in 2019 and co-created The Alchemist, praised as a "wonder factory" and a milestone in immersive storytelling.
Her earlier work includes leading the Rijksmuseum Escape Game and designing Palace Mysteries at the Royal Palace Amsterdam.
Francine also runs Studio Nox, illustrates, and develops creative self-reflection tools exploring the link between imagination and self-development.
A featured speaker at RECON, MuseumNext, and The Art Engager, she's driven by two questions: how can we make our world more magical? and how can we empower people to be more playful, daring and creative?
A vague Facebook tag leads to a life-changing escape room near King's Cross. The idea is planted: this needs to exist in Amsterdam.
A chance email connects the founders to the Beurs van Berlage. What began as a tattoo lab idea transforms into one of Amsterdam's earliest atmospheric escape rooms.
Sherlocked launches The Vault, a high-stakes heist in the Beurs' real vault complex. National media attention helps popularize escape rooms across The Netherlands.
Global reviewers hail The Vault and The Architect. Sherlocked becomes a must-do experience for international visitors.
Francine Boon joins the core team, replacing three of the original co-founders. Her first project: leading the Rijksmuseum Escape Game, a limited-run, story-driven museum adventure that draws 10,000+ visitors in just nine weeks with a 9.4/10 average rating.
When the world stops, Sherlocked adapts. The team launches Home Mysteries, at-home adventures, and live-avatar escape games, bringing the thrill of discovery into people's homes.
The adventure expands beyond the Beurs with Time Crimes and City Games, turning the streets of Amsterdam into playgrounds for mystery lovers. Late 2022 marks the announcement of The Alchemist, our first new permanent room in seven years.
Blending technology, storytelling, and magic, The Alchemist opens to critical acclaim and is hailed as one of the best escape rooms in the world. Sherlocked also unveils The Lost Cabinet and shares insights on building "impossible machines" at RECON.
Sherlocked continues to push boundaries with Palace Mysteries at the Royal Palace for Amsterdam750.
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Consistently rated among the best experiences in Amsterdam, every single year since 2014.
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Victor and Francine on The Alchemist, their creative partnership and how Sherlocked shaped the Dutch escape room scene.
A documentary on the money behind high-end escape rooms, including the near bankruptcy moments while building The Alchemist.
Francine discussed transforming museum engagement through immersive storytelling and game design, sharing insights from the Rijksmuseum Escape Game and Palace Mysteries project.
David Spira named The Alchemist his number one after 1,200 escape rooms, a wonder factory of impossible moments. It won a Golden Lock Award.
British reviewers called it a masterpiece of stunning detail and technomagic, one of their most magical adventures yet.
The early review that established our international reputation, praising a heist told inside the Beurs van Berlage's real vaults. Another Golden Lock winner.
We brought a mobile escape room to Dutch television. Within four months, 200 new escape rooms opened across The Netherlands.
The legendary children's show spent an episode with us, showing a young audience how our adventures are made.
A feature following a team through The Alchemist, with our co-directors on the Dutch escape room boom.
2025
Created with Quantum Delta NL and Next Nature, this 30 minute adventure turns quantum physics into a race to safeguard the future, challenging players to stabilise a quantum computer through hands on puzzles about sensing, communication, and optics.
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2024-2025
Designed for Amsterdam750, Palace Mysteries turned the Royal Palace on Dam Square into a living mystery, guiding students through puzzles and hidden stories inside the historic palace.
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2023
For Q42, we turned 13th century Castle Czocha into a weekend-long escape adventure, where 75 participants joined five houses to complete 42 quests through secret passages, dungeons, towers, and taverns.
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2021-2022
During COVID restrictions, we partnered with Zoku Hotels to transform hotel lofts into 30-40 minute in-room mystery games. The collaboration created safe, private overnight escape experiences that showcased Zoku's hidden design features.
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2019
A story-driven museum adventure that drew 10,000 visitors in nine weeks and earned a 9.4/10 audience rating, our first major institutional collaboration.
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2018
A playful, privacy-focused adventure created for Google Backstage, turning everyday digital settings, including two-factor authentication, Maps, Search, and YouTube, into hands-on puzzles for nearly 2,000 visitors.
Read moreBeurs van Berlage
Damrak 247
1012 ZJ Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Beurs Hotline (Urgent matters):
+31 (0)20 261 6433
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