Level99 RoomsLevel99Escape roomOther After visiting Boda Borg a few years ago, I returned to Boston with a friend with it on the list. I quickly learnt that they required 3 players and so we pivoted to Level99 - it was a great pivot. I really enjoyed the integration of technology to track progression, the rapid flow from room to room, and every challenge.
Activate [Interactive Arcade]Activate CharlotteEscape roomOther We took a road trip down to Charlotte from Raleigh in order to experience Activate for the first time. It was an fun experience - the challenges were well-designed and the sense of progression via the gamification was well-done. I wish they would let less people in at a time, but it was still enjoyable.
Boda Borg Boston QuestsBoda Borg - BostonEscape roomOther This was my first experience 'questing' or anything similar. I went with some friends who weren't comfortable with the physical quests so was unfortunately relegated to the more lightly intensive or mental quests. This still was a delightful experience that enraptured me.
Omega Mart [Immersive Art]Meow WolfEscape roomOther I spent 13 hours in OmegaMart exploring. I completed the boop card story, read everything that could be possibly read, called every phone number that could be, and it was a delight to immerse myself the lore!
GridDistrict 57Escape roomOther I wouldn't recommend this experience for an enthusiast but if you're local to Charlotte and have never done anything like it before, it can be a fun time! I'm happy the Charlotte area can support this business and hope it continues to grow. It was a bit frustrating to read the instructions, often a slightly unclear paragraph, in very dim lighting, as the timer for the room started. Some of the rooms were repetitive and very few offered a true physical challenge. A few of the rooms were poorly designed to support more than two players. I think if they were to invest in some quality of life improvements, retire unpopular rooms, and increase room quality/diversity - they'd be doing great!
The Real Unreal [Immersive Art]Meow WolfEscape roomOther I had not been to the House of Eternal Return prior to The Real Unreal. I had been to OmegaMart before. I will say this exhibit was still great to explore, but didn't capture me in the same way. The lack of a boop card or equivalent progression aside from the optional 'brain beans' (which did not progress any sort of narrative) reduced the dopamine hits for exploring. I liked the app but it took me 'out of the experience.'
![Activate [Interactive Arcade]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/284475ea-6e0f-42db-a08a-72ca9caddc09.jpg)
![Omega Mart [Immersive Art]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/7dd3d136-e935-4834-a5b4-3d3e7300a744.jpg)
![The Real Unreal [Immersive Art]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/f0de0fb7-a01a-46d3-8d15-3fb7371891b6.webp)