Reviews

The Grand Parlor

The Grand Parlor

13th Hour Escape Room - Wharton

  • Escape room
  • IRL
We came in with high expectations for The Grand Parlor given all the rave reviews, and in many ways, it really delivered. The space is massive — multiple rooms, multiple levels — and the production value is top-notch. It’s one of the more visually impressive and creative rooms we’ve ever done. That said, we also found ourselves echoing what a few other reviewers have noted: the sheer volume of puzzles, many with multiple components and little clear direction, made it hard to know where to focus. Some early puzzles were actually gating progress, but it wasn’t obvious that they needed to be solved first, which meant we lost a lot of time working on things we couldn’t yet complete. A gentle nudge from the game master at that point would’ve made a big difference. We’ve done a ton of rooms and consider ourselves relatively experienced, but the early linearity paired with the overall non-linear feel left us a little frustrated at times. Once we did get past those early challenges, we felt like we were constantly racing the clock — and ended up needing more hints than we typically would’ve liked. We did escape, but the final stretch felt more like being guided through than solving it ourselves at times. All that said, the set design and creativity in the puzzles were phenomenal — there were definitely moments and mechanics we’d never seen before. With a bit more clarity upfront or a longer run time (75–90 minutes would make a lot of sense here), this would be an absolute all-time favorite. We still gave it a “Love” for the sheer scale and originality, but if you go, don’t be shy about asking for an early hint or two if you find yourself spinning your wheels.
Alien Conspiracy

Alien Conspiracy

The Puzzle Parlour

  • Escape room
  • IRL
Dragon Heart

Dragon Heart

Exit 4 - Ocean City, 8th St

  • Escape room
  • IRL

𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿