MagnificoEscaparium - LavalEscape roomIRL#1 room in the world and a ton of glowing reviews already. What else can I say? It's hard to describe this experience. I want to bring all my friends and just sit back and watch them experience the magic (and see it again). This is the only escape room that I got choked up with tears at the ending. The actors were all incredible and then you remember they're doing improv in their SECOND language since we came for the English version and it's really stunning. Where else can I say I immediately went to their YouTube page to listen to the music from an escape room, too? If you like escape rooms: get in a car, a plane, a boat, whatever you need to, and come visit. It's worth it.
La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLAs with other Escaparium rooms, there is a lot of love and care put into this room and more than one "wow" moment. The sets are gorgeous. The acting and plot is fun. That said, we had a ton of issues with this room, from certain props / tools not working correctly, to puzzles being confusing, to major audio issues in the last room with hearing the game master. After experiencing their other incredible rooms, it was a bit of a disappointment. Still absolutely worth it to play, but my least favorite of their "big four" TERPECA rooms.
Cornstalkers: Lost in the MaizeThe Escape Ventures - OrlandoEscape roomIRLEscape Ventures does it again with (imo) their best room yet. We finished in enough time that our GM gave us a back stage tour (thank you!) and we found out that this room is dynamic, meaning that if your group is small or struggling, they can remove puzzles to ensure you finish. Something to be aware of: if you come in with a group of 2 (like we did) they typically remove a few puzzles automatically as they don't expect you will get through them all with just 2 people. We had just finished Operation Arctic Storm with 20 minutes left on the clock and based on that performance they opted to keep all the puzzles in for us. Just something to be aware of if you are a very experienced escape room duo, you may want to let them know so they can keep some early puzzles in for you. I typically tip my GMs, but you should DEFINITELY consider tipping this GM if you don't usually do it. The amount of work they will put in for you is staggering. James was absolutely incredible! I am a total wuss in scary rooms and while I absolutely did scream (a couple times), I had a total blast. The puzzles were so well done. Even the scary parts were super fun. One of the best rooms I've ever done. Worth the trip!
RobotopiaOmescape - SunnyvaleEscape roomIRLThis was an excellent room with a ton of immersion, great set, cool details. The last part of it truly felt like a video game that came to life! I REALLY did not like one particular puzzle which took this room down a notch for me, but every other puzzle was great, and in a 2 hour room that's a nice feat. Highly recommend.
Storyteller's SecretBoxarooEscape roomIRLThis room is very highly praised, so I had VERY high expectations going into it. And it is a great room! But I actually enjoyed one of their other rooms more, and I wouldn't call this room in my top 10 all-time. That being said, it is absolutely worth a stop if you're in the area. The room is incredibly unique in regards to its play style, and it was a lovely experience with an amazing hint system. We got a behind-the-scenes tour as enthusiasts which was really special, too.
Neighborhood WatcherThe Escape Ventures - OrlandoEscape roomIRLI've done over 60 rooms and this one is in my top 10. I don't typically enjoy "scary" rooms as I don't love jump scares, but they gladly modified the room for my tastes (gave all the jump scares to my husband, and not to me). The live actor and the tension they created was phenomenal. Besides that, the puzzles were super fun and well constructed, and the set decorations and theme was on-point. TEV does a great job of making the experience start BEFORE the room and this one was no exception. Play this one!
L'Île perdue de la Reine Vaudou [The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLThis is what I've wanted every other pirate escape room to be. The GM / hint system is incredible. The puzzles are fun. The set isn't as mind-blowing as some of their other offerings, but you can bet this would be the crown jewel room in 95% of escape rooms out there. I really enjoyed this one. The only downsides are a weird step in the boat which I nearly tripped over multiple times, and the audio in the intro is VERY hard to hear.
Operation Arctic Storm: The Final MeltdownThe Escape Ventures - OrlandoEscape roomIRLEvery room these guys do is fantastic and this one is no exception. The theme is fun (albeit less immersive than some of their other rooms) and the puzzles are well thought-out. There was one puzzle that was a little finicky (we knew what to do, it just wasn't happening) but that's my only real complaint. We did this room with two people and had about 20 minutes left to go when we finished. If you've done a lot of rooms, you may find this one a bit on the easier side (we didn't need any hints which is pretty rare for us) but still absolutely worth a go. There will be some physical activity in this room!
Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin' PlotzDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLFun and cute room that is incredibly unique in its theme, relatively easy until one particular puzzle at the end had us pulling out our hair. We knew WHAT to do, just found it incredibly difficult to execute and it probably took 10+ minutes to finish. There was only 2 of us which contributes, but it put a damper on an otherwise very fun room. I wouldn't come in here with more than 3. It's a small space!
Lockbuster Video60 to Escape - SchaumburgEscape roomIRLA neat room with some awesome moving sets. There were some frustrating parts to this room for us where we were getting the correct solve but were moving TOO fast so the game didn't recognize it. This happened multiple times. Another time, something didn't trigger properly and the GM (which is only available via screen, and only in the main room) had to give us instructions on how to make it trigger. These issues bump it down a notch in my mind, but still a room worth playing.
![La Cathédrale Oubliée [The Forgotten Cathedral]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/2c2890dd-87b6-4712-8136-8403e436ec72.jpg)
![L'Île perdue de la Reine Vaudou [The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/ea8040b8-d20c-48b1-a683-d874c1ae6eb1.jpg)
