The Man From BeyondStrange Bird ImmersiveEscape roomIRLThe actors in this room were by far the best actors we have ever encountered in an escape room. The entertainment value and immersion is off the charts. The room is much more about the story and the experience than it is about puzzles. There were very few puzzles, and they were not difficult.
The StorykeeperLocurioEscape roomIRLThe Storykeeper is one of the best escape rooms I've ever played, and I'm pretty sure it's the most impressively designed room I've seen. It's difficult to explain just how much work went into designing every inch of this room. Nothing is out of place, and everything has a purpose. It was so immersive that I really did feel like we entered an entirely different world. The story, the storytelling, and the acting were unique, clear, and entertaining. I can't write more about that because it's a surprise, but the surprise is worth the intrigue. The engineering of this room is also incredible. Multiple times I found myself thinking "How did they do that? I'm touching this prop that is actually a puzzle, and somehow it's magically interactive." Everything work. Nothing removed us from the immersion and story. We felt excitement, fear, wonder, and joy. The room is huge. The various spaces throughout the room are unique from each other yet they flow together so well. I just kept thinking, "There's no way this room and story can keep going." We just kept discovering new and exciting worlds and challenges. There were no unnecessarily tedious puzzles, and the physical challenge was a lot of fun. There was one puzzle in particular that was incredibly unique. I've never seen anything like it. If it sounds like I'm exaggerating the quality this room, I'm not. Please play this room.
Ruins: Forbidden TreasureThe Escape Game - Berry HillEscape roomIRLRuins is without a doubt the best escape room I've ever played, and every escape room enthusiast should take a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to play it. TEG partnered with Disney to build a room that has everything I love in an escape room with the added bonus of an engaging storyline. It's probably too large and complex to reproduce it in a cost effective way at other locations, but I hope that they will continue to keep it in good repair at their Berry Hill location. Players begin the room in a realistic airplane ride then are transported into a fantasy world of adventurous treasure hunting that could rival any Indiana Jones movie. There are only three generation-one locks in the whole room, and players are given the opportunity to interact with the props in the room in fantastic ways that makes the room as immersive as any room I've ever played. As we traveled from the room's numerous areas, it felt like the ruins went on forever. The puzzles range from exciting physical challenges to complex mental challenges, and the room moves in more exciting and impressive ways than any other room I've every seen. The room has its own lobby of Disney quality that begins the immersion before the players enter the room and provides a great place for post-game fun and pictures.
PlaygroundThe Escape Game - Grapevine MillsEscape roomIRLWe had so much fun at The Escape Game in Austin that we planned a trip to do most of the rooms at The Escape Game in Dallas, and I'm very happy we did because one of their rooms is now number three on my all time favorite rooms. This trip, I was with my brother Billy (who I do most rooms with) and four other family members. The Escape Game Dallas is in an awesome mall called Grapevine Mills Mall. This mall has a lot of fun things for families to do. I have two young sons, and we went back the next day for them to enjoy the mall. The mall has a Rain Forest Cafe, a gigantic arcade, bowling ally, indoor playgrounds, Peppa Pig store, Lego store, cars for the kids to drive around the mall, a train, and more. I have been to a few The Escape Game locations, and one design feature of all their rooms stands out to me. They put their puzzles right out in the open as decorations. The good thing about that is that it adds to the immersiveness of the room, and The Escape Game is very good at immersion. The puzzles and clues fit very well with the story line. When you pull a puzzle out of a drawer or box, they sometimes feel forced into the storyline of a room. The downside of all the puzzles being visible in the beginning is that it makes the room nonlinear, and it's very difficult to know where to start. That's fine if you are with a medium to large team, but it's quite difficult to do nonlinear rooms with a two or three person team. The good thing is that The Escape Game knows their target audience, and their recommended group sizes reflect this reality. At this locations, we did three rooms: Playground, The Heist, and Prison Break. I'm amazed that all of them are so good. At almost escape rooms, there's a weak room, but not at The Escape Game. Yes, some are better than others, but they're all good. Playground is number three on my list of the best rooms I've ever played, and it is the most unique room I've ever done. Everything about this room is impressive. You'll be an elementary school student racing to get to recess. Yes, it's as fun as it sounds. It's helpful to have a group of four or more for this room. It would be hard to do this room with three or fewer players. You'll need to divide and conquer for this room. Get through the first two areas quickly because the third area will take some time. If you get a chance, do this room. We completed the room in 50 minutes.
The Cabin (Original)Escape Hour Gig HarborEscape roomIRLThe Cabin Trilogy is without a doubt the scariest room I've ever played, but amazingly, they have a non-scary version. If you call ahead, they can offer you the same room without the scary elements. I even got chills while they were introducing the story. Before you enter the room, you stand in a dark hallway outside the room where they tell you the story. This allows your eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room, and it provides a spooky element before the clock even starts. The room has a lot of generation one locks and simple generation one puzzles, but it's so scary that it's hard to focus on the puzzles. We spent a lot of time running from area to area, but we were scared to go into a new area, because we didn't know what would be in there. I don't want to say much about this room because the element of surprise is so important to its design, but I will say that the room is more linear room than many rooms that I play. That linearity aids the immersiveness and scariness of the room, and it allows players to experience all of the puzzles. That's one of the reasons that I think this room is a great room for a small group. Yes a larger group would have a lot of fun doing this room, but I actually think that a smaller group would have more fun in this room. I love the hint mechanism of this room. You don't have to carry a walkie-talkie or run to a stationary hint requesting device. I won't give a lot of details, but the hints are spooky, easily accessible, and helpful. Because there are some small areas, some dexterity is helpful in this room, and it's important for players to pay close attention to all the details in the room. The scary distractions will cause you to think that details are only there to add to the design, but like the other great rooms at Escape Hour, everything in the room has a purpose. Because the story of this room is the first episode in a trilogy, I was nervous that the room would have a cliffhanger ending, but that did not happen. The ending was exciting, and the game master came into the room to celebrate our success and actually debrief the experience.
Prison BreakThe Escape Game - Grapevine MillsEscape roomIRLThe immersion/decor of this room is incredible. The emotion I'm feeling about this room is regret, not because the room wasn't amazing, but because I missed two very obvious clues. You've probably done a room where you start the room separated from part of your group. This is one of those rooms. Separate your two best communicators so that they can share information with each other. Make sure you search the areas very thoroughly. My only complaint about this room is that it was unnecessarily dark. We completed the room in 55 minutes
Gold RushThe Escape Game - AustinEscape roomIRLIn early 2020, before the pandemic lockdowns, I went to The Escape Game in Austin, Texas with my brother and three of our friends/colleagues. It was incredible. The Escape Game is a large escape room chain. Since then, I have been to a couple other The Escape Game locations, and I've now learned that it wasn't just that room in Austin that was so good. All of their rooms are amazing. On this trip, we did Gold Rush. To this day, it is in my top three favorite rooms. All of the rooms at The Escape Game are very large with three or four big areas. Their lobbies are usually very small and underwhelming, but they have cool merch. If you get a chance to do a room at The Escape Game, do it. They're all good, and in my opinion, a few of them are among the best rooms in the country. My tips for their rooms: Pay very close attention to details. Search everywhere for clues. The rooms are so well designed that the puzzles blend in with the incredible decor. In a few of their rooms, we just totally missed very important clues because they just looked like they were part of the immersive environment. Sometimes you will have to go through a small opening to get into a new area, but when you get to the new area, look for a door to open that will let you back into the previous area so that you don't have to crawl/climb back and forth. Look for symbols that will connect puzzles/clues to locks. Recognizing which puzzles and clues go with which locks will help you solve the puzzles. There are so many cool elements in this room that I'm hesitant to write about them because I don't want to ruin the surprise...so I won't. This room is just incredibly fun. We had some beginners in the group, and we got out in about 55 minutes with three hints.
Special Ops: Mysterious MarketThe Escape Game - Opry MillsEscape roomIRL𓆜𓋘𓄁 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 𓅟𓂿This review contains spoilers.Unscramble𓀗
SabotageThe Escape Game - Opry MillsEscape roomIRLSabotage is nothing like TEG's other games. It's a competitive race room. Two teams enter two identical rooms and compete to see who can complete the room with the highest number of points. Points are earned by quickly solving puzzles and using the codes that those solves generate to attack the other team. When the first attack happens, a window opens up between the rooms so that the teams can see each other. Teams are also given the option to compete against a computer simulation rather than another team. The centerpiece of the room is a giant screen above a control panel. The room was a lot of fun, and although there weren't multiple areas to explore, many doors opened up to allow the room to continue to evolve.
Evil Dead 2Hourglass EscapesEscape roomIRLHourglass Escapes Seattle is a small escape room in downtown Seattle. It's only a half of a mile from the Seattle Space Needle and one mile from Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks. Even though the location is downtown Seattle, we were able to find free parking right down the street. It's quite small, and the lobby is more like a hallway. The hosts are hospitable and clear, but they leave th immersion and acting to videos. Like most of the rooms in the Seattle area, Hourglass Escapes prioritizes enjoyment over competition. I love that. They will help you complete a room with clear and plentiful hints. They give plenty of clues to help you connect puzzles to the locks they open. They don't add red herrings, and in the dark rooms, they provide plenty of flashlights/torches. The most well-known room at Hourglass Escapes is the Evil Dead 2 room. It is one of the few rooms that are officially licensed by a movie, and it is obvious why the Evil Dead franchise trusted Hourglass enough to put their name on this room. I have never played a room with better production quality than the Evil Dead 2 room. Players do not need to see Evil Dead 2 before playing the room, but watching the movie first might make the experience more enjoyable. The locks and puzzles were very well integrated into the design of the room. With primarily generation two locks, they are able to create the feeling that you are interacting with a spiritual world. The room is very nonlinear. It can be completed by two experienced players, but the room would work well with four people because there are almost always multiple puzzles that a team can work on at any time. That allows the team to divide and conquer. Overall, this room is just a lot of fun. We laughed. We were scared. We enjoyed the puzzles, and the climactic ending left us with a memorable celebration moment.
