The StorykeeperLocurioEscape roomIRLOne of my all-time favorite rooms. Live actors done well in an escape room setting is peak ER experience IMO and this one is no exception. Perhaps this being my first live actors ER made it that much more impressionable. Lots of puzzles, twists in the story. Thrills and surprises. Really loved this one and even gifted it to a friend who was getting married (we were in town for a wedding). Can’t recommend it enough!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLThis room came very much hyped up. Did it meet the hype? I’ve certainly experienced things in this game I’ve never experienced before and so in regards to immersion, yes- very well done, creative, and to me it’s exceeded the hype in that regard. Where it fell slightly short for me however was that the game was fairly quick (at least it seemed that way) and the puzzles were pretty straightforward and on the easier side. This would be a great room for beginners and for converting people to become ER enthusiasts. Not the most challenging room for experienced ER artists. Regardless, a very endearing and feel good room. The best of all the rooms here? It’s definitely up there. For me Campground is still the room, and I still rate the Grand Parlor higher than this, but I’m comfortable putting this at a strong #3.
The Campground13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLProbably my most favorite escape room ever. Absolutely world class. Production design and immersion incredible. Not for the faint of heart however, there are tons and TONS of puzzles. Went with a group of 4 and we were running around and finished the game a little before 2 hours. Our game guide was gracious and gave us extra time since we were the last game of the night. But incredible game and probably the most satisfying ending I’ve encountered in a game so far. 13th hour continues to show why they are the class of the metro area!
Curse of the Hidden TemplePuzzleConnect Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLMy favorite of the three rooms! Every room they have at PuzzleConnect is quality but the story, gameplay, and the production behind Hidden Temple is tops. Really enjoyable experience. In addition Frank and Christina are amazing owners and people and welcomed both me and my wife with open arms. Customer care and connection is a huge value for Puzzle Connect and it shows. Fully recommend this place. My wife and I drove nearly an hour to spend the day here and we loved every moment of it!
The BirdMyssTic RoomsEscape roomIRLMy favorite room here at Mysstic rooms and perhaps one of my top 10 all time. Read the other reviews, it truly lives up to the hype. For starters it delivers in that it is very creative, beautifully designed, and has an intuitive puzzle flow- as many others mention, even in such a tight space. But it also has that element which separates the good rooms from the great ones; it touches your heart and somehow through the process you find yourself enjoying an experience that transcends the genre. Needless to say, this is a must play…and I’ll even go so far to say that perhaps this is the best small business produced escape room in the 5 boroughs of NYC. Our group of 5 finished the room with no hints in about 51 mins, puzzles moderate difficulty.
Ghost LightMyssTic RoomsEscape roomIRLOf all the 3 rooms, found this to be the easiest (and shortest) by far. We finished the room in 34 minutes with our group of 5, no hints, and we were told by our GM that it was a top 5 performance for Mysstic rooms, for which we felt honored. I did remember saying out loud after finishing the room, “That’s it?” which betrayed a sense of disappointment in myself wishing there was more I guess. With that said, lest I sound like I’m complaining, some really creative and beautiful set design that added to an immersive and fairly satisfying experience. This one is a decent heart rating for me. Surprised however to see this above The Bird for finalist in TERPECA 2025. 🤷♂️
The Grand Parlor13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLMy 2nd favorite escape room ever, 1st being the campground both rooms by 13th hour. What a company! This game is the biggest game I’ve encountered; you have an entire house to yourself pretty much, multiple rooms, multiple levels. But you don’t notice as you’re flying around trying to do all the puzzles. It can get overwhelming as there’s tons of locks and combos to solve and you don’t know which goes where. But with enough trial and error seasons enthusiasts should be able to make headway. The experience of the game is worth it. We had 4 people and we needed a little extra time even with a steady streak of clues. Also when we went in the summer there was no AC so it was a bit hot 77 degrees. There were also other games going on at the same time so you can hear other players voices. And there was no music. This would have the perfect experience for me if temperature was regulated, there was more privacy and a light soundtrack. But the game was so good, these were some minor annoyances.
The Last VampireEncrypted Escape - West ReadingEscape roomIRLWow. Rooms like this are WHY you play escape rooms and make a convincing case that escape rooms (well designed ones at least) provide peak immersion entertainment. Absolutely loved this room. My wife and I found it moderate difficulty and more than able to do with 2 experienced players. There was one hassle of a puzzle that took a lot of time but that aside the puzzles flow naturally and added to the theme and story of the room (along with the excellent soundtrack) all culminating to one of the best ending experiences I’ve had playing an Escape room yet. As of this review, I’ve played about 75 games and this is locked in at my top 10. This room is the crown of Encrypted Escape and A MUST PLAY at this venue.
The Candy ShoppePuzzleConnect Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis escape room was simply magical to play. From the playful puzzles to the soft cheerful soundtrack (including instrumentals from Willy wonka chocolate factory), you can’t help but just feel good playing this one. The puzzles themselves range from very easy to moderately difficult, well paced as the game progresses. Best candy themed room I’ve played so far.
Frozen In Time: The Race To Save Christmas!PuzzleConnect Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThanks to PuzzleConnect for an amazing and memorable experience! This game was the first game my wife and I completed without needing any hints. And it wasn’t because the game was necessarily easy, luckily after playing 30 games we had the experience to finish this w/o hints and it was incredibly gratifying. A perfect game for Christmas especially. The owners Frank and Christina were so thoughtful to write us a card congratulating us on the experience, in addition to giving us free stickers. We’ll never forget our time here!
