Budapest Express

Again with this location… lots of reading and decoding. Things aren’t so much in your face and easy to solve. I feel like there needs to be a better balance of the puzzle across most rooms at this location and this location is no different. We were reading, and reading, and reading some more to solve. That said, this is one of the better rooms as the props are completely outdated like some of the other rooms.

Hard room for 2 people. Some of the clues we never would have gotten if we didn’t have help. We had fun, but even though we finished we felt like we lost

As with any of our ratings, we work on a 50 point total scale divided into 5 10-point categories. They are as follows. Location (ease of access, near other things) User Friendliness (too easy/difficult, need for hint) Service (helpfulness, hint quality, enthusiasm) Aesthetics (decor, theme, immersion) Bang for Buck (was it worth it?) Location: 10 Location was easy to get to, in areas where there are other things to do. It was great that there was bowling and a place to eat in the same venue. Really good spot if you wanted to do more than just a room. User Friendliness: 7 All of the clues and locks and puzzles were easy to use and read and understand. Hints were said that we could have them given on an as needed basis, but once we pushed the button for a hint we would get intermittent hints about every 7-10 minutes. The puzzles were different in variety and were well planned out. Service: 6 The staff were friendly and supportive. But there wasn’t much more than showing us our game space, turning on a video, and a thank you picture in the end. Aesthetics: 7 There was moderate level of feel of immersion into the scenario. Some of the props were worn from use and definitely had the feel of needing to be replaced but overall was pretty decent. The waiting room was nice and comfortable as well. Bang for Buck: 9 The price was reasonable - thank you Groupon - and the overall experience was good. We did eat at the restaurant beforehand and enjoyed the overall atmosphere. We would do another room from this company. Overall Score: 39/50

This was a good room for our party of two. My sister and I had done several together the same weekend and were able to get out together.

This game was pretty tough. Hard room for two people, really needed 3-4 players for this room a lot going on. Definitely need to pay close attention to the clues and where they come from. It’s important. Organization is key in this room and make sure you come back to the main frequently.

The setting was accurate to the story, very immersive. It’s important to remember where your clues come from.

I got over consumed in keeping all evidence in one place, I didn’t keep track of what came from where and it cost us. When GM said “stay organized”, I didn’t think it meant to keep things where they were or remember where they came from. This for the first time worked against me as this room was storyline intensive. Rooms were nice and immersive but one must embody the spirit of a true crime detective in organizing evidence or it could work against you. Personally, I like storylines but am more of a fan of puzzles and clues that you can complete without following a storyline too closely. Do all these to get out instead of follow this story to get out. Good room but different focus. Puzzles were pretty good but need to make a lot of connections to story. I put a thumbs down but it’s more like a between up and down.