The Scary One

This is one of the times where I wish there was an option between thumbs up and thumbs down. A few positives… There is one big reveal at the end that is truly impressive to see, although even for that the disruption in game flow required to make it work almost made it not worth it. One early easy puzzle gave us a bit of a chuckle. Another puzzle in the second part tied a few earlier elements together nicely. Overall however… this was one of the most frustrating games we’ve played in a long time. LOTS of combo locks and LOTS and LOTS of reading (much of it creepy) and often in dim lighting. We really wished there had been a notebook/whiteboard available - true in another of their rooms too, but especially true of this one. There were multiple combo locks required to open a single element, one puzzle (which seemed very promising) that was just a complete dead-end, and another that could be a huge time-waster if you didn’t notice the “trick” early on (which thankfully we did!) Even puzzles-types that we’ve seen often in other rooms played out awkwardly here. We usually appreciate non-linear structures where we can work on different things in parallel but in this case the noise from one puzzle/conversation became too much distraction for another. (This might have been easier if we had something to write with/on.) Our group got to (but didn’t solve) the final puzzle, but I’m not sure that more people would have helped. I started off marking this thumbs up - mostly because the couple of truly unique things will likely impress most enthusiasts - but as I worked through each element of the review, I realized that for us the negatives still outweighed the positives and we really wish we would have chosen one of the other rooms here instead.

Rating 3.5/5 - Creepy cabin with one very cool reveal I've never seen done anywhere else Pros: -The "jaw dropping moment" from the description was fantastic and mind bending, it's the highlight of the room -Immersive set that looked high quality and appropriately creepy -Multiple areas to explore -There was at least one significant jump scare but it made us laugh afterwards -Friendly and helpful GM Mixed feelings: -Way too many padlocks and number/letter locks, especially compared to their other rooms. I dislike requiring multiple locks to open a single item as you don't get much reward for solving a puzzle. However, the lock mapping made it obvious which lock went with which puzzle. -Too much reading for my tastes, there are paragraphs upon paragraphs. I prefer more visual storytelling, sometimes less is more -Not a fan of the math puzzle, though it is basic math and a calculator was provided Cons: -The final effect wasn't working and made the ending anti-climactic -One puzzle where we put physical pieces into a board was completely pointless, the GM confirmed that it did nothing when we completed it -There was one puzzle at the end that the GM told us to ignore. It was clearly a puzzle (since it had a button, knobs, and a diagram) but the GM told us not to do anything with it, I suspect maybe it was broken so they bypassed it. -No writing pad provided and many of the puzzles are easier if you take notes. The owner says they don't provide markers due to vandalism, but many other escape rooms provide inexpensive electronic Boogie Boards to solve that problem. Taking notes on your phone is not a good substitute for something to write with. There is a lot to do in this room, so 4-5 enthusiasts is recommended. The room is difficult but not unfair, so I wouldn't recommend this to beginners. My ranking of the rooms here I've played starting with my favorite: 1. Ghost Town - Rating: 4.5/5 2. Murder Mansion - Rating: 4/5 3. The Pirate Ship - Rating: 4/5 4. Prison Break - Rating: 3.5/5 5. Time Machine - Rating: 3.5/5 6. The Scary One - Rating: 3.5/5 7. Abduction - Rating: 3.5/5 8. Shock & Awe - Rating: 3/5

The Scary One starts with you in the campgrounds at 11 at night where you happen upon a cabin in the woods. The storyline was interesting (although afterwards, our group wasn’t sure if the guy who owns the cabin became a bear or just wore a bear suit). Many of the puzzles fit with the theme, surrounding murders happening. Some of the puzzles required multiple calculations without provided paper or writing utensils. One of our group had been before and brought his own notepad, but it definitely would have been nice to have that in the experience. The ending was really cool and the “next suspects” made us all laugh. Although there were some items that didn’t make sense in the storyline (like the jump scare - who was that? What was the point of him being there?) Overall, really ambitious set. We did three other games during our trip to Lexington here and this was probably my third favorite. (In order from least to best: Time Machine, The Scary One, Murder Mansion, and Ghost Town.)

To be honest, this was my least favorite game at Countdown. Countdown has always impressed us with their immersive set designs and originality, as well as flow through their huge spaces. However, this one is *mostly* just a room with a bunch of different locks. There is one surprise that we imagine some players never even get to see, so we felt like the pacing was off a bit. There was a lot of tedium and math involved, which also broke the immersion a little for me. Maybe Countdown set the bar too high, because I was honestly a little let-down... With that said, I'm sure I'll still be back someday! P. S. If you're inexperienced with escape rooms, or if you don't have a big group, I wouldn't recommend this. There was a massive amount of puzzles that my husband and I really couldn't have realistically have solved much faster on our own! P. P. S. Just saw the owners' response! Just wanted to clarify that we weren't complaining at all about the difficulty or the amount of puzzles. We would just recommend it more for larger groups. We really appreciated you letting us play even though we understood that it was meant to be experienced by more than 2 people at a time! One thing that keeps us coming back to Countdown (hours from home!) is the deeply imaginative and narrative flow throughout their rooms. This room just wasn't our favorite because we have *really* enjoyed our experiences in other rooms there!

The amount of reading in this room is absolutely bonkers. There are some VERY cool surprises, and the set is absolutely delightful. But there were also some VERY frustrating logic jumps and time-sinks (and that pretty much ruined the experience for our group). And one hint our GM gave because “it isn’t actually in the room.”

This game is a great game to play with a larger group of people because there is more than one puzzle that can be worked on at a time. It is count downs hardest game! This game could be considered scary for smaller kids due to some of the special effects but nothing gory. Game does have a "darker" story line.

Fantastic escape room! The game is packed with a variety of puzzles, making it ideal for groups of 4-6 people to stay engaged the entire time. The creepy plot line includes a few jump scares, but nothing too intense. I recommend it for ages 12 and up. After reading other reviews we thought it would be incredibly hard, but most puzzles were self explanatory. The room features a great mix of traditional puzzles and innovative high-tech effects that we had never encountered before, even after completing over 50 escape rooms.

This room was very unique and I loved the story/atmosphere! As far as difficulty goes, The Scary One (the hardest game at countdown) is a really big jump from Prison Break (2nd hardest at Countdown). My group of 3 got out of prison break without any hints but asked for at least 6 hints in the scary one. I really enjoyed the tech in this room but I think some of the puzzles may have been a little bit overly ambitious.

The Scary One, as the name implies, is Countdown Games’ scariest room. That said, for most people, I wouldn’t worry too much about the jumpscares, and there is no gore so it’s technically ok for kids. Older kids, mind you, because there is a legit creepy plot as the room literally unravels. The big reveals are mind blowing in this room, and it’s worth seeing them here! However, do be warned that this is a super hard room with densely packed puzzles that essentially requires at least 4 experienced escape artists to be able to divide and conquer at a fast pace. The surprises towards the end made my mind implode, and the creepy cabin setting is totally my vibe. I hate scary rooms, but yet I am a fan of The Scary One. Try it out, if you can bear it!

Overall rating - 9.7/10 Puzzles - 9 Gameplay - 10 Atmosphere - 10 Experience - 10 For a breakdown of my weighted rating system you can refer to my bio. This is my favorite room here. It's hard but in a really fair way. We were very close to finishing, we were on the final puzzle when we failed. We had three experienced players I think one more would have been perfect. It's one of those rooms that makes you look back and go "gah if we had just gotten that one puzzle sooner." Only one puzzle felt like a stretch, 95% of it was fair and fun.