The Clock Tower

If I could give this a lower rating, I would. Mostly due to the GM. The absolute worst GM I have ever experienced in well over a hundred escape rooms. I had heard that the company had gone downhill, but this is far worse than I could have ever imagined. The GM was a cross between arrogant and indifferent. I could blame some of it on just poor staffing levels as he seemed to be doing both GM for this and another room (which we could hear when they finished) plus covering the front desk, but it was definitely more than that. It was general lack of caring or customer service. We spent 15-20 minutes literally yelling to get their attention only to with only a few minutes left to get responses that showed they definitely were not paying attention. When the GM came in after we failed the game on the last puzzle (a math puzzle that wasn't clicking after 20 minutes of trying and with nothing to write down on). We complained and their response was "I did tell you that hints were at my discretion." I have had frustration in escape rooms before, but this was aggravation of being ignored and them frankly not caring or even implying it was on purpose when he genuinely was not likely paying attention and perhaps was annoyed by us trying to get their attention. We asked them to explain the last puzzle and then pointed to the clue of a clock and asked us what time it read, we told them and they insulted us stating we obviously don’t know how to read an analog clock (which we had not only done through the entire game multiple times), but after they insisted it read a different time, they did the math wrong and eventually admitted we stated the correct time. It took them several minutes of explaining and changing the explanation before it semi-made sense but it was convoluted. The game itself was alright but had many quirks. Like pulling down things higher than in most escape rooms and felt like you’re breaking something for an early puzzle. But more annoying is there is a fast-cycling screen at the beginning of the first room in a dark area that felt almost seizure inducing. It gave me a headache and made me stick to my stomach to even look near, and it served no purpose for it to do that or be that bright. When doing puzzles near it, it made it harder to see things, and did most things squinting or with my eyes closed when near it. There is also a object painted red in the second room right next to a lock labeled as not part of the game, so it took some time to realize that the red didn’t mean it was in play. There was also a hard to notice door which we were delayed noticing it opened. Some other parts of the room were a little warn and it seems some parts of the puzzles were removed. There is a shelf for 8 objects of which we only found three, and they lead to conflicting answers (one combination says it is something while another said it wasn’t which isn’t very helpful as far as clues go), so you just need to guess or hope, but more likely just feel like you are missing something that isn’t there. There are multiple things that won’t stay in place like the final puzzle in the first room needs to be held until it triggers. Over all the puzzles were decent but some were a mixed bag and very vague. Though how we were treated by the GM means I will not be back to Escape the Room in Boston until it is under new ownership. A good GM can make or break a game and this one took a borderline decent game and turned it to not just a frustrating experience but an aggravating one that made me leave angry. There are far better companies in Boston to spend your money on. I would sooner light mine or fire than to return to another game here, which is sad as I have enjoyed several of their past rooms. It was however that bad of an experience. We had done two other rooms prior to this on in the same day and didn’t experience any of these issues down the street at a competitor.

Some very super clever puzzles. One specific puzzle mechanism was really cool.

Fun yet difficult room. Some things were kind of cryptic but really cool theme overall. My group of 4 came close but ran out of time on the last puzzle. Not my favorite but a fun one nonetheless

I did this room as a group of 2, which I only recommend if you’re both very experienced and you are willing to accept some hints — we barely finished in time. The puzzles are pretty challenging. My only real complaint is that if you do some of the puzzles out of order, you won’t know you’re doing it right because you need to do something else before the next puzzle can notify you that you completed it.

An absolutely huge room with tons to do- we almost didn't get out not because the room was especially difficult, but because there was just one thing after another to keep doing. Exciting from start to finish, this is a great room for larger groups.

Their hardest room, 15% completion rate. Our threesome was teamed up with two other groups for a total of eight which was a bit chaotic. We came very close to solving it, spent too long in the first portion. Some of the cluing could be better, hard to tell with such a large group. When puzzles are completed, a notification sound plays, with so many of us in the room we often weren't sure what had been completed. Decent room, older game so some of the puzzles are showing their age. Our GM was fine, but with just her there, often we had to wait for hints while she was handling other customers.

I do a lot of rooms in the Orlando area and this is right on par with some of the inventive rooms I’ve done there. Puzzles were involved and creative. Theming was excellent

This room had potential, but the entire experience was hindered by the employees who were in the control room smoking weed. Not only was the smell permeating the room, but they were obviously baked out of their minds and often took up to 10 minutes to give a hint. In general, the solutions were novel and the room is immersive. I just can't recommend this (as a family escaper.)

If I could do in between thumbs down and up, I would. This game looks beautiful, but that’s all it has going for it. The puzzles are illogical at best, and our experienced team needed to ask for numerous clues just to get an answer that came out of nowhere. In addition, some of the puzzles make you feel like you’re breaking the set, and combined with the fact that a lot of the tech is faulty, it’s not a good time. If they just scrapped all the puzzles and went in fresh, this game might be salvageable.