Train RobberyCyber Raccoon Escape RoomEscape roomIRLPerfect room for my 200th. My wife and I had a blast in this one. Great storyline. Great theme. Fun and unique puzzles that fit the theme. Must do room if you are in DC area.
Magician's WorkshopEscape Room HerndonEscape roomIRLAll the rooms here are great but I believe this room and Pirate's were our favorites at Escape Room Herndon (ERH). I usually don't love Magician themed rooms but this room was really fun. Like almost all of ERH's puzzle, the puzzles in this room really clicked for us. Well themed and fun puzzles that fit the theme.
Cryptid GroveEscape Room HerndonEscape roomIRLIt's really tough to pick a favorite room at ERH because all of the rooms here are great. The theme, story and puzzles for this room were unique for us which was cool. There were several puzzles that I had never seen before that stumped me but our GM Ame'lie was great and gave us great nudges. It was fun chatting with all the GMs and owner Omer was great as well. EHR even treated me with a birthday cupcake. ERH is a must do location if in the DC area.
Maritime MutinyEscape Room HerndonEscape 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
Operation MittensEscape Room HerndonEscape roomIRLIts hard to pick a favorite room here as we loved all 6 rooms. This room was probably our least favorite of the rooms here but it was still a lot of fun. It was brand new but everything worked perfectly. The theming and story was great. A few puzzles stumped us by GM Ame'lie gave us great nudges to help us complete with over 4 minutes to spare.
ExcaliburClue IQEscape roomIRLAll of the rooms at Clue IQ were great but Excalibur was our favorite. Well themed. Puzzles matched theme. Puzzles were fun. Doable for two people. Our GM Gianna was great. Clue IQ is must do location if you are in DC area.
Operation Jingle BellsClue IQEscape roomIRLWe loved this room. Fun XMas themed room. Puzzles were fun and matched the theme. One of our favorite XMas themed rooms we have done. GM Gianna was great.
Bikers' RevengeEncrypted Escape - Bethesda [prev. Escape Quest]Escape roomIRLGreat room. Loved the music and the theme. We needed a few nudges but other than that the puzzles were challenging but fun.
PrecinctTimed OutEscape roomIRLWe had 4 of us today. Definitely one of their harder rooms and we needed all 4 of us. Didn't feel that difficult at the time but time flew by and before we realized, we were barely able to escape on time. We got a few nudges but they were all things that we had already seen, had forgotten about and needed later or they were just "duh" moments. The room was well themed like an old abandoned police station. Puzzles were fun and fit the theme. Our GM Hudson was great. As always, we enjoyed talking with GM Hudson and owner Chris before and after. Unfortunately, now we have done all the rooms at Timed Out. Cant wait for new room(s) so we can come back!
Bone Chillers CabinElite Escape GamesEscape roomIRLMy wife and I really enjoyed this room. We got out with 12 mins to spare. Yes, the second room is very cool/cold. Bring a jacket if you cant handle a little cold.Yes it is a little dark in the first room but they supply flashlights. It is supposed to be darker in the first room and cold in the second room to fit the theme. I felt the theming on the one was the best of the rooms at Exit. The puzzles were fun and generally fit the theme. We only needed a few hints but they were all things we should have seen but just missed. A mechanical jump scare or two but more spooky/gorey than scary. Good room for 2 or 3 people but might be tight for more than that.
DinosauriaElite Escape GamesEscape roomIRLMy wife and I finished this one with about 5 mins to spare. Theming was pretty good. It felt like a Jurassic themed room. Gameplay was Meh. Not bad but not great. Some of the puzzles were unique but head-scratching (not in a great way). We needed a few nudges to get us through the game. I dont mind hints but prefer when they are because we missed something not because it didnt make sense. This one had a mix of "duh" hints and "i never would have figured that out on my own" hints. There was at least one puzzle where I just kept monkeying with it until it opened but I have no idea what I actually did to open it. But overall we had enough fun.
City with No SunNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLMy wife and I really enjoyed this room. It is so different than any other Escape room we have done. Fortunately, even different than another dark room that we have done. This room truly made you use all the other senses. Our GM Cullen was great and helped us when we needed a few nudges. He graciously allowed us to finish even though we ran over. He also allowed us to walk the room afterwards with the lights on. Amazing how such a simple room can be so fun and challenging. Must do room here.
ChernobylNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLMy wife and I did not enjoy this room. Our GM was nice. However, it was difficult to hear the GM over the speaker and since there was only 1 GM, there were sometimes delays which was frustrating. This room was our least favorite of the 5 Nerd rooms we did (Chernobyl, Dracula, The Gallery, Prison Break and City with No Sun). Dracula, Prison Break and City with No Sun were our favorites. This one was particularly frustrating for us mostly because of our bad eyes and physically struggling with one of the first puzzles. I realize the theme was a Russian apartment which would, by design, be old and minimal. But, it felt like someone ran to the Goodwill and grabbed some old junk and threw it in a room. Not our favorite style of room. Some unique puzzles for sure but they were not our favorites. One puzzle required "rhythm" which we clearly lacked and another required squatting which we struggled with. However, I can see how others, maybe more nimble, with better eyes and more rhythm than us, would really enjoy this room.
Prison BreakNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLMy wife and I enjoyed this room. Very well themed. Puzzles/activities fit the theme of the room. This room really forced you to think outside the box of most escape rooms since it had almost no riddles and traditional locks. We needed a few nudges but they were always a "duh" moment.
DraculaNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLMy wife and I enjoyed this room. Well themed. We felt the puzzles fit the theme. Some cool puzzles/activities and some were somewhat unique. Cullen our GM did a great job throwing us off at the start.
The GalleryNerd EscapesEscape roomIRLThis room was an interesting one to rate. As we played it and right after finishing it, I wanted to give it a Thumbs Down. However, after reflecting on the room and thinking through the puzzles, there were several very unique puzzles that really tripped us up and we struggled with. That was leading to our initial frustration. But, in hindsight, they were pretty cool unique puzzles. We just were not thinking like the game designer and had never played this types of "visual" puzzles. Our GM did a good job of giving us riddles to help nudge us rather than straight up telling us the answer. Our other "issue" with this room was that it was very difficult to hear the GM over the speaker. Nerd really needs to improve this. Also, having only 1 GM working at a time sometimes created lags in getting hints. Since they do not strictly stick to 60 minute timer this isn't an issue unless you are a stickler to getting out quickly. Those issue applies to all of their rooms.
Zombie Outbreak / Undead OutbreakElite Escape GamesEscape roomIRLThis room was good for 2 people and we had a good time. We finished with 11 mins to spare and we were not rushing. More than 2 people or group of 2 trying harder than us could probably easily complete this room in 30 mins. Room was well themed. Creepy but not scary. There were a few unique puzzles/activities or twists on similar puzzles we have done in the past. Overall we enjoyed this room but felt like there were a few missed opportunities to make this room a Heart instead of just a Thumbs Up. Our GM Conner was nice and provided us the proper nudge when requested.
The PlaybookThe Lost Room Escape AdventuresEscape roomIRLThomas did a great job with this room. It was very well themed. Awesome music that took me back to high school and college days. Puzzles/activities were challenging but fun and very much fit the theme. The amazing part was how the room has multiple user selectable paths but yet you cannot see or tell what the other paths are. With other rooms that have attempted multiple path scenarios you see all the other puzzles that you are not doing which just seems weird. Not the case here. The other paths are very well hidden. Our GM Gabe did an awesome job and Thomas was a funny in-room character. At first I was just sure we would not need 2 hours but the three of us used all 2 hour plus some. Must do room if you are in the area. Or, as was the case for us, certainly worth a road trip to do.
System Overlord: Dawn of the MachineThe Keepers of BalanceEscape roomIRLThe four of us really enjoyed this room. We still liked Temple of Light the best here but this was a close 2nd. Great theme. Fun puzzles/activities. Not as many puzzles/activities as some rooms but it was enough to keep all four of us busy for 45 mins. But, I would not want more than 4 people in this room. There was an in-room actor but she didnt really add much or participate much like the actors in the other rooms. Even still, Keepers continues to create awesome rooms and IMO this is a must do.
IllusionTimed OutEscape roomIRLWe enjoyed this room but not as much as we enjoyed Inari. Room was themed pretty good for a magic themed room. Puzzles fit the theme. One particular magic puzzle/activity I had never seen before. Pretty easy room but I think we made it more difficult because we didn't pay close enough attention to the obvious "instructions " provided to us in the props.
