90s NostalgiaBoxed In Escape Rooms - FestusEscape roomIRLRating: 4/5 Millennials/90s kids will love this room! So many great 90s references are integrated into the puzzles and décor, but they can be solved without outside knowledge even if you aren't a 90s kid. The puzzles were enjoyable overall though our team of 2 did get stuck on a couple and needed hints. The puzzles were a mix of padlocks and some tech that fit the theme well, though I wasn't a fan of a couple of the puzzles. I really enjoyed the progression of the room through the multiple areas, the set was great, and completing the objectives was so satisfying. It's a good 2 person room, the game is fairly linear so I would recommend maybe 2-3 enthusiasts, definitely not more than 4. GMs were all very helpful and friendly. This room and the Sasquatch room are must-play rooms in the St Louis area. 2025 Update: Between this, Sasquatch, and Lost Souls it's hard to pick a favorite. Sasquatch has easier puzzles and the set had cooler reveals. The 90s room has more enjoyable references and a more fun story that made you feel like a kid again. Lost Souls is more atmospheric with cooler tech, but it's harder and creepier (which can be good or bad depending on what you want).
AbductionCountdown GamesEscape roomIRLRating 3.5/5 - Weird narrative but impressive Rube Goldberg machine/puzzle Pros: - The Rube Goldberg machine was built into the set and was very big and with some interesting interactions -Multiple floors (with spiral staircase) and rooms to explore -Lots of tech with some mechanical puzzles and a few padlocks -Friendly and helpful GM -Set looked good Mixed feelings: -The narrative was a bit weird and convoluted Cons: --No writing pad provided, you have to use your phone and many puzzles are easier if you take notes EDIT: In response to the owner's comment about vandalism, they can easily just provide inexpensive electronic Boogie Boards which many other escape room companies are doing now. I played this solo but I wish I had some help, I'd recommend 2-4 players. March 2025 Update: 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
A Christmas CaperTwisted Room EscapesEscape roomIRLRating: 2.5/5 Definitely their weakest room, it feels like a temporary room they put together for the holidays. There were a lot of locks with some tech sprinkled in. It lacks immersion, it's like a meeting room that they just stuck a bunch of props in. However I thought a lot of the puzzles were decent except for one at the end that frustrated our team. I wouldn't recommend it unless you absolutely wanted to do a Christmas themed room. Update: My rough ranking of Twisted's rooms starting with my favorite: 1. White Rabbit - Rating: 3/5 2. Submarine - 3/5 3. Cabin - 3/5 4. Sweet Shoppe - 3/5 5. Collection - 3/5 6. Missing Maestro - 2.5/5 7. Christmas Caper - 2.5/5
Alice's White Rabbit RescueTwisted Room EscapesEscape roomIRLRating: 3/5 This is one of Twisted's better rooms and also one of the better rooms in Indianapolis. The theming was good and the transition between areas was a neat effect that I've never seen in any other escape room. I liked the variety of puzzles and the set was charming. Update: My rough ranking of Twisted's rooms starting with my favorite: 1. White Rabbit - Rating: 3/5 2. Submarine - 3/5 3. Cabin - 3/5 4. Sweet Shoppe - 3/5 5. Collection - 3/5 6. Missing Maestro - 2.5/5 7. Christmas Caper - 2.5/5
A Night At The CastleThe Escape Room USA - FishersEscape roomIRLRating: 3/5 I mostly like this room just because of the set. It was visually appealing, immersive, had multiple levels and areas. I enjoyed climbing around between the areas. However, the puzzles were mediocre at best and there were too many locks and keys, so uncreative and low tech.
A Pirate's CurseEscapology - Downers GroveEscape roomIRLRating: 3.5/5 - My favorite at Escapology so far, though a bit generic and easy Pros: ➕Set looked great and everything in it fit the theme ➕Nice lighting and audio with some cool effects ➕Puzzles and flow were decent ➕Mix of tech triggers and padlocks, the padlocks looked appropriate to the theme, not modern ➕More than a single room ➕GM was friendly Cons: ➖One annoying math puzzle I didn't like ➖One tech interaction didn't work the first time I tried it, I needed to retry it several times before it worked ➖Maybe a bit short/easy for enthusiasts, I played solo with only a small nudge and finished with 18 min left and I'm not a particularly strong puzzler ➖Story/narrative is generic and forgettable I'd recommend 1-3 enthusiasts, they do allow solo bookings. Update: My ranking of all Escapology rooms I've played (multiple locations). 1. A Pirate's Curse - 3.5/5 2. Scooby-Doo - 3.5/5 3. Lost City - 3.5/5 4. Star Trek: Quantum Filament - 3/5 5. Th3 C0D3 - 3/5
Archibald's InheritanceRailroad EscapesEscape roomIRLRating 3/5: Very unique, I enjoyed it, it's a concept I've yet to see even after playing 100+ rooms. The immersion is low, but that's the nature of this type of design, you could play this almost anywhere. There was a nice variety of solid puzzles with good flow, they mostly fit the theme. It's pretty non-linear so that's why there's a 4 player minimum, but it's playable with 2 if you're experienced (they will allow 2 players if you call and book). The puzzles are mostly padlock based, but there is still some tech, especially one puzzle near the end that was particularly unique. The GM/owner was super friendly and helpful. We played Librarian's Revenge and Archibald's back to back. I would recommend Librarians if you want more immersion and a more traditional experience. Archibald is a more unique and interesting concept.
Arctic Expedition60 to Escape - SchaumburgEscape roomIRLRating: 3.5/5 - Enjoyable room, but didn't love it because some of 60 to Escape's other rooms are better. Pros: ➕Some cool effects and tech interactions ➕Set was high quality and fairly immersive with lots of detail ➕They did a good job integrating the arctic ice/snow theming into some of the puzzles ➕More than 1 room to explore ➕Minimal use of padlocks, but the ones that were there didn't feel out of place ➕GM was friendly and helpful Could be better: ➖No animatronics like in some of their other rooms (they set the bar too high for themselves 😂) ➖Not much of a storyline ➖No big reveals or "wow" moments ➖Game didn't flow too well for our team, there were a lot of moments where we felt stuck or didn't know what to do next or didn't see what was triggered, more so than some of their other rooms ➖There was one puzzle that felt very unintuitive and made us a bit annoyed ➖Ending felt more cringey than exciting It's playable as a team of two, I'd recommend 2-4. UPDATE: My ranking of 60 to Escape rooms (all locations) so far starting with my favorite. 1. Lockbuster Video ❤️ 2. Cheesie's Pizza Party ❤️ 3. Invasion ❤️ 4. Pirates Curse ❤️ 5. Mystery Manor ❤️ 6. Hidden Temple ❤️ 7. Duke's Farm ❤️ 8. Blast From The Past 👍 9. Starship: Final Frontier 👍 10. Jurassic Outpost 👍 11. Arctic Expedition 👍 12. Museum Heist 👍 13. Magic Heist 👍 14. Containment 👍
Around The World In 80 DaysDecode Detroit - Ann ArborEscape roomIRLRating: 2/5 I have mixed feelings about this room. It's large and interactive and the set is nicely done with some decent tech, but It's not really an "escape room" as it's advertised on their site, it's more of a puzzle challenge room. You're not really escaping, you're solving as many puzzles as possible in a set time. If, like me, you like escape rooms for the adventure, discovery, and immersion aspect, then you won't like this room as much. If you love logic, memory, and physical puzzles, then you will probably enjoy the room more than I did. I appreciate that they tried something different, it just wasn't quite what I wanted out of a room. I definitely did not appreciate having to solve the same puzzles repeatedly with increasing difficulty. It was also annoying that the timer forced us into the next area before all the puzzles were complete. It's also a better room if you have a lot of people (>6) as there are a lot of puzzles to do simultaneously.
Art GalleryThe Escape Room USAEscape roomIRLRating: 2/5 Mediocre room, it very much feels like a Gen1 room with no tech puzzles, majority of the puzzles are the type where you find the numbers to open one of many locks (padlock or number pad). Many of the puzzles were very annoying and required long addition math (no calculator allowed), experience with Sudoku, reading through a lot of text, or counting things that were a bit too ambiguous. There was also a lot of darkness with not enough flashlights provided. Fortunately we had an awesome GM who was very helpful and was willing to confirm things for us when we were unsure due to the ambiguity, the puzzle design was poor overall but the GM compensated for that. The set design was decent, it definitely had the right museum vibes with nice props. But seeing what this company can do in their other rooms, this set is one of their more plain ones. We played as a group of 7 and it felt like too many. I'd recommend 4-6.
