Duke's Farm60 to Escape - GurneeEscape roomIRLRating 4/5: Fun room with good tech and a quirky theme âLove the goofy theming, quirkiness, and humor âMultiple rooms with an interesting transition âMostly tech based puzzles, minimal padlocks âGood use of lighting, audio, and voiceover âPuzzles were mostly enjoyable (except for 1) with nothing illogical or unintuitive âMany tactile interactions âGM was friendly âSatisfying ending âGameplay is fairly linear which works better for smaller groups Room for improvement: âThe audio puzzle that others have mentioned was annoying, though it's solvable if you use the provided writing pad and take it step by step. â60 to Escape's puzzle style starts to get a bit repetitive if you've played most of their rooms. I'd recommend teams of 2-4 enthusiasts. Our team of 3 escaped with around 5 min left and didn't use any hints. At least one player will need to crawl. Update: My ranking of 60 to Escape rooms (all locations) so far starting with my favorite. 1. Lockbuster Video â¤ď¸ 2. Cheesie's Pizza Party â¤ď¸ 3. Invasion â¤ď¸ 4. Pirates Curse â¤ď¸ 5. Mystery Manor â¤ď¸ 6. Hidden Temple â¤ď¸ 7. Duke's Farm â¤ď¸ 8. Blast From The Past đ 9. Starship: Final Frontier đ 10. Jurassic Outpost đ 11. Arctic Expedition đ 12. Museum Heist đ 13. Magic Heist đ 14. Containment đ
Storyteller's SecretBoxarooEscape roomIRLRating: 5/5 - Beautiful, adventurous game with fantastic story, tech, AND puzzles Why I loved this room so much: âSet looked fantastic with many details. It is not the hugest out there but it makes great use of the space. âI'm a sucker for a good story and this was wonderful and heartwarming from beginning to end. âEverything was fully immersive and well integrated including the beautiful intro video and hint system. Great use of lighting and audio to add to the immersion. âFully tech based room with only a single padlock. Everything worked and there were some magical moments. âPuzzles were fun, varied, and satisfying with just the right level of difficulty. They were well integrated into the set/story. One or two felt like more task-like which I actually enjoy but there are plenty of proper puzzles for puzzle lovers. âVery tactile âObjects and puzzles were reused in an interesting way. âMore than 1 room to explore âSatisfying ending âWonderful flow with numerous surprises. âThe gameplay is fairly linear which worked well for our group of 2. âThe staff was friendly and designer of the game (Fro) was also super nice to talk to. This is an absolute must-play if you are anywhere near Boston, it ranks among my favorites out of 200+ rooms. I would recommend 2-4 enthusiasts.
The ObservatoryThe Gate EscapeEscape roomIRLRating: 4/5 - Challenging room, good for puzzle lovers Pros: âGood looking set with one particularly impressive aspect âUnique and satisfying puzzles, the game is very puzzle heavy and lighter on story âPuzzles were challenging and layered with some non-linearity, nothing illogical or unfair âThere are some fun surprises âMore than 1 room to explore âThe owner/GM was friendly and helpful Things that could be better: âThere is one intentional red herring puzzle and the materials used for some of the other designs were unintentional red herrings. âThe game is fully padlock and keypad lock based. While I don't inherently dislike locks, I do prefer if some tech mixed in so that not every puzzle results in a set of numbers or letters. Due to the challenging nature of this game, I do not recommend it for beginners. We played as a team of 2 and needed a lot of hints/nudges, I would recommend a team of 4-5 enthusiasts.
The Body ShopRed Fox EscapesEscape roomIRLRating: 4.5/5 - Unique theming with fun surprises and a sense of humor. Pros: âSet looked high quality with many real items you would find in a auto repair shop. âGood variety of fun, satisfying puzzles, nothing unfair or illogical. âMany puzzles used actual auto shop tools, it was a very tactile/physical/mechanical game. âMix of padlocks with some tech. It was a bit lock heavy for my tastes but at least they are appropriate to the theming and the lock mapping wasn't an issue. âIt's nice to see a novel theme that I've never seen before. âThere are some funny surprises, I love a game with that tries to make you laugh. â More than 1 room to explore â GM was friendly and helpful âNon-linear gameplay is great for more people Mixed feelings: I like the adaptive difficulty (they can add puzzles as needed) but it makes it unsatisfying when there are things in the room you didn't get to use. And while I enjoyed the game, the puzzle style feels a bit old-school for my tastes. I'd recommend this for teams of 3-5 enthusiasts, my team of 2 got a few bonus puzzles but not all of them and took almost the entire 60 minutes. This is borderline spooky due to some light horror elements, but it leans non-scary for me.
Gates of AtlantisMonkey Mind Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLRating: 4/5 - Atmospheric, tech filled room, great for small groups Pros: âFully tech based, there wasn't a single padlock, everything worked. âSet was appropriately themed with great lighting and audio that added to the immersion. âPuzzles were fun, varied, and fairly straightforward, nothing illogical. âMore than a single room to explore. âGM was friendly and attentive. Mixed feelings: â/âGameplay is fully linear, this is fine for smaller groups but may be an issue for teams of more than 2-3. Cons: âStory wasn't the clearest. âSome parts of the set looked worse than others. Due to the linear nature, I'd recommend this for 2 enthusiasts. I completed this solo (paid for 2 tickets) with 9 min left.
The PortalEscape AugustaEscape roomIRLRating: 4/5 - Fantastical, sci-fi journey with unique puzzles and tech Pros: âSet was visually interesting with cool lighting effects and ambient audio. âPuzzles were challenging but not unfair. There were some very unique ones I haven't seen before even after 200+ rooms which is impressive. âJust about everything was tech based, only a single combo lock. They managed to include tactile/physical interactions too, it wasn't just a bunch of screens. âMuch of the game-play is non-linear so you can divide and conquer. âEnjoyable progression and sense of discovery, more than a single room. âThe owner/GM was friendly, helpful, and very accommodating to my requests. Room for improvement: There were some tech issues but the owner was attentive and helped bypass them. I can tell this game is a labor of love and that the owner cares about the issues. The room is pretty new and complex so I hope they are able to work out the kinks. I played this solo (paid for 2) and it is doable but I would recommend 2-4 enthusiasts.
Witch's HollowStained Hourglass Escapes LLC.Escape roomIRLRating: 4.5/5 - Fantastic and whimsical with perfect theming for Salem Here's why I loved this room: âTons of tech, they still make everything very tactile/physical. Only a 1-2 padlocks. âSet looks good overall though some parts felt a bit plain âFun variety of puzzles that were satisfying and fit the theming well. âMore than 1 room to explore âInteresting surprises including a unique GM interaction âGreat special effects (including lighting and sound) that make things feel magical âAn opportunity to affect the story âFriendly and helpful GM I'd recommend 2-4 enthusiasts, but there is a 3 minimum. It is definitely playable with less than 3, I played solo with 4 min left and minimal hints, but paid for 3 tickets. I'd say this is "not scary" but it could be borderline spooky for some people just because witches are inherently spooky.
Jurassic EscapeMind Trap Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLRating: 4.5/5 - Fantastic room, a must-play for Jurassic Park fans Pros: âSet looks AMAZING, so much detail and quality, they utilized the vertical space so well. The set would fit right in at Universal Studios, they clearly copied some visuals from the theme park. âEvery object, prop, and puzzle fit the theme, Jurassic Park fans will love this. âMultiple animatronics âAlmost everything was tech-based, only 1-2 padlocks but they were used somewhere that makes sense to have a padlock. âGreat variety of puzzles from logic to physical interactions âMore than 1 room to explore âSome cool reveals âSome fun task-based puzzles involving the dinos âVery non-linear so the team can divide and conquer âRoom was sufficiently lit with great use of dramatic lighting, flashlights not needed Room for improvement: âThe storyline was hard to hear and follow, it could've been more cohesive. âOne of the most climactic moments was during the middle of the room, not at the end. âA couple puzzles were not the most intuitive. âA handheld radio was required to communicate with the GM. âThere is significant sound leakage from things going on outside the room. I'd recommend 4 enthusiasts. If you don't like Jurassic Park, you may not enjoy this room anywhere near as much as I did. My ranking of the rooms I've played here, starting with my favorite: 1. Jurassic Escape 2. Mafia Heist 3. Vampires 4. Storm Surge 5. Locked-Up Supermax
Zombie ApocalypseEmerge Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLRating: 4/5 - Fun and creepy with good theming. I really enjoyed this for a small town room, the owners are clearly passionate. This isn't a high budget, flashy place but they did a good job making the house set look grungy and post apocalyptic. It seems like every inch of the set was weathered to look appropriately old, there are no plain painted walls. I like the ambient audio that adds to the creepiness and immersion. Puzzles were mostly enjoyable and made sense, there were even 1-2 things I haven't seen before even after 200+ rooms. There were a lot of padlocks but some puzzles did have tech which was nice. It's also good that there is more than a single room, I really liked the process of getting into the 2nd room. I loved the acting in the intro, but there is no actor once you are in the room. Unfortunately one of the owners mentioned they may have to remove the acting in the future since it's one of the owners who does all the acting themself. The room is creepy, but not actively scary, though I did get startled at one point... I'd recommend playing this as a team of 2-3 enthusiasts. Between this and Temple, I slightly preferred Temple but you should pick based on the theme you like. I am looking forward to coming back when their 3rd room is done.
Temple Raider RoomEmerge Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLRating: 4/5 - Surprisingly immersive for a small town room. This was enjoyable and clearly made by passionate owners. It isn't a high budget, super flashy set but they did a great job replicating the stone temple walls, vegetation, and even clouds in the sky. Much was done to hide that fact that the room is in an old house, they even had ambient audio to improve the immersion. Puzzles were on the easier side and mostly fit the theming, everything was fair and made sense. I enjoyed the tactile interactions and the fact that it wasn't just a single room. It was also a mix of padlocks and some customized tech. I loved the acting in the intro, but there is no actor once you are in the room. Unfortunately one of the owners mentioned they may have to remove the acting in the future since it's one of the owners who does all the acting themself. I'd recommend playing this as a team of 2-3 enthusiasts. Between Temple and Zombie, I slightly preferred Temple but you should pick based on the theme you like. I am looking forward to coming back when their 3rd room is done.
