The Grand Parlor13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLWe decided to do this room because we liked the campground so much! This room definitely earns its prior awards (though personally I still think I preferred the campground slightly more!). The decor and set design of this room are superb — be warned there are lots of stairs to climb (although personally I love that, I would not say it’s the most accessible). The puzzles are varied, unique, creepy, and have a lot of satisfying triggers. Def some general wear and tear, but nothing that severely dampened the experience. And the final puzzle was particularly great at bringing in many sides of the room together (and made easier by the fact that we had three people stationed in different areas of the room) We can’t wait to do all the rooms at 13th Hour!
The Campground13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLI actually discovered 13th Hour Escape Rooms thanks to using this very Morty app, and saw how well they were all rated! There are A LOT of rooms here, and if this room is any indication I look forward to trying them all out eventually! We picked this one as our first because we were super intrigued by the 90 minute time limit. And even with some clues to nudge us here and there, and minimal moments where we were stumped for too long, we really did fill almost the entire 90 minutes. This made me wish every escape room was this length haha Without spoiling anything, this is one of my fav rooms I’ve ever done anywhere. The decor and theming are fantastic, the layout of the entire experience is smart and also manages to sneak more reveals in than you think would be possible, the puzzles are nice and varied (including some takes on puzzles I’ve not encountered before), and the square footage of it makes it a very comfortable room too for a decent sized group Our game master was Danielle and she was a delight, from the moment we arrived and got debriefed. I really can’t say enough good things about this one! I’m eager to try more :)
The Pirate’s HeartBrainXcape Escape Room NYCEscape roomIRLI unfortunately had a negative experience in The Pirate’s Heart, made worse by my concerns not being taken very seriously by the GM and game owner(s). This was especially a shame, because I had completed both Haunted Hotel and Rikers many years ago, and loved them (the latter being one of my favorite rooms I’ve ever done). All this combined, I’m sad to say I cannot recommend The Pirate’s Heart to escape room experts nor newbies. Breakdown for reasons below: MY PERSONAL GAME: My partner and I unfortunately realized late in the game that our room had been improperly reset. Later in our game, there was a particular item the clues led us to search for that wasn’t in the hiding spot it should have been. We waved down the GM several times to ask, bc we started to think we were just crazy…and we didn’t want to risk breaking the set in an effort to search for it as best we could. After many, many minutes, the GM finally asked if we just couldn’t find the item where it was supposed to be. It took a while longer before being told where it actually was — and it had been misplaced elsewhere in the room during reset. I’m a game master too, so I get mistakes happen. But this ate at least 5 to 10 minutes of our precious time. When we asked the GM in person about this after failing the room, he sort of made it our fault saying something like: “well think of it this way - you could have just located it at any point!” I would argue that wasn’t the point. And I know that when I am a Game Master myself, I pause the clock or add time at the VERY least for something that is entirely my own fault. This is not something the players should be penalized for ultimately. WEAR AND TEAR: There’s no denying that the room’s decor and ambience are top notch (as are the other rooms here). However, many of the decor and prop pieces amount to visual clue information. One puzzle in particular requires you to observe certain things in the room that visually match each other. However, the wear and tear of these objects make it such that it’s not actually possible or logical to make these objects match each other. We eventually used escape room logic to find the solution, but again that shouldn’t be the point. There were also other significant wear and tear issues (bent puzzle pieces come to mind). Wear and tear does not normally bother me in and of itself, but… PRICING: …this room charges a premium. Granted it is a sliding scale and price per person decreases the more people you have, but who wants to do a room with 10 people these days? So my partner and I paid $81 EACH and change (inclusive of booking fees). As I said, I usually am forgiving of wear and tear (I get from GM’ing myself that people are monstrous wrecking balls), but when you are charging significantly more than any other escape room in the tristate area, it’s inexcusable not to repair your room, especially the parts that are important clues - furthermore make sure the rooms are reset correctly. MENTAL LEAPS: Not only if this room a LOT of puzzles (and largely linear, so also not great for big groups as a result, which doesn’t help keep your ticket price down), the solutions often require huge mental leaps. I don’t want to spoil anything, but some of these leaps were pretty egregious and go beyond wanting to facepalm and into “are you kidding me?” territory FOLLOW UP: When following up with the company by email to express all of the above, I was not satisfied with their reaction. My main concern above all was the GM not taking the room reset error seriously (and basically gaslighting us), especially given the room was such a hefty pricing premium to book. I also expressed my disappointment given how much I’ve loved past rooms here. With the pricing concern, I was advised via email that they price this way becuse most other rooms do not guarantee private experiences. However, that’s actually untrue, as in my experience the vast majority of the 60+ rooms around the country (and even in Europe) that I’ve completed have all been exclusively private bookings since the pandemic (a fact many Morty users here would likely corroborate). Adding insult to injury, they refused to acknowledge these errors, mistakes, and wear and tear. They did offer a tiny discount on a future game…but if this game is indicative of their other new games, I’ve much less interest in doing them than I would be in receiving a discount to make up for the sour one my partner and I had. It’s really the only time I’ve ever been an escape room where I wish I had gone somewhere else. This room has SO much potential. I LOVE escape rooms and I loved the original two rooms here. I have never gone out of my way to give this sort of feedback on a room before either. But in the immortal words of Tyra Banks: “when my mother yells at me like this, it’s because she loves me!” And to further quote: “take responsibly for yourself!” Until that happens, I sadly advise staying away from BrianXcape, which pains me to admit.
Pandora’s BoxTrapped! Escape Room - Las VegasEscape roomIRLThis was one of the most creative rooms I’ve completed! And one of the most special effect heavy, which really helped set it apart. It felt like being a part of a show, and effectively did so without an actor being present in the room The props and puzzles were all very unique — many of which I can confidently say I’ve not seen anywhere else! Decor was super high quality too My main knock on the room is admittedly by design. The nature of the theme plays out very linearly — a series of big picture puzzles one after the other. And what you largely interact with is also only so large (and often hard to see). We were a group of 6 and it did detract from some of our team’s enjoyment. One person in particular felt mostly superfluous here because there were no other puzzles to focus on while everyone else crowded around the main one being solved. So I would highly recommend you enter this room with a compact group or 4 or less.
The PenitentiaryOmescape New YorkEscape roomIRLI wanted to looove this room, but merely only liked it. The major reason for this is the very evident wear and tear: evidence of prior players writing notes on top of photos, broken door triggers, wires/plugs that have clearly been stripped. So all of that was honestly very frustrating. That aside, the room itself was a good experience and intelligently laid out. The laser dodging was also cool, though easy to cheese.
Room XOmescape New YorkEscape roomIRLWe were told afterwards that to is room is being “repurposed” currently, which shows. Now it’s called “Arcane Escape” I believe, but the new theme is pretty thin. It amounts to just changing the name on whatever the old room was….which also means there are old puzzles that are either broken, defunct, or misleading. I usually try to have a good attitude (and don’t get me wrong, we still had fun!), but this room was very disappointing.
Once Upon A WinterThe Other Tales Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLAll the rooms at The Other Tales succeed at creating a thoughtful, heartfelt, and charming experience from modest means. Once Upon a Winter is the last of their three rooms I’ve completed, and I had a great time. I was immediately impressed by the decor (I’m kind of a decor whore haha), and also the quality of all the unique props. I do prefer escapes that are multi-room experiences, but this one gets a lot of good mileage out of being a single room journey. And it also just looks, flows, and even sounds great. I’d love to see what the creators of these rooms might be capable of developing in a bigger space with a bigger budget to boot.
The Lost ArtifactEscape MuchEscape roomIRLA big reason I love Escape Much so, well, MUCH, is the owners! They are escape room lovers through and through just like us, and the experiences are very lovingly crafted and thought out. The strongest aspect of their rooms, in my opinion, are their non-linearity. These rooms are very conducive to diving and conquering. Many puzzles can be solved in tandem, which really aids all players into feeling useful to the group. Personally, I find the Lost Artifact more challenging than Emily’s Garden. But that also depends on what kinds of puzzles you vibe with. Lost Artifact is perhaps less visual observation, and more analytical deduction. One of the final puzzles is especially difficult, but not unfairly. And the final, final puzzle is really great at bringing everything in the room together The GMs here are also all top notch, and often it’s the owner(s). I hope they make more rooms in the future!
Emily’s GardenEscape MuchEscape roomIRLA big reason I love Escape Much so, well, MUCH, is the owners! They are escape room lovers through and through just like us, and the experiences are very lovingly crafted and thought out. The strongest aspect of their rooms, in my opinion, are their non-linearity. These rooms are very conducive to diving and conquering. Many puzzles can be solved in tandem, which really aids all players into feeling useful to the group. Emily’s Garden in particular is deceptively tricky. Devious, if you will. The puzzles are a lot of visual information and riddles — akin to the sort of puzzles you’d find in a puzzle book. The GMs here are also all top notch, and often it’s the owner(s). I hope they make more rooms in the future!
Space EscapeEscape May Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLI love the rooms at Escape May! But this one is probably the hardest (apart from Frankenstein). It’s a lot of buttons and levers — there are times you wonder if glitching and/or wear and tear get in the way, but nothing to detract I know it’s a part of the atmosphere, but I found it frustrating that you had to speak through an intercom to get your partner’s attention in the other side of the room. The idea is that it’s space and no one can hear you shout things at your teammate(s) I guess!
Power SurgeEscape Garden StateEscape roomIRLI’ve always had a positive experience at Escape Garden State! I love that their room themes are all “Jersey-adjacent” too haha. Of the rooms here, Power Surge strikes me as the most traditional room. There is some evident wear and tear, but nothing that detracts from enjoyment or ability to solve puzzles. This room is also VERY spacious. Although I never recommend doing rooms with super large groups if you can avoid it, this one could easily accommodate it if needed.
Mafia BlackoutEscape Garden StateEscape roomIRLI’ve always had a positive experience at Escape Garden State! I love that their room themes are all “Jersey-adjacent” too haha. This one was the most challenging of the rooms here, in my opinion. I really enjoyed the progression of the individual rooms here too! Probably on paper the strongest room here, though Devil’s Den is my personal fav
Boardwalk BlastEscape Garden StateEscape roomIRLI’ve always had a positive experience at Escape Garden State! I love that their room themes are all “Jersey-adjacent” too haha. This room is pretty adorable. Note that the first part of the room is not super spacious, so def stick to a smaller group. It’s one of the more unique and whimsical rooms I’ve ever done! Be aware that there are arcade / boardwalk type games involved, so parts require “skill” and “luck” and not brain energy
Cosmic CrisisThe Escape Game - BrooklynEscape roomIRLAnother great addition for The Escape Game! This is one of my favorite escape room companies and they’re always very high quality with great puzzles and varied themes. Staff and games masters are also personable and top notch. This game is one of the most high tech and even video-game like I’ve done. It’s very smart how the room has a number of puzzles (others more challenge than puzzle) that require verbal communication between players to operate. I can see how one of the final puzzles could be frustrating for some, but it was a great way to make sure everyone in the room was involved and teamwork was the only answer There’s an also a fun tag at the end of the game! Generally I am less inclined towards sci fi escape rooms, but this made me more of a believer :)
The DepthsThe Escape Game - BrooklynEscape roomIRLThis was my final room I needed to under The Escape Game brand for at least all of NYC and North Jersey! It was a great way to end. This room was an extremely well balanced room, with puzzles that can be accomplished simultaneously so you don’t necessarily feel left out of anything. I was particularly fond of the puzzles in the latter half, which I of course won’t spoil. But it was a great mix of traditional lock and key, as well as some nifty room spanning team work. And the finale is very video game-y in its conception and very fun’
Timeliner: Train Through TimeThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRL“The Escape Game” has some of the highest quality escape rooms I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing! Timeliner is still a very good room, but feels less grand in scope compared to the other rooms I’ve done here. This one at least feels tight, and like an effort to use every last bit of square footage in the facility to create rooms (which I can support to be honest) But the story is clever in how it ties together very disparate themes together. It results in a more linear experience though, so there isn’t much use to dividing and conquering. You have to follow the flow Like I said, it’s a very good room! And I don’t want to give anything away. But by comparison I think Gold Rush, Heist, and Prison Break are all superior (and more challenging)
Madness: 1917Doors of DivergenceEscape roomIRLDefinitely one of the most unique escape rooms I’ve done! I’ve since described it as an Escape Room meets Sleep No More. If you detest experiences with live actors, I wouldn’t recommend this. But if you can open your mind to it, the result is really intriguing and fun, and perhaps the densest backstory and plot I’ve seen go into an escape room There are currently Two Parts at Doors of Divergence: Heresy 1897, and Madness 1917 This review is about Madness: I loved Heresy overall, but I actually think Madness was a step up even further in puzzle design! However, they were puzzles that led to significant frustration though given one of the big ones we spent so much energy on only to discover via the game master that we did it right, but it didn’t trigger properly. No exactly an issue unique to this room and I’ll still take it over lock and key haha It’s really cool how different the structure of this room is to Heresy. Whereas in Heresy you went back and forth through multiple rooms frequently, Madness traps you in one spot with your party divided in two. As you complete puzzles and advance the plot, the actors reveal elements to you that allow you to conquer the puzzles you couldn’t prior After the massive amount of exposition leading into Heresy, I was surprised how quickly we ended up actually doing puzzles in Madness by comparison. Also evidently, the whole set up of Madness changes based on your Heresy ending. All in all, I thought the synthesis of plot and puzzles was more effective than Heresy, but I can’t divorce the experience of Heresy from Madness either Although not Haunted House scary, I would not recommend the faint of heart. The story goes to pretty dark places and is more claustrophobic perhaps than other rooms out there I do hope Doors of Divergence finds its new location soon! And that their rumored third room opens along with it
Heresy: 1897Doors of DivergenceEscape roomIRLDefinitely one of the most unique escape rooms I’ve done! I’ve since described it as an Escape Room meets Sleep No More. If you detest experiences with live actors, I wouldn’t recommend this. But if you can open your mind to it, the result is really intriguing and fun, and perhaps the densest backstory and plot I’ve seen go into an escape room There are currently Two Parts at Doors of Divergence: Heresy 1897, and Madness 1917 This review is about Heresy: You’ll start off in a bar where you’re given a drink and conversation by some of the characters in “The Rift.” They help you get acclimated to the world and the live actor interaction. Between this pre-area and the beginning of the escape room itself, Heresy is A LOT of exposition. And then it becomes evident the way you answer and interact with the actor in the room upfront can completely overhaul the puzzles you end up doing. I love that! If it weren’t for the steep (but warranted) price tag here, I’d do it again just got replay value and to see what alternative answers would lead to The set and puzzles are both extremely high quality. Not a single lock and key in the entire room, which was impressive given it’s quite sprawling. Without spoiling anything, the choices you make in this Heresy, 1896 then do effect Madness, 1917 if you choose to do both. They also have a website you can link to upon completion where you can get more details about the plot and its many branching paths It’s hard to give a “time estimate” here. At one point we overheard we had “30 minutes remaining,” but had definitely been in the room much longer than half an hour. It seems clear that the timer pauses whenever you’re in the middle of a theatrical scene. Also “escaping” the room isn’t the last thing you do. There’s more plot to be had with more choices to be made before you are given one of several endings. Our whole experience took about 2 hours from the time we entered the bar. As I said, I can’t say I’ve ever done a room like this before! Go in with an open mind ready to absorb a lot of plot and backstory and live actor conversations, and you’ll have a great time. If you simply cannot with that, I’d skip haha
Legend Of The Pharaoh - CLOSEDEscape May Too! [prev. Escape NJ]Escape roomIRLEscape May Overall: I have been going to Wildwood Crest / Cape May just about every year since I was a kid, so it thrills me that there is a really high quality escape room company in my favorite place on the Jersey Shore! This is truly a family operated business with the help of very close friends, and they are all incredibly warm and inventive and enthusiastic. Their rooms are very high quality, challenging, affordable, and inviting. I was not expecting as great an escape room experience as I was at Escape May This Room: This room could use a fresh coat of paint but I really liked it! I haven’t done many Egyptian tomb themed rooms and thought this one pulled it off quite well with a number of unique puzzles. But really the best part of Escape May is the staff. They’re all SO wonderful. Of the rooms I did there, I’d say this one is the best for beginners. A good medium difficulty with some fun reveals along the way
Frankenstein's Monster - CLOSEDEscape May Too! [prev. Escape NJ]Escape roomIRLEscape May Overall: I have been going to Wildwood Crest / Cape May just about every year since I was a kid, so it thrills me that there is a really high quality escape room company in my favorite place on the Jersey Shore! This is truly a family operated business with the help of very close friends, and they are all incredibly warm and inventive and enthusiastic. Their rooms are very high quality, challenging, affordable, and inviting. I was not expecting as great an escape room experience as I was at Escape May This Room: This is one of the hardest rooms I’ve done, and one of the very few I have not been able to escape. That didn’t sit well with one of my teammates but personally I like being stumped! The added difficulty comes in partially because it’s effectively scary (some jump scares, but no live actors!), very dark, and the ambient sounds adds a lot to stress factor. Many of the puzzles were multi-step and others I definitely over thought. But the last big one that got me really got me. The room was so well done though that…I didn’t care! Just go in knowing it’s hard as hell and may scare ya!
