The Tears of FreyaMystic Escape Room - DenverEscape roomIRLThis was the most incredibly designed room I’ve ever seen. Each puzzles mechanical design will blow your mind. It’s on par with rabbit hole games for the best ones I’ve done, but I will say, this center set is the most beautiful piece I’ve seen hands down.
The Book Of SoulsMystic Escape Room - LittletonEscape roomIRLIt’s small but lovely. I think puzzles are good if they’re impressive, satisfying to have solved, or fun to do. I wouldn’t say these are impressive compared to the brand new Mystic rooms in Denver, but they are satisfying and actively fun. Frankly, I’d chose that any day.
Lombino's CasinoIn Search Of An ExitEscape roomIRLIt’s the best type of classic room there is. A few master locks, no major bells and whistles, but just an excellent room nonetheless. If you’re into 80s tech, this is straight up made for you. I’m a 90s kid so I don’t share the same nostalgia but I still had a kick. I prefer this one over the Russian themed room although they’re both good. Smaller groups recommended.
Operation GryaznayavodaIn Search Of An ExitEscape roomIRLIt’s great! Definitely one of those where you want 4-6 people, split up and then solve. There’s a bunch going on all once so ask yourself if that’s your vibe. If it is, you’ll have a great time, but if you prefer linear, you’re going to be sorting through A LOT of clues to find the one that’s relevant to you.
Invasion60 to Escape - MilwaukeeEscape roomIRLIts probably the best themed game around with puzzles are are just short of great. As I’ve come to expect from 60 to escape, the sets are out of this world. The sounds, the lights, the props are something id expect out or hollywood. The puzzles were just shy of excellent for me personally. There were very few basic number locks and the ones that were there were pretty good. Still, none of the puzzles themselves left a lasting impression. They were all fair and innovative, but I can’t say I remember any distinctly 24 hours later.
The Asylum: PlaytimeLost GamesEscape roomIRLWalk in and get blown away, and then it slowly gets downhill from there. The vibes were great but the room needed a lot of love. Broken props that led to a frustrating experience, knobs that are too fiddly (my pet peeve), and immersion at the expense of gameplay. Had about three clues where broken gameplay slowed the momentum, and I’d say two or so clues where I thought it was a hugggee stretch. People were super nice though. Loved interacting with the staff.
The RelicRed Door Escape Room - Las VegasEscape roomIRLIt’s a great, standard room. You’re not getting anything mind blowing or revolutionary, but it’s like a very well done chocolate cake. Satisfying if a little predictable. Not every room has to reinvent the wheel. Every puzzle was fair, props, were immaculate, the staff was incredibly nice and “New York Professional.” Do this one if you’re okay with a non-linear, one roomed, clean, well done Escape room.
Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin' PlotzDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLIt’s super creative and interactive. I’d take a family so the parents can solve the clues, and have the kids do the interactive portions. Very end dragged on a bit. It’s an entertaining section, but definitely built so the kids can have fun running around.
Pirates Curse60 to Escape - MilwaukeeEscape roomIRLOnce again, 60 to escape is unmatched in regards to theming and set designs. There will be two moments where your jaw with drop and you’ll question if you’re in a mall or an actual pirates cove. Puzzles were fair, can’t say I had strong opinions on the optional side quests. Still, this one is going to be the benchmark for humor, sound effects, and set design going forward.
Only Murders in the Building The Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLThis was by far my favorite from ETG. Most of their rooms suffer from poor theming. Their other rooms didn’t even try to theme eg. submarine, train. This was different- I felt like I was inside the real apartment. The hidden surprises were actually surprising. Only issue is we went in with some semi seasoned enthusiasts, and left in 32 minutes. That part felt very unsatisfying. You feel like you pay for an hour of fun and you’re out in half that time. If you’re experienced, only do 2/3 people to make it last.
Dr. FrankensteinMonster Quest Escape RoomEscape roomIRLThe vibe was immaculate and the set pieces were really well done. At the same time, you can tell this is a smaller operation because the props feel cheaper and there’s more technical difficulties. I don’t mean this as a knock: I prefer smaller operations, even with the gremlins that inevitably go with them. No puzzle in particular with knock your socks off, but the staff is awesome, the atmosphere is convincing, and the staff guy was 10/10.
Timeliner: Train Through TimeThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLI’ve got a love/lukewarm relationship with Escape the Game. They’re all very proficient, but for the most part, you’re in a rectangular room doing pattern recognition for an hour. It’s not a spoiler to say in time travelers, you’re going to travel in time. The problem it’s they put 0 effort into immersion. When you arrive to a new place in time, you’re walking through a door with a few posters on the wall. Like an honest to god, standard size door. With posters. There’s some cool elements in there too but you’ll never feel like you’re transported somewhere else. You’ll feel like you’re in midtown, in a basement closet, doing mostly fun puzzles with friends and truly great staff. And that’s good enough.
Buried AliveEpic Escape Game - South DenverEscape roomIRLFrankly, this would have been an awesome room in 2020 but it has a hard time competing with any modern room. There’s kind of only 2 tech elements (Andy that’s being generous) and all the rest are traditional locks. The ending was shockingly disappointing. Nonetheless the puzzles were all fair and the staff was arguably my favorite ever.
Dragon RealmMile High Escape OpsEscape roomIRLDragon Realm was an entirely charming room. The props are in perfect condition, the puzzles all make sense, but best of all, you can tell that it was lovingly made. We stayed after to talk to the creator/owner and it was clear she has a passion for puzzles. She told us how her husband and her designed and made all but two elements of the room, and all the ways she’s changed the room over time. I can’t say the sets are as otherworldly as rabbit hole, but that’s not a bad thing, just different. This is definitely on the shortlist of top rooms and I’m sure you’ll love it as much as we did.
Montauk ProjectMyssTic RoomsEscape roomIRLIf you have to pick between rooms, choose this one. Some people were turned off by the stranger things theme; I’ve never seen an episode and it didn’t hamper my experience at all. So from the top, this room was just a collection of really clever puzzles. I wouldn’t say any of them were too hard, or made any thematic sense, but they were just an absolute joy to do. For example, putting X item on Y object shouldn’t progress the plot at all… but it was so much fun that I dot even care. The room was also very spacious and in New York, that’s a welcome asset. 9.5/10 and one of my top 5 I’ve ever done.
Escape Operation: End Of DaysMission Escape GamesEscape roomIRLThis game was frustratingly close to being great but it’s just a soulless, good room. It’s fine. The game started on time and the staff was nice enough. We were led into a 300 sq ft room decorated to look like a bunker: wood walls pained grey with electromagnetic boxes lining the walls. It was good enough. The issue was with the theming. We had to endure a voiceover explaining how zombies took over or something. That was the last of the theme. From then on we plugged things into things, spun wheels, matched symbols but to what end? It would take two seconds to add some context explaining how we’re synthesizing a cure. “Spin the wheel to align the genome. Mix the cure ingredients. Boot up the sequencing computer.” Give us anything. I have a suspicion that the developers originally planned context but either years passed and props broke management had a falling out. Either way, it totally sapped the fun out of the game. Other than that though, it was above average. No dumb puzzles, no clues needed, extremely anticlimactic ending.
Pandora’s BoxTrapped! Escape Room - Las VegasEscape roomIRLI keep asking, how can we continue to innovate with escape rooms? Where can we go from here? They found a way. Most escape rooms are about getting out; this one is about getting in. You’ll discover an artifact instead of break out of some disaster and it’s so much better this way. The staff interaction is also a very pleasant experience. Top 5 rooms so far.
Ghost LightMyssTic RoomsEscape roomIRLIt’s a great game in a great neighborhood. Unlike other corporate run escape rooms, time and care has been put into making Ghost Light thematic and novel. With hundreds of escape rooms, it’s hard to differentiate; but without spoilers, Ghost Light found several way that are truly one of a kind. Only a handful of traditional locks, lots of tech, and VERY attentive GMs
The Dark Room - CLOSEDHouse of ImmersionEscape roomIRLSuper fun game! Really spooky vibes. I’ve done a few that try to get eerie and this is the only one I’ve done so far where I was genuinely creeped out. There’s a few puzzles I didn’t love, but I’m willing to overlook that for the great vibes. If you’re going to do this one, I’d temper your expectations. If you think you’re going to get a Rabbit Hole Recreations level of gameplay, you’re not. If you’re looking for a good, spoooooky way to burn an hour, this is your game.
Houdini's WorkshopPanIQ Room - NYC [prev. Clue Chase]Escape roomIRLI’ve only done a dozen or so escape rooms but Houdini places second to last. To begin, our host was a very, very nice man who came across way too strong. He essentially yelled the rules at us and made us all very uncomfortable. This was his way of being fun and energetic but it was just off putting. Then we get into the room and it’s a bunch of master locks. That’s fine for 2015 but there’s so many great rooms out there, paying $50 a head to do master locks is not great. In addition, this room is Houdini themed, in the sense that there’s four clues that are vaguely magic related. In my opinion, these are puzzles that have a magic paint scheme, rather than magic puzzles. Even then, there were a few puzzles I thought were fun and well designed, but even more that were busy work or frustratingly misleading. Now the good stuff: our host didn’t mean to be rude, he meant to be fun but there’s just a communication issue. The lobby is lovely and was an excellent place to wait for the game to start. If I was going to get yelled the rules, that couch was a great, comfortable spot to do it. You can book a private experience! $50 a head wouldn’t be bad, if the game was more interesting.
