Operation NightwalkerKey and Code Escape Rooms - SparksEscape roomIRLWe had a fun time in the room. The atmosphere was immersive and the puzzles were logical and straightforward. We found it easy to get into the flow of the room and accidentally set the record (we were a team of two enthusiasts and one newbie). Quite a few of the clues come from information on various clipboards, so if you don’t have someone who is strong at sorting and categorizing things presented in that way (we did) it might be more difficult. Like other Key and Code games, the weakness is in its hint system and timer. We didn’t need hints, but it’s essentially pushing a button and asking for help. For timekeeping, a person announces how much time is left. I would love to see these move to systems that are more in world and on theme. My rankings for games at this location: 1. Vikings Hammer 2. Legend of the Lost Temple 3. Operation Nightwalker 4. Challenge of the Gods
Tomb HunterFinest EscapeEscape roomIRLThis was the last game we played as part of our trip to Athens, Germany, and The Netherlands and it was one of our favorites. It’s a temple game that is pure fun and keeps the story going when lesser games might have stopped. It’s a must play.
The House on the HillLockhill - Nea IoniaEscape roomIRLHouse on the Hill is built around the idea of uncovering. The puzzles uncover the story. The story uncovers the character. By the end, we have uncovered something about ourselves. Like the great houses of Gothic fiction, the building accumulates emotional weight until it almost becomes a character. It also embraces another Gothic tradition… trauma reshaping familiar places. In House on the Hill you are inside a psyche where the walls can literally shift. It may have the best sound I’ve experienced. I don’t mean that it’s loud. It’s not really deafening. It’s smothering. It’s a feeling reinforced by a monster that seems impossibly large and imposing and nimble as he quickly moves and jackknifes through halls. The result is a psychological claustrophobia. And in one particularly moving scene (unfortunately only experienced by one player), it brilliantly asks you to do what characters in the story cannot. It is a game that takes the familiar vocabulary of Athens … monster, maze, screaming woman, keys… but somehow makes them fresh. It’s part allegory, part expressionism, part exploration, part delving into the grief that is part of us all. Its poetry made visceral.
Evil DeadFortis Fortuna AdiuvatEscape roomIRLEvil Dead—splatter horror often comes at you like a drunk with a chainsaw. That’s here. But the choreography the performers use to communicate action is almost like dance. The puzzles are some of the more unique in Athens. It’s a blood soaked circus with hints of art.
Don't Take A BreathVerone Live Action Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLDespite its real world setting, this is a game that unmistakably belongs to Athens (threatening pursuer, dark maze, running, etc). But the realism comes with a consequence. If I’m trapped in a demon’s realm, I don’t wonder “why I can’t break a window to get out?” But in the actual world, I start asking, “why doesn’t he just shoot us? Why couldn’t we keep our flashlights?” Don’t Take A Breath is a cleaner narrative than Cocaina, a much more successful game, and on many levels a remarkable accomplishment, but what stuck with me was the strange space between freedom and choreography. I either wanted to be directed more or directed less.
Παρεκκλήσι & Κατακόμβες [Chapel & Catacombs]Lockhill - Nea IoniaEscape roomIRLSome places are built from stone, some from echoes. C&C is the former, a game that influenced the foundations of an industry. I felt like the chapel still had that magic… mystery, spectacle, impressive solo moments. But the closer we came to the catacombs, the less interested I became. That’s not to say it was bad, but the middle didn’t affect me like the first forty minutes or the final ten.
Zone 51 [Area 51]Live CinemaEscape roomIRLThresholds are one of literature’s oldest ideas. The wardrobe opens. The rabbit disappears down a hole. Area 51 remembers that childlike wonder. It begins with sitting in a theater. Then, with astonishing confidence, it invites you to cross over. In many escape rooms, the guide is essentially customer service. Here the relationship is reversed. The guide is the protagonist. We are there to help her. As a result, instead of feeling shepherded from scene to scene, we feel recruited. The room has a few puzzles, but they’re rarely the point. More often we are asked to carry out the kind of tasks that naturally belong in the world we have entered. I think that’s exactly right. Every interruption has a cost. Every time we are asked to sequence abstract colors and symbols it reminds us that we’re playing a game. At one point about halfway through, there is a storytelling device introduced that is the most elegant I’ve ever seen. It’s not flawless. The room falls short in its final confrontation. After such an imaginative build-up, I expected something more. But the final moments, after the “battle,” are pitch perfect. It’s one of the top experiences anywhere in the world, and worth hopping on a plane and flying halfway around the world to see.
MidniteOuterGround Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLWe thought the room was fine, though not particularly scary. Navigating a movie theater is interesting, and there are some fun nods to cinema, but this room suffered from coming after we played in Athens for three days, so it seemed pretty mild in comparison.
MaestroHorror ProductionsEscape roomIRLLeonard Bernstein believed that musical notes behaved like characters in a story. They want things. They resist. They reconcile. They’re in opposition. Maestro is built on opposition … love and horror, rage and regret, monsters and maestros. It has a beautiful set, masterful use of actors moving through space, straight forward puzzles, and one of the most powerful and affecting narratives in Athens.
28 Days LaterVansa Escape Room 4Escape roomIRLThis is a room where verbs dominate: run, jump, dodge, duck, avoid. It’s non-stop adrenaline and probably the most fun we had in any room we played. Also the most exhausting. Thankfully, the performers can adapt to your level of activity. It’s immersive, believable, has a great ending, and belongs among the elite games of the world.
The NunVansa Escape RoomEscape roomIRLFor pure creepiness, atmosphere, and dread, the first half of The Nun has some of my favorite moments of all the rooms we played in Athens. The movements and jump scares are expertly delivered. Eventually, it becomes more conventional. Not poorly done, just not at the heights of the opening.
AntiqueHorror Bros.Escape roomIRLthere’s a clever idea at the heart of Antique that I won’t spoil here except to vaguely say this… most horror rooms want you to survive. Antique is organized around the idea that surviving changes nothing. That being said, the game was often evocative when I wanted it to be descriptive. The game has a rich symbolic beginning, as well as title, but it doesn’t follow through on its associations. I wanted it to be more Jacob’s Ladder while it wanted to reproduce the conventions of Athens horror.
The Crypt - Fallen SkyEscapepolis SpectroomEscape roomIRLIt’s more of puzzle forward room, which I generally wouldn’t enjoy, but I thought there was so much that was delightful in it. It’s a room that asks you to interact with an alien civilization, and as you figure out their language and study their culture, you are being studied as well. Obvious nods to HR Geiger in the set design.
CocainaVerone 2 Live Action Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLNOTE: If you’ve played Night at the Museum years ago, this game will feel very familiar as it borrows many of the set pieces and puzzles. Verone purchased that game from another company and used it in Cocaina. Every drug lord builds two houses. One of brick and barbwire . The other of paranoia and loyalty. At its best, Cocaina, with one of the best sets in Athens, understands this. Much of the casting is impeccable—I could easily see our drug lord playing the same role in a movie. I also enjoyed the puzzle to start the game, as it was believably in world. But much of the game fell uncomfortably between an open world investigation and a guided theatrical experience. Either is fine, but confusing when it toggles between the two. Definitely one of the best after game “pictures” of any room in the world
NosferatuTerror Trap Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLThis feels like a cross between a standard U.S. haunted house and Athens escape room. The sets are decent. The costumes work. Some puzzles are interesting, some underclued. The cinematics are solid. And it has all the tropes you would expect: monster, dark maze, screaming woman, loud music. It’s all fine. It’s a room damned with faint praise.
Viking’s Hammer – RagnarökKey and Code Escape Rooms - SparksEscape roomIRL#################### Important note: If you’ve played a game of this name at Labyrinth in Boise, many of the puzzles will feel very familiar. The two companies collaborated on the design, and the puzzle set is similar. ################### + This is Key & Code’s best room in all its locations, and one of the better rooms in Reno. The set, sound, and puzzles all work together to create an immersive Viking theme. + The puzzles were thoughtful and layered. There was one in particular that had a simple elegance in its execution and ability to tell a simple Norse tale. + Several puzzles require you to revisit earlier spaces and build on/use things you’ve already encountered. In some rooms, this can be a pain, but they do a good job executing it here. + The final puzzle offers a great opportunity for everyone in the team to participate and leads to a fun moment with one of the props. + One of the final props has real heft, and that physical weight makes the moment feel more convincing. + There’s a decent amount to do in the room. We were a group of three—two enthusiasts and one newer player—and we were busy the entire time. - We felt confused on one puzzle that involved pillars and coins. It took us awhile to realize that certain things were only decorative. +/- I LOVED a unique mechanic behind one of the final puzzles, but I don’t think I would have guessed its solution… trial and error. We interpreted the feedback to mean “go find more information” rather than “keep brute forcing it until you find the solution.” A small explanation could have helped us know what was expected. NOTE: I played this room a second time with my daughter (mainly hanging back and observing while they solved) and this puzzle was broken and had to be bypassed. The game master told us that it is frequently broken My rankings for games at this location: 1. Vikings Hammer 2. Legend of the Lost Temple 3. Operation Nightwalker 4. Challenge of the Gods
Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star CowDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLWhat Doldrick’s is trying to do in Galactic Beef is ambitious. They really took a swing. The game’s core interactions are a sharp departure from the hands on focus of most rooms. At least 90% of the game is standing in front of screens, pushing buttons, turning knobs, and flipping switches. The idea is to create the feeling that you’re operating a futuristic control center. I love the ambition, but it never feels interesting enough to justify how much of the interaction is built around it. The novelty wears off long before the room ends. * The story’s humor leans heavily on animal puns layered over references to familiar science fiction conventions. Sometimes it lands. Sometimes it just keeps going. Crazy Train was brilliant… it had quirky animation, inventive puzzles, self aware and humorous dialogue. Galactic Beef reaches for that same blend, but too often it comes up empty. * It has the feel of a beautifully illustrated ’90s point-and-click game, where dialogue and cut scenes move you from one scene to the next. * The puzzles can feel repetitive. A similar jigsaw is done three times in a row. An exercise of picking the correct points out visual noise on a graph is done four successive times. Etc. When standing on a cement floor, the repetition becomes as much about endurance as puzzling.
CobayesPANIK ROOMEscape roomIRLThis is an asymmetric co-op game. Or perhaps more accurately stated as asymmetric immersive horror? However it would be described, one person has limited information and physical presence, the others are remote but have knowledge and control. If you love deeply layered, chunky puzzles, this isn’t your game. It’s almost entirely task based, but the point is to create a psychological experience more than one where you puzzle your way through. The onboarding was immersive and in world. It put us immediately into survival mode and clearly explained rules, boundaries, and goals. Although it is clearly horror, the gameplay mechanic also allows those who are horror averse to play important roles without direct confrontation. Our group of three had an absolute blast playing.
The Crimsons RecipeEscaperoom SchijndelEscape roomIRL(Here’s the Shoe My Baby Wore, But Baby Where Are You?) *It is difficult to describe without leaning on contrasts. It’s a game whose theme, characterization, and visual style simultaneously pull in multiple directions. *There is a remarkable clarity to its narrative. I’m hard pressed to think of a game that tells its story more cleanly and clearly. *The village of Elderbroec is filled little Disney-esque vignettes that involve pigeons, shutters, shops, and whispers. The world feels full and inviting, and also slightly curdled. *This is an odd comparison that would take some time to explain, but there is something of the American poet Dudley Randall in its narrative. It’s a story where a central figure is neither condemned nor redeemed. Instead, you sit inside the ache. *There are echoes of other Dutch rooms (Molly’s Game comes to mind) and the chiaroscuro lighting gestures toward narrative ideas … truth is partial, meaning lies in shadows, what you cannot see is as important as what you can. *I mentioned Disney before, but Crimsons’ vignettes need to be commented on again. It is so economical in storytelling, paced so well in the unraveling, so charming and wounded and heart wrenching, that it really feels like something from the dark underbelly of a Disney theme park ride. I’ve played 7 of the current Terpeca top 10, and I think it can confidently stand shoulder to shoulder with many of those games.
Treasure IslandBrain Games Escape RoomEscape roomIRL+The narrative framework is almost comically thin. You've lost your wallet. You need to pay your tab. Luckily, you've heard that the bar might have been built on top of pirate treasure. That's it. No stakes. No villains. No worlds to save. Just 75 minutes of pure fun. +The room immerses you in playfulness more than realism. It leans unapologetically into tiki kitsch and turns those dials up to eleven from the posters, to the dioramas, to the not so subtle nod to a certain Disney attraction. +This isn't a room of “wow” moments. There wasn't a single jaw-dropping reveal. But there were dozens of smaller ones that cumulatively add up to joy and delight. +the game has a great sense of humor. We were frequently laughing throughout. -there was one puzzle involving skulls and sticks and waves that I'm still not sure how we solved. We switched G.M.s midway through, and he didn't seem to know either. It's possible it was bypassed for us, but since we finished with 10 minutes left, I don't think that happened.
![Παρεκκλήσι & Κατακόμβες [Chapel & Catacombs]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/0855dcf0-1ad4-496c-abdd-f8f4e681ba4a.jpeg)
![Zone 51 [Area 51]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/63a99de9-754e-45ec-bd8a-f47d1f0cbc6d.jpg)
