The Roosevelt Escape RoomPalace GamesEscape roomIRLThis is the biggest game, in terms of both physical size and amount of puzzles, that I’ve ever played. Palace Games loves to pack more content into their games than you would ever expect. This game has a LOT to do. You don’t play this game for story, and you don’t really play it for immersion either. This is a puzzle focused game and a puzzle heavy game. Some of the puzzles will explain themselves to you and how they work. Some won’t. They are all reasonably fair, save for a few. You will have to divide and conquer if you want to escape, but be careful. One group’s puzzles seem significantly less fun than the other group’s. Make sure you switch off team members or see whatever you want to see in order to not miss anything really fun. This is a game absolutely worth playing, but if you want anything other than a boatload of meaty puzzles, look elsewhere. That is the driving factor for this game. That is what it is all about.
Volcano Views: Aerial ToursEscape From The 6Escape roomIRLThis is a weird and wonderful game. First and foremost, if you’re looking to challenge your mind, go somewhere else. This game almost entirely deals with physical and tactile puzzles, without pretty much any mental challenges. It uses space in a fascinating way, and it’s super cool to see, even if it’s a bit strange at times. There’s also some physicality (not a spoiler- it’s on their website), mostly consisting of several steps, so be careful of that too. I can’t really describe this game in a review, it’s something you have to check out for yourself. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s doing some really cool things that aren’t often explored in the escape room world. This is not a traditional escape room at all. You should check this one out.
Espionage5 WitsEscape roomOther If you go in with the right expectations, this is an incredibly well done, immersive adventure that really makes you feel like a secret agent. That being said, it is NOT difficult. The puzzles are not challenging to figure out, and if you want something puzzle focused, go somewhere else. 5 Wits tends to get a lot of negative feedback because people don’t understand that its primary goal is to provide an immersive experience rather than a real puzzly challenge to groups, and there is some challenge in here for sure, but you don’t go for the puzzles. 5 Wits may not have challenging gameplay, but if you want a masterclass in escape room storytelling and immersion, check them out. Their theming is incredible and there is actual plot, something you rarely see in escape rooms these days. There’s something really special here.
Atlantis RisingPanIQ Room - BostonEscape roomIRLI am so torn with this game. There are some great elements and some awful ones. The environment is probably the best that PanIQ has to offer, and there are no locks. Some of the puzzles are well-clued and well-designed, and quite fun in general, while others are impossible to solve without clues- there is one puzzle in particular that the game master admitted no one can solve without help. Still a game worth playing, it falls a bit behind the Red Wire and is definitely better than Cartel Crackdown and Insane Asylum. Like everything else at PanIQ… go play this if you’ve done all of the better Boston games already.
The ApartmentEscape the Room - BostonEscape roomIRLIt’s not the worst game I’ve ever played. But it’s close. This is easily the most boring game I’ve ever played, however. There isn’t even a set. The walls are white and there is a couch and a rug and an oven they bought on Craigslist and no theming to be found. When I first walked into the room and the game master began explaining the rules, my friend went “oh, this is the room?” The puzzles are ridiculously basic and have no depth to them. Sometimes the input methods fail for no reason. There is nothing necessarily problematic about the puzzles, they just are so boring and uninteresting that they’re not fun. There are multiple math problems. There are props that need to stay in specific locations to solve puzzles, but you can move them from said locations. For some reason. Because this company is bad. It’s not even fun-bad. It’s just bad. There is no soundtrack. You will be playing in silence. Also, it’s public booking, so you could play with strangers in silence. Also, it’s $39-$41 per person with strangers in silence. Clock Tower made me angry. This game made me sad. Do not go to this company.
Cartel CrackdownPanIQ Room - BostonEscape roomIRLNot PanIQ’s worst game, but definitely not a good game. The decor and a few decent puzzles were the only salvageable parts. Most of the gameplay was reaches in logic at best and unsolvable at worst. The room looked pretty nice, but it felt dirty, I didn’t want to touch a bunch of the props. There’s some interactions that are nearly impossible to figure out without clues. Mechanisms don’t make sense, things aren’t clear, and it’s just not a fun game overall. If you have to play something at PanIQ, go to Red Wire, it’s the only game of theirs that’s worth playing.
The Red WirePanIQ Room - BostonEscape roomIRLHonestly better than I expected it to be. An improvement on scenery and an absolute improvement on puzzles from Insane Asylum. Cool looking environments, fun soundtrack, and some nice puzzles once you really get going. It captures a distinct spy/secret agent feeling that really scratches an itch. That being said, there are an ABUNDANCE of locks in this game, without lock mapping. There is one interaction that is unclued and nearly impossible to figure out without a clue. There are definitely some logic leaps, and the puzzles towards the beginning and end are not quite as strong as the rest of them. There are better games in Boston, but if you’re going to PanIQ, play this game. It has more to hide than it first seems. (Although much to my disappointment, there was not a single red wire in The Red Wire. Shameful.)
Doomsday Disaster: Bunker Tested, Apocalypse AppovedProdigy Puzzles Escape Rooms [prev. Mystery Soup Escape Rooms, Lock & Clue]Escape roomIRLOne of the best small town games I’ve ever played. Lots of comedy on display, extremely well designed puzzles, and although there’s not a ton of story, it’s incredibly immersive. Lots of fun props to play around with and amazing game masters and hosts. A little bit too walkthrough-y and missing an easily includable dramatic ending, but those are minor nitpicks for an incredibly great game.
Merlin's VisionEscape The PikeEscape roomIRLWas wavering between a thumbs up and down, but unfortunately there was one puzzle in this game that took a solid 20 minutes to complete due to a completely awful answer design. It’s not even clued that this is the case. The rest of the game is perfectly average, with the puzzles in the early half being better than the ones in the later half. They are remastering this game, but in its current state I unfortunately cannot recommend it.
TimeMissionR1Escape roomIRLBiggest takeaway is that it has potential. Most of the games and the overall place have not quite reached that full potential, although a couple have. While I’d take Boda Borg or Level99 over this, it definitely has the chance to become its own very strong, unique challenge arcade, and it’s still quite fun.
Meow or Never: Cats, Puzzles, and Purrsonal FinanceWealthTrek - BostonEscape roomIRLI don’t think I’ve played a game that so successfully accomplished what they were aiming for. First and foremost, this game is made to be educational. It’s not difficult by any means, it’s not crazy immersive or challenging, it’s simple and fun. No background music, which makes it a little awkward, but the puzzles all make sense and are well done, and there’s not any hiccups in the game flow. Simply put, if you come into this game with the right expectations, knowing that it’s not challenging at all and made to educate people about financial topics in an entertaining way, it’s quite a fun experience, and free, which is a nice bonus. If that doesn’t sound very appealing, this just isn’t the game for you, and that’s okay!
Cosmic CrisisThe Escape Game - LynnfieldEscape roomIRLAs fun as this game was, I should caveat the review by saying I should not have gone in with such high expectations. I was told that this was quite possibly the best game The Escape Game had built yet. It was not. It was a super fun, well done game, but it was not nearly their best work. Part of this stems from the fact that the intro sequence sets the game up like a world class, story based, incredibly immersive experience… and then it’s not. There aren’t any plot developments, the characters don’t speak to you until the end of the game, and nothing surprising ends up happening. It feels like you signed up for a space mission… and then everything went according to plan. There’s one scene they tried to make dramatic, but it ended up being lackluster, and didn’t even work for our group. That being said, the game itself is quite well done. I’m a big fan of the puzzles where it feels like you’re outsmarting the design of the actual game, and this game had a lot of that. It’s always fun to play a game by TEG, and as long as your expectations are set properly, this game is a blast.
The Retreat - Under New Management - CLOSEDTrapology BostonEscape roomIRLThis very well might be Trapology’s best work yet. The theatrical elements of it all, the completely overhauled and impressive theming, all the little details come together to make one of the most fun, campy slasher games I’ve ever played. This game is so well done.
Mansion MurderEscapology - TewksburyEscape roomIRLLike every other Escapology game I’ve ever played… …it’s totally fine.
Ruins: Forbidden TreasureThe Escape Game - LynnfieldEscape roomIRLIf I hadn’t played Nashville Ruins first, this game would’ve blown me away a bit. It’s easily one of The Escape Game’s best sets, I’m always thoroughly impressed with their jungle stuff. While the Nashville Ruins feels like something crazy and premium, this feels more like a classic TEG room. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since this game is still very well done. It’s notably shorter and has slightly smaller reveals, but even compared to all of TEG’s other stuff, the special effects in this game are quite impressive. It’s still probably in my top 3 TEG games, and either the top 2 or 1 at this location (haven’t played Cosmic Crisis yet). Check this one out, especially if you haven’t tried the Nashville version yet.
Batman™: The Dark Knight ChallengeEscapology - WalthamEscape roomIRLI was pleasantly surprised by this game. With all the reviews out there I had a very low bar, but this game was much better than I thought. While I don’t think it quite deserves a heart, it’s still well done, well acted, and feels quite fun. However, it’s an Escapology game. They have a formula and stick to it every time, meaning this game has nothing special or different about it. The puzzles are there for puzzles sake for the most part. However, it’s a fun time, and definitely worth it for Batman fans, so give it a try.
Witch's HollowStained Hourglass Escapes LLC.Escape roomIRLThis is a really interesting game. The first act is absolutely phenomenal, and then the game gets to the main second act. While still very strong in a cool nonlinear fashion, the puzzles feel 75% complete. There’s great intention behind them and some super novel ideas, but the puzzles feel a little incomplete. There’s some detail or something holding each of them back from truly being standout, resulting in some confusion. Additionally, there are some clues that literally revolve around the game master telling you what to do, which takes you out of the experience a little bit, because there was no cluing for what you were supposed to do. However, those are all minor nitpicks, and the room is very strong overall. While I do prefer The Boring Office, this is one worth playing if you’re at Stained Hourglass Escapes.
UndercookedOmescape - SunnyvaleEscape roomIRLFirst and foremost, if you’re looking for an immersive adventure, this is not it. This is a game. This is one of the most fun, exhilarating games I’ve played in my entire life. It’s frantic but not overwhelming. It’s absolutely perfectly crafted. It truly does feel like playing Overcooked in real life. We did it with 2 people, which is doable, but I’d get at least one or two more. There’s so much to see and do and let’s be honest, you probably won’t see everything. And you’ll learn that that’s okay. This is a work of escape room art. You won’t regret playing this.
The CryptEscape Hour AustinEscape roomIRLFirst things first, the standout element of this game is its physicality and use of space. You think it’s over and it just keeps going. There’s also a TON of puzzles in this game. You will not win if you don’t divide and conquer. Although a lot of the set is very clearly foam or wood, the rest of the experience completely makes up for it. This game is a ton of fun and anyone with enough people should try it.
