Raver QuestPier PressureEscape roomIRLThis wasn’t a particularly hard room…but it was a FUN room. And definitely a unique theme.
Hell HouseThe Panic Room 3 - St Georges CentreEscape roomIRLLoved this room…and a great pick for #300. Every door I was opening, I was doing so with EXTREME trepidation. As a Lovecraft fan, the story was a fun one to be immersed in…and the set design was top notch. This was one of my faves of all the ones I’ve done at Panic Room.
7 SinsThe Panic Room - Family Entertainment CentreEscape roomIRLThis probably wasn’t the ideal room to try solo, as you start the game divided, and the GM hadn’t been prepped by management on how to handle this…this made the beginning a bit of a cluster. Fun theme, though…main downsides were the dim lighting and plethora of metal locks…these are a disastrous combination. I definitely took longer than an hour to get out, but the GM padded my time since I was playing solo, so not sure whether to call this a win or not.
Break the BankThe Panic Room 3 - St Georges CentreEscape roomIRLBilled as a good room for families and beginners…I agree, and would add in “solo players.” It went through a lot of the same tropes as many “bank heist” rooms, but also had an added level of using remaining time (after you complete the main objective) to retrieve additional loot.
Lab Rats - CLOSEDThe Panic Room Don't Panic - Gift ShopEscape roomIRLI wasn’t sure what to expect from the “Escape Games” in the Don’t Panic store…but this was a solid escape experience…just not a multi-room one like most of their other games. Family friendly, fun premise.
Sugar RushExit Escape Room NYCEscape roomIRLThis room was absolutely delightful. Your team is competing in a Cupcake Bake-Off, but you've been locked in a test kitchen by your competition. You must escape AND decorate cupcakes before time elapses. Comes with a cupcake for each player to enjoy!
Nuclear AnnihilationEscape Room MadnessEscape roomIRLThis was a pretty standard "stop the explosion" scenario. There were however well over 10 mechanical locks to open in dim light...not an ideal pairing. Overall, the puzzle solving was fun, but the momentum slowed or came to a screeching halt as you took the 4-digit code you just discovered and tried to figure out which of the multitude of locks it matched to. Many of the locks used symbols to associate the puzzle to which lock it matched to...but not all.
ExodusEscape Room MadnessEscape roomIRLYour mission is to lay the ghost of a Pharoah to rest in the Egyptian exhibit of a museum. Overall, nothing really stood out here...and what could have been a fun climax was just...meh. This is a good example of Morty needing a score somewhere between Dislike and Like.
Ghost LightMyssTic RoomsEscape roomIRLThis was a delightful, narratively driven room. Everything just elegantly flowed, from one puzzle to another. Slightly spooky, without even coming near "creepy." I don't think I've done a room where I've had such a sense of calm wash over me as I played.
Candy Factory ChallengeEscape Room NoviEscape roomIRLThis was simply a delightful room, with the joy and visual sparkle of Willy Wonka around every corner...with some nice surprises waiting to be sprung on you.
The SpeakeasyEscape Room NoviEscape roomIRLUpon walking into the room, I was surprised to see a lot of familiar elements. I had done the Blind Tiger room at Escaparium Laval in Montreal a couple months back, and this was clearly the same room (it turns out that both facilities bought the room from the same company). However, there was JUST enough in the room that was different that I was pretty sure this wasn't going to be a walk in the park (especially since I'd done the Montreal room with four others, and there were several puzzles solved I was not a part of). Later, I checked with a contact at Escaparium in Montreal, and they confirmed they changed it quite a bit upon purchase (including using a live actor). (I know that a Blind Tiger is a generic room for a speakeasy, so I didn't think for a second when signing up that there would be similarities!)
L'Examen Final [The Final Exam]Sauve Qui Peut - Saint-JeanEscape roomIRLHeard great things about it…but “merely liked it.” Once we cleared the first area, it started to flow much better. Definitely a unique…and quite physically demanding…experience.
Wizard Of OzThe Panic Room 2 - The GroveEscape roomIRLThis was easily my favorite of the four rooms I did this visit to Panic Room. Big Wizard of Oz fan, here. Read all the books growing up. So there were little touches here and there that I appreciated. Great for a solo player…but I could see a small group of experienced players dominating.
Marvellous Magic SchoolThe Panic Room 3 - St Georges CentreEscape roomIRLI really enjoyed this, and I can count on one had how many >60 minute games I’ve done. The set design was great and I really enjoyed the overall experience. Very few mechanical locks, which was great as I was having trouble at this location with physical locks in relatively dim light. Only complaints were poor hints on the puzzle on the first door…and that I was deathly ill and needed to step out partway through.
RiddledThe Panic Room 3 - St Georges CentreEscape roomIRLKind of found it funny I was doing this, of all rooms, for my 200th room. I have to say, they fully embraced the theme. The puzzles were clever, but as mentioned in my blow-by-blow (ha!) breakdown, it’s a pain in the butt to read numbers off of shiny metal tumblers in a dim room via flashlight. While it wasn’t amazing, it was still enjoyable.
Enigma - CLOSEDThe Panic Room 3 - St Georges CentreEscape roomIRLIt wasn’t a particularly exciting room, but had some decent puzzles. I was also feeling quite ill during it, so that may factor in to my lack of enthusiasm. Largely takes place in a room looking like a generic office space. Tough for a solo player, as many puzzle paths can be explored simultaneously.
The Jade SkullEscape Room BrightonEscape roomIRLOf the two rooms we did at this facility today, I liked this one leaps and bounds ahead of the other room. Here, we were tasked with exploring an Aztec temple that was going to be leveled by an earthquake in about an hour's time; we had to go in, locate and retrieve the legendary Jade Skull, worth untold amounts of money. The set design and technology were both impressive (only two physical locks), and where with the UFO room (see review) I felt we were employing a constant stream of hints to keep forward momentum, here we only reallly had one hint toward the beginning (and also one requested confirmation that some set design elements were merely window dressing and not clues). Note: I am biased by the theme, as ancient ruins and archaeology are some of my favorite themes. Also, UFO was one of their most difficult rooms, and this was one of their easiest. But, this was very enjoyable and atmospheric, with some clever puzzles, as well.
UFO: Alien Voyage - CLOSEDEscape Room BrightonEscape roomIRLFor some reason, sci-fi/space themed games are one of my least favorite themes in Escape Rooms...I don't know why. Here, you're abducted by aliens, and (after waking from unconsciousness) you have to figure out how to power up and take control of the ship, and pilot your way to freedom. There was a LOT to do in this room. Either that, or we were interminably spinning our wheels enough that the time went by too quickly. Either way...we lost. I would have potentially rated this game higher had there not been TWO equipment malfunctions during the game...one where something just stopped functioning during a sound-based puzzle, and another where something was "released" prematurely, allowing us to unknowingly bypass two puzzles in the game. Technically, we achieved the win condition, but we wouldn't have been able to solve the two by-passed puzzles in the four minutes remaining, so I count it as a loss. Also...low-powered blacklights and some color-based puzzles that are difficult to solve in low light. All that having been said, for a facility that looks like a converted suburban home from the outside, the set design inside was actually pretty amazing. There wasn't enough wrong with this game to dislike it...and even if everything had been working properly, I'm not sure I would have loved it. But there were enough fun "a-ha" moments that it was still a fun time to spend an hour.
JudgmentEntrap Escape Rooms - Grand Rapids | Grand Rapids Escape RoomEscape roomIRLKind of a hybrid between your standard "prison break" room and your standard "kidnapped by a crazy person" room. Further support for my thinking that Morty needs an "It was Fine" rating option. This was okay, no huge challenges (although we needed a hint to look for something hidden in a certain area), and no major logical leaps (just one slight one). I think someone who was new to Escape Rooms would enjoy it more than a seasoned pro.
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