Servants of SleightThe Exit Games FLEscape roomIRLMagical escape room of legends! This room was mesmerizing from beginning to end! There were ingenious puzzles that I have never seen before. Also some of the most memorable moments that I will probably BRAG about to others in the future. Do this room AND Pins and Needles! We came in to Tampa, then Clearwater, from Orlando on a trip to Florida and it was ABSOLUTELY worth the wait! Shoutout to SilverCloud, who was not only an amazing GM, but also has a cool name! There are some more surprises, but a true magician never reveals their secrets!
Pins & Needles Tattoo ParlorThe Exit Games FLEscape roomIRLFAN-F***ING-TASTICALLY PHENOMENAL! Unless you can’t do R-rated rooms (for swearing, graphic imagery), DO THIS ROOM! The puzzles are fantastic, and the surprises will knock you off your seats. This was our 250th escape room, and it was worth the detour drive from our vacation to Orlando to do this. Thank you to our GM Jamie for not only giving us the personalized experience of a lifetime, but also for showing us an INKREDIBLE peek behind the curtain. From beginning to end, this will be tattooed into our minds as one of the GOATS of escape rooms. Also, our group of 2 gave them a little performance of our own that I hope the GMs will never forget. What more can I say than don’t be a weeping crybaby, get that giant back tattoo like a dragon that you’ve always wanted, and howl like the mad dog you are because Pins & Needles awaits!
Ghost PatrolTrivium GamesEscape roomIRLGhost Patrol is one of the most utterly amazing escape room experiences I’ve ever had! It’s also one of the most technologically impressive rooms I’ve ever done! Seriously, the theatrics that play every time you solve a puzzle made me feel like I was living in a real-life Zelda dungeon! Despite the name, the room is not scary. In fact, it’s so whimsical and cute! I was grinning the entire time, and I’m still smiling now thinking about it. All I wanted to do was talk for hours about my experience after my party of 2 escaped with only 2 minutes to spare. The puzzles are clever and every single oozes with creativity beyond what most typical rooms do. , Some puzzles involve a certain amazing device that functions like NFC readers at theme parks like Super Nintendo World and Disneyland. To even compare this room to those places speaks volumes! If you can make it out to San Francisco, this is a MUST PLAY!!!
The Man From BeyondStrange Bird ImmersiveEscape roomIRLOur 400th room and one of my favorite escape rooms of all time! I wish I could give this room higher than a heart. It’s more than an escape room. It’s a spiritual experience. Please, from one enthusiast to another, live out this masterpiece for yourself. Take a step and go to Houston just for this. After all, why shouldn’t you?
The Starlight MotelEscape Artist Greenville - DowntownEscape roomIRLStarlight Motel is essentially a full horror thriller movie starring YOU! I should say that our team of 2 hates jumpscares, loathes horror, and fears scary rooms. I can also say that we LOVED this room full of all those things! Everything that happened was an unforgettable moment, from our role-play chats with the live actor hotel manager, exploring the unknown in the dark dingy sketchy motel rooms, and experiencing one of the most thrilling cinematic moments I’ve ever had. Again, we hate scary and found the scares manageable. We pretty much laughed after every scare, and even tried to hold in our smiles during what is arguably the most frightening, triggering part. We will never forget the finale. This is a must-do room, even if you’re a coward like us. If you’re coming in from out of town, book your night at the Starlight Motel! I enjoyed my stay here, and give this motel 5 stars on Yelp!
Dark LullabyEscape Artist Greenville - Hampton StationEscape roomIRLI should start by saying I hate jump scares and I’m a big chicken when it comes to horror. And also Dark Lullaby is one of the best immersive experiences I’ve ever had. It is for sure one of my top scary rooms of all time. How scary is it? It was a little more on the spooky side for us but there were enough intense moments to push the needle to scary. If you aren’t experienced with spooky rooms, you might be more scared. But there are also wonderful moments of lightheartedness. I trusted the live actors and enjoyed clowning around with one of them. I also felt safe solving the puzzles without feeling I would get overly scared. There are a few silly jump scares but nothing that threw off our puzzling. The finale is unforgettable! My partner who hates scary rooms loved this one and considered it her favorite of the Chimera Corp Saga trilogy. And yes, I highly recommend to play all 3 with this game sandwiched in-between the opener Castle Fluffendor and the finale Help Wanted. Even if you are a scaredy-cat like me, it is absolutely essential to play Dark Lullaby to understand the connecting throughline of the overall story. Even if you get easily scared like we do, I think it’s still worth it to grit your teeth and face your fears!
Hope EndThe Ministry Of PeculiaritiesEscape roomIRLThere is almost nothing else like Hope End. Experience it now, if you can. This was our 200th room, and also our 1st room with a live actor, and it was a worthy room to celebrate our milestone in! The entire production is absolutely sensational! The game will have already started before even entering the lobby. Briefing us on our mission was a fun game of “yes, and” while giving us what we needed. Our live actress left me nearly speechless at times. The parts where she monologued was striking. And the parts where she spoke to us as a form of immersive theater was unlike anything else I’ve experienced in 200 escape rooms. Bravo, and Encore!! The set is wonderfully designed, in the style of an old manor. And the puzzles, particularly the ones that required real teamwork early on and the variety of tasks towards the end made me feel so smart and skilled. I got to do something that I never thought I’d do in an escape room. That’s all to say, the puzzles are no slouch, and in fact, are extremely integral to showing the plot of Hope End. I’ve never had to immerse myself so much into the world of the story in an escape room setting before. They are clever and all have purposes in the greater scheme. Finally, the ending was a special experience for me. I hear that there are different endings, and I absolutely believe this. This is not just an escape room. It’s the equivalent of opening a mystery book, and literally walking inside its pages. There is no real timer. You are whisked into this adventure until it’s over. You absolutely need at least 4 people to play this room, as we’ve been told. We were initially bummed because it looked like we would not be able to play this during our brief stay in LA. But I’m glad that in the end, we had hope.
Neighborhood WatcherThe Escape Ventures - OrlandoEscape roomIRLIt’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood… This room was absolutely phenomenal. It’s an experience like no other, thanks to our amazing live actor Kamila and her astounding ability to step into a role with so many layers. You’re on Morty reading reviews, so you probably know this room is indeed scary. We’re scaredy cats, and we asked to have a less scary experience without completely removing the horror. Kamila was most excellent in not only honoring that request, but still managing to scare us in ways that still made us feel composed and able to face our fears and solve the very clever thematic puzzles. There was even an element of improv that she provided when one of our locks completely broke, and I applaud her on her quick thinking and performance. Bravo! Won’t you be… her neighbor…?
The Forest of FablesCU Adventures in Time and SpaceEscape roomIRLWowza! Some games have wow moments. The Forest of Fables has wowza moments! This game is a phenomenal example of storytelling through an escape room. Once upon a time, your adventure is narrated by your GM, a live actor who tells your tale with enthusiasm and elegance. I won’t spoil what happens, but I was blown away by the story progression, the magic I witnessed, and the surprises in store. I love fantasy fairy tales, and this room writes the book on how to achieve the genre in escape rooms! The time limit is 75 minutes to account for the real-time narrator, but veteran escape artists will likely get through it much quicker. I adored this room so much, and I’d love to say much more, but you have to see it for yourself! The Forest of Fables flips the script on what escape rooms can do, and I am so much happily ever after for experiencing it!
40 ThievesMindTrap Escape Room - TemeculaEscape roomIRLThere are multiple wow moments in the intro alone! From beginning to an epic finale, this non-linear marketplace room is filled to the brim with puzzles. Voices from the bazaar breathe life into the room. The room is all tech and no locks. I felt like a street rat in a fully realized world. The set is massive and gorgeously decorated. It’s quite overwhelming for a smaller group like our 2, but they offered extra time and ensured we finished. Thanks GMs! If it’s not clear from this glowing diamond of a rough, 40 Thieves is a must-play, perfect for any Arabian Niiiiiiiight!
