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TheBear
Reviews
Morty score
68
Escape rooms
68
158
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67
Reviewed
TheBear
The Bear (Fuzzy/Wuzzy) | The Woods
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dpjohnson
JotaMatador
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Experiences (68)
Wishlist (158)
Reviews (67)
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All (67)
Escape rooms (67)
IRL (67)
Date experienced
Cryptic Cay
Nexus Escape Room
Escape room
IRL
The selection of quality escape rooms games in south Florida are very few and far inbetween. So we were pretty surprised to find this little hidden gem that had real homegrown charm and some really cool ingenuity and engineering baked in the mix. Upon entry, seasoned escape room vets might think it’s a bit tacky and looks a bit like a colorful playpen. But it becomes clear pretty quickly this is a really unique and challenging space. It’s somewhere between linear and non linear, with enough puzzles to keep everyone busy while you can break off and do your own thing. Even with the amount of rooms we’ve played by now, we still utilized a fair amount of clues to beat it. The clues were also not too obvious or too vague, still making you “earn” the solution Then there’s some fun twists on tried and true puzzles, with a handful of ones we haven’t seen as of this writing, and some really awesome, smile inducing tech and surprises that play out in the story as you progress. The only thing I’d wish for is maybe more atmospheric vibes (like a painted ceiling), no house lights/overhead fluorescents as the main and only source of light, and also some more foliage to sell that it’s an island. Overall, it’s a solid room and probably one of the best ones the area has to offer.
Mansion Murder
Escapology - Orlando
Escape room
IRL
A bit perplexed by the overwhelming positive scores, as this is anything but a fun experience. Even if this is one of your first escape rooms, it’s not the kind of experience that would have you clamoring for more. Disjointed, obtuse leaps in puzzle “logic”, and a story that doesn’t quite reach its full potential. It wants to be Sherlock Holmes but leaves you feeling like Inspector Clouseau. Right out the gate, it’s engaging for about the first five minutes after the setup, before you realize nothing really connects in a logical fashion. And while it is very “linear” in how the puzzles progress, just how they progress doesn’t make a lot of sense (or is any fun). It’s a great theme, but it just feels needlessly obtuse and complex for the sake of it. One solution leads to another insanely drawn out puzzle. Not to mention the room needs a bit of a renovation. Everything feels worn, beat up, a bit old (but not in a way that’s on theme). Marks, knicks, dirt, damage, props that have seen better days, abuse of all kinds. This doesn’t feel like how it probably did many moons ago, and it shows. Between the frustrating and drawn out puzzles, and the lack of maintenance of the room, I can only really recommend this for hardcore enthusiasts and completionists.
Mayan Curse
Cloak and Dagger Escape Rooms - Fort Lauderdale
Escape room
IRL
7 Deadly Sins
Escapology - Orlando
Escape room
IRL
A unique story and setup that we haven’t seen before, which is why we played it. This was our first game with Escapology after years of “almost” visiting one of their locations, and it was pretty good save for a few obtuse hiccups in logic. The gameplay is pretty standard for any seasoned vets of escape rooms. Most of the puzzles made sense, and were kept relatively in theme, with a few we actually hadn’t seen before. However several seemed to suffer from a logical flow and progression from one to another, which, like a lot of other escape room companies, still seems to be a major issue after all these years. It may make sense to the people designing everything, but to someone seeing a creation for the first time, the “logic” just isn’t there. The decor was actually pretty good given the budget and other spacial limitations. This particular location has something like 10 escape room scenarios and it’s impressive that this one managed to fit as much as it did in the space it was allocated. Save for a few frustrating illogical puzzles, it’s pretty fun and I’d recommend it for intermediate skill level players and newcomers only if they have someone experienced with them.
Zombie Apocalypse
Hudson Escape Rooms
Escape room
IRL
Like their other experience, this one is ugly and braindead. Things that sound good given the theme of this room. The problem is, it’s also poorly planned, terribly maintained, illogical, and not fun in the slightest. We’ve played many escape rooms by this point, and immediately know what we’re in for (and have a good idea about a creator’s intentions) immediately upon entering a room. This was either a sincere, misguided misfire that really believes it’s something more than it really is…..or it was made by a charlatan, whose decisions to cut corners by furnishing a space with the cheapest second hand materials and Spirit Halloween decor they could find, would somehow fool most people into a having a good time. It felt like the kind of thing someone’s dad would build in an afternoon or two for the neighborhood kids on Halloween night. Good god am I getting tired of sub par escape rooms experiences charging regular escape room prices. I really don’t like writing scathing reviews, in fact I never do, but this flat out deserves it. Not a single puzzle flowed. NOT ONE. The room is grimy and poorly maintained (and no, this was not set dressing). The story is completely nonsensical and nothing correlates to anything in a logical way. Endless reading, explanations and time waster puzzles that don’t add anything meaningful to the experience. Many “DON’T TOUCH!” labels on things that should be inaccessible (including an emergency escape door? Why make this even accessible if it’s not part of the experience?!) Everything was tired, and worn out. There were multiple busted props scattered about, and presumably all the “scares” were broken. You couldn’t even laugh at how stupid it was. Most notably one “pop up” thing was literally destroyed and the instructions pertaining to it (presumably to “wait in this spot to get scared”) were still in the room despite the fact NOTHING happened, as it was clearly in disrepair, non functioning and inoperable. Do anything else with your $32. Light it on fire for all I care. It would honestly be more entertaining.
US Highway 19 Motel
Hudson Escape Rooms
Escape room
IRL
Yikes. This is a great example of a room that breaks every golden rule of escape rooms imaginable. Poor construction , an unfocused, confused (and confusing) story, and multiple puzzles that are not only NOT in theme, but just plain don’t work or logically don’t make sense at all. Flow. It’s a word you see used a lot in reviews, but it cannot be stressed enough. Flow, flow, flow is the single most important thing an escape room must have in order to succeed. I can forgive bad set decor and limited budgets if the game is at least well thought out and makes the most of what they have to work with. This did none of that, and just left us scratching our heads for the majority of its duration. I hate giving bad reviews, because I don’t like hurting small businesses, but occasionally it’s unavoidable. With the ever changing and growing expectations of today’s escape room landscape, and the fact this costs $32 PER PERSON for a below sub par experience, it’s actually offensive. It’s not fun. It’s not clever. It’s cheap, worn out, nonsensical, braindead and ugly. And you should absolutely avoid it, at all costs.
Pins & Needles Tattoo Parlor
The Exit Games FL
Escape room
IRL
We finally got around to playing Pins and Needles and while I would personally say it’s a “tad”overhyped, it is not without merit that this is probably one of the most well realized, detailed, atmospheric and creative rooms we have ever played. “Servants of Sleight” was the second room we ever played. For us, it really set a high bar for escape room experiences that became truly, very hard to surpass and has only been equaled a handful of times. It’s clear beyond any doubt “Pins and Needles” has the same level of care, love and enthusiasm poured into its creation as the former. We just wish we had played it sooner, as it’s clear many other companies have copied The Exit Game’s creativity and winning formula poorly (especially for this room’s twists), which if you’ve played many experiences, you’ll immediately notice the twist’s similarities. As for gameplay, while we had a very good time, it didn’t feel as smooth an experience solving puzzles as “Servants of Sleight”. Maybe we had slightly an off-day, but we each agreed wasn’t as “tight” an adventure as their other offering. Make no mistake however, Pins and Needles is definitely one of the best you will EVER play. Aside from a couple puzzles being a tad frustrating, most puzzles are EXTREMELY creative, original and in theme. We can’t say we’ve seen anything like most of what was on display. If you call yourself an enthusiast, you owe it to yourself to play Pins and Needles and Servants of Sleight, perhaps both in the same day (like we did). We enjoyed “Servants” so much we’ve played it 3 times at this point. These experiences complement each other really well and we can’t wait to see their newest offering coming sometime in 2025.
Mission Save Santa
Time Trap
Escape room
IRL
I’ll cut ‘em some slack, it is a limited time room and the business does really care about making fun experiences even with their limited budget. It’s serviceable enough, but nothing I would say to really go out of your way for unless you’re in the area. Gameplay is a bit obtuse like their other rooms, but if you’ve played enough of their previous works by now you’ve got a feeling for how the flow goes. This is a seasonal room so it’s not terribly well designed for a long term engagement but it’s charming enough for Christmas. Overall, if you’ve played enough rooms here, you should know exactly what you’re in for by now.
Grammy Tammy's Secret Recipe
Mind Trapped Escape Room
Escape room
IRL
Super cute, fun, and great for young ones and families. Mind Trapped has always done a great job of making polished, home grown escape rooms and this one is no different. The main things to note is this one is on the easier side, being only 45 minutes long, and puzzles that seasoned vets will blow through very fast. It is great for those who are escape room beginners, and for parents that want to get their kids into escape rooms. Everything at this business is solid, and this is no different. Perfect for some holiday fun that’s just around the corner 🎄
Horror High School: A School for Bad Boys and Girls
Time Trap
Escape room
IRL
A silly, and somewhat rushed room, with not a whole lot of thought put into it, but I’ll give it to them: it’s marginally better than their other rooms. Nothing terribly wrong but very underwhelming, and kind of to be expected from this business at this point. Not the worst room you’ll play but not one I’d recommend to rush out and play either.
Operation Treehouse: Capture the Flag
The Escape Ventures - Winter Garden [prev. Escape Goat]
Escape room
IRL
A colorful, fun, inspired, yet deceptively challenging room. There is a genuine “wow” factor as soon as you step in, and it quickly becomes apparent there’s a LOT to do and you don’t have time to waste. While the theme may seem geared toward kids, this is definitely not a room for kids. Part of the wow factor is the buildout, which features probably one of the largest footprints for a “single room” we’ve ever experienced. You and your team will run into the space and will instantly want to start looking at everything like a kid in a candy store. It’s very inviting and definitely invigorates some childlike wonder. You can’t help but smile when you walk through the door. As soon as you begin though, it becomes apparent very quickly that this is not a room for beginners, and it is definitely not something kids will be able to beat without immense guidance and assistance. This room has A LOT of puzzles to tackle, and they’re all quite challenging. Given the size and sheer amount of things to do, it’s great for groups, but as a team of three we didn’t find it too overwhelming. However, I’d recommend you have a fair bit of experience with escape rooms before tackling this if you plan on playing with a smaller team. There were a lot of unique puzzles we hadn’t seen before, and save for one or two frustrating ones who’s tech needed a bit of maintenance, it all flowed pretty well once you got the hang of the room’s flow. Overall, it’s wholesome, clever, light hearted, very original and manages to keep a smile on your face the whole time. It’s an inspired labor of love with a lot of polish and a surprising amount of depth to its gameplay. Unfortunately, we know Escape Goat closes later this month, as will this room along with their others. So if you’re interested and in the area, go sooner than later. It’s worth checking out.
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