The ExperimentBreakout Games - ColumbusEscape roomIRLThis is a brand new room and we played it on what I think was the day it opened. That definitely impacted our experience. The room is a GREAT idea - it's basically Portal, with you being in an experimental lab run by an AI that goes wrong. When you enter the room, you've got bare white walls and a cool mirrored/LED floor, very futuristic and bare looking. There's not the normal loads of stuff to look at. We did succeed in escaping, but we did need several helps and even a bypass of one puzzle. We're convinced we were doing it right, but it never accepted our answer. Each person in our group tried solving it individually and it never approved our solution, so finally the operator bypassed it for us. There are some very clever effects and items in this room. However, the overall thing fell flat for us. The AI wasn't as interesting as we'd expected - we thought it'd be taunting us and stuff, but it didn't. It was also hard to hear the voice. We did give feedback after playing of some things that could be easily improved, so hopefully they fix them, like boosting the voice volume vs the music. The room description also says, interestingly, that skirts/dresses are not recommended. If you're wondering, that's because multiple times we were sitting and even lying on the floor to access some puzzles. We've done many of the Breakout Games rooms (as well as other places) and this one just didn't live up to the rest, at least not yet. Hopefully some tweaks can get it up there.
The Sins of Doctor FaustusCaptivating WorldsEscape roomIRLMy wife and I did this room just the two of us. It was fantastic - it was our first room at Captivating Worlds, and we've since done all the rest. We are fairly experienced and were able to complete the room with just a couple mild hints (missed seeing one mark that would have been noticed if we'd been a bigger group). The theme and room are fantastically made and very entertaining.
Welcome to the MachineCaptivating WorldsEscape roomIRLThis room is incredibly fun and has some big surprises. We did it as a family of 5 (teens and adults) and were certainly blown away at one moment (you'll know what I mean if you've done the room). It had a lot of puzzles that could be worked on at the same time, so it works well with a group.
Deep UndergroundCaptivating WorldsEscape roomIRLOur family has done all 4 current rooms at Captivating Worlds. My wife and I did Deep Underground just the two of us. We thought that was great - it would be ok with 4 people but would feel crowded with more. We successfully escaped with only minor hints (one was a lock where we'd tried the right code and the lock was just sticking a little, so they told us to try again, and one was a hidden item we'd missed that would definitely have been found if we had more people looking around). The theming and experience were fantastic.
Prison BreakThe Escape Game - ColumbusEscape roomIRLWe did this as a group of 4 (2 teens, 2 adults, all with experience with escape rooms). We were successful, but we did get stuck in two places that needed help. One was a door that was physically stuck (so they had to tell us to go ahead and push really hard; we were correct to try and open it) and one was a puzzle in the final room that we were completely stuck on. We had almost the right idea, but we couldn't quite figure it out. It's a very fun room and one of the harder ones we've done.
