Armoire à Vendre [Wardrobe for Sale]Escaparium - LavalEscape roomIRLWardrobe for Sale at Escaparium was a visually stunning and highly immersive escape room with stunning set design. Our game master was incredibly talented; I mistook him as an animatronic at first! Players who enjoy the immersion more than the puzzles will adore this room. However, you are “rushed” through the room because another group will come in when you are halfway done with your experience. This leads to the game master providing a lot of clues, which makes it feel like you are following directions rather than solving a puzzle. The story also became a bit confusing, though that may have been because I wasn't paying close attention. Another issue was that several puzzles—particularly in the second room—lacked clear connections or clues indicating what to do next. The room was also quite linear, with many tasks locked behind previous progress. While several puzzles required cooperation, making multiple players feel useful, the linear design seems to exist to slow teams down, which could leave experienced larger groups with little to do.
PlaygroundThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLAs a teacher, this room had an additional level of connection. Of all the rooms, this one was the most fun. There was also a LOT of stuff to do. It is also the only room where I think you absolutely need to have 4 people minimum. I also like that you need to work as a team to solve some of the puzzles, which makes the escape room experience better.
Prison BreakThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLEven though this is their "hardest" escape room, I personally think both The Heist and Special Ops are harder in terms of puzzle design. What makes Prison Break hard is how you need to strategize, but we sniffed out the trick early on. We got held up a bit because the moderator didn't hear a question we asked about something and there was one clue that was a bit of a stretch. Overall, a majority of the room made sense and who wouldn't have fun escaping a prison cell?
Gold RushThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLGold Rush was the first room I did at The Escape Game, so there's an additional "wow" factor for doing the first room in the franchise. In each step of Gold Rush, the beginning allows for the work to be split, but then the room gets linear, and some people could be left standing around. This was also the easiest room in my opinion. My group and I got out with 20 minutes left to spare. There is one part of the room that requires a bit of skill (so having more people guarantees that someone has that skill), which was the only thing that held us up.
Cosmic CrisisThe Escape Game - BrooklynEscape roomIRLCosmic Crisis is The Escape Game's newest experience, and it's not at the Manhattan location yet! Come to Brooklyn y'all! I would highly recommend coming to this room with a team of 4, and teamwork is NECESSARY to escape. This was incredibly fun with interactive puzzles that felt like you were really saving the spaceship. While it gets linear toward the middle, the tasks involve cooperation, so no one is really left standing around. Be prepared for a dramatic ending ;)
Timeliner: Train Through TimeThe Escape Game - BrooklynEscape roomIRLI really liked the concept of Timeliner, especially the immersive experience with our names on the train ticket. For me, I wish they were less ambitious with the time periods so they could make each separate room/era more immersive. Call me traditional, but I wasn't a big fan of looking at screens. My advice to you in this room is that order matters :) My friend absolutely loved this room, but she also contributed to more puzzles and felt more successful. We do want to add that one of the last puzzles should be a little easier to manipulate in terms of room design; my friend's hand hurt like crazy after it.
Special Ops: Mysterious MarketThe Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLI did Special Ops with a full group of 8, with 4 people we didn't know. There was not enough to do for a group of 8, especially because the room was pretty linear. There were some very cool special effects (though one puzzle had a technological malfunction that we weren't told of). However, the thrill wasn't as high as the other rooms.
Houdini's WorkshopPanIQ Room - NYC [prev. Clue Chase]Escape roomIRLIf you enjoy interactive escape rooms, Clue Chase will not disappoint! I will write a brief blurb about each room below, but overall Clue Chase has been one of my favorite franchises in NYC to date. I hope they open a new adventure soon! The one critique I have of the company in general is that their "theme" is based on finding an "artifact" from different time periods, but that does not really factor much into gameplay. However, there are so many positives about Clue Chase, the #1 being their staff! Everyone is animated and excited to be there, and it just makes the experience so much better! You also get a discount if you book your next adventure that day. The regular price is $35/person plus fees and taxes. Houdini's Workshop - Group of 4 Marketed as their hardest room, Houdini's Workshop did not disappoint! The puzzles are interactive and you do need a group of 4 because there are a lot of tasks to do that can be done simultaneously. While we still had fun in the room, we liked this less than Pirates and Gotham because the puzzles were not "good" challenging. A majority of the puzzles were fine, but there were a few red herrings, and it was hard to tell which clue unlocked which lock. To me, a well designed room gives you a subtle hint as to where to look, especially if there is a lot of stimuli. Priscilla helped us through this room.
The HeistThe Escape Game - New JerseyEscape roomIRLI did the Height with one other person, and it was very challenging. I would actually go back and try this one again to get a better sense of the room. To me, the clues made less sense than the other rooms. It did get exciting toward the end of the room, especially because of the way you acquire the painting! Upon replaying with a larger group of people, I enjoyed myself a lot more and things made more sense.
Only Murders in the Building The Escape Game - NYC MidtownEscape roomIRLI finally got around to trying the Only Murders in the Building room! I would recommend doing it for the fun easter eggs throughout. For those of you who have done The Heist, there are small overlaps between the experiences, but I was glad it wasn't a total repeat. I would also try to book at a less popular time with a team of 4 or less people. I did this for my birthday, so I knowingly brought 7 people into the space, but it is so much better with less people. One highlight about this room is that the middle part isn't linear, so tasks can be done concurrently. Our game guide Sydney was so enthusiastic and made our experience even better! Because this room has a higher price tag for an already expensive experience, I would only recommend it over the other games if you are a fan of the show, since it is a limited time run.
![Armoire à Vendre [Wardrobe for Sale]](https://images.morty.app/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/02541450-7205-4371-935f-ae98c672dcbb.jpeg)
