Ink & AshesExodus Escape RoomEscape roomIRLJust want to start by saying— Damn!! What a great game! Super immersive atmosphere that never really loses its momentum, especially when you get to some of the later stages of the game. The game flowed super well and the puzzles were unique and interesting, there wasn’t a single time where I found myself bored or frustrated with the puzzles! The room is what I would call non-linear, on account of the fact that you can work on multiple puzzles at once, but it has a more linear through-line that follows you as you solve the murder mystery. Our host Emmanuel was amazing! Super welcoming and accommodating, made sure to ask us beforehand on how we wanted hints or nudges which I really appreciated! Definitely a fun room, wish there were more rooms at this location, especially since the other rooms on the board sound super interesting and driving to Anaheim is a little much, at least for someone like me, but it doesn’t take away from the room experience itself! Seriously the last area of the room was just so so cool. Great atmosphere, amazing immersion, overall 10/10!!
Secret PassageEscape CodeEscape roomIRLThis game was SO MUCH FUN!!!! I’m an avid escape room fan, and try to go to one any time I visit a place, and I had found this one through Morty and saw it was highly reviewed so we booked it. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we made on the trip! Immediately the staff was super nice and friendly, and we were able to get started super quick! Which I always appreciate :) The “room” (a word I use lightly because the space is HUGE and spans over multiple rooms) was so well put together and themed. The story was compelling, and eerie, and made us just the right amount of creeped out to be on edge, but there’s no live actors or jumpscares so we ended up freaking ourselves out 😭. The puzzles flowed super well and were perfectly themed, and the use of space was so well done. Having 6 people in a group was the perfect amount, as everyone was able to do enough work for it to feel balanced! The locks were also super nice as none of them stalled or broke, and there weren’t any directional locks (aka: my enemy). I wish we were in town longer so that we could do another one with this company! Their stuff was seriously so cool and we had a blast :)!! Highly recommend this room and the company as a whole!!!
Convergence Station [Immersive Art]Meow WolfEscape roomOther Having been to 3 MeowWolf Locations now, I can say with confidence that the Denver Convergence Station is my favorite! With multiple floors of experiences and a storyline that sucks you in till the very last second, my best friend spent upwards of 5 hours exploring the location while we were stopped in Denver. The way the story is introduced and followed was very new to me, as I had only visited the Santa Fe location before, but as soon as we got our memory card, my friend and I were off, connecting the dots and collecting mems! Every twist was exciting, and the references to the story in the surrounding art was so seamless we only realized how intrinsically connected they were after getting pretty far through the story! As someone with sensory issues, I did have to check out a pair of headphones and glasses, but it didn’t diminish the fun at all! The staff was super welcoming and understanding, and it made for an amazing experience!! I cannot recommend visiting the Convergence Station more! MeowWolf continues to provide us with some of the most creative and engaging immersive art experiences in the world! Cant wait to see what’s to come if/when new locations open!!
Special Ops: Mysterious MarketThe Escape Game - Kansas CityEscape roomIRLAs with all of ‘Escape Game’ rooms, I had an absolute blast playing Special Ops! The atmosphere was amazing, and the puzzles are so unique!! Not to mention the fact that the environment shift in the second act really takes you by surprise!! My friends and I went in with the plan to essentially LARP as Special Ops agents, but we got so immersed in the puzzles that we lost that act pretty quick (haha!). I admit, I wish more had been done with the first rooms, the atmosphere was so fun and I definitely would’ve enjoyed staying in there for longer, but the twist that took us to the second part was so much fun too.
Gold RushThe Escape Game - Kansas CityEscape roomIRLThis was, by far, the most fun I’ve ever had playing an escape room. My friends and I got super into the story, put on accents, and really got into character while playing the games. And our GM played into our tomfoolery so much, making our experience that much more enjoyable! The puzzles were extremely intuitive and super unique!! I’d never seen puzzles quite like them and it was so exciting to see how the game would continue and evolve. Not to mention, the atmosphere was absolutely AMAZING!! Again, I cannot overstate how amazing our GM is. He played so much into our hooliganism and surprised us at the end with an inside joke that my friends and I started at the beginning of the room! I also love that you’re allowed to take pictures in the room, it made it so fun to be able to record things and show people afterwards. I totally understand why other rooms don’t allow it, but I loved being able to show people the pictures from inside. Overall, both of the rooms I’ve done with this company have been OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! I cannot recommend them enough, it’s only an hour of your time for an experience you will be talking about for WEEKS!!! Please go play their rooms, you won’t regret it!
Prison BreakThe Escape Game - Kansas CityEscape roomIRLThis place was literally so cool! The room was super intuitive with its puzzles and had a very intriguing story, with detailed sets and super fun environments. As soon as we finished, my group decided to book another one. It’s so so fun, and even though we were with 2 strangers, the gameplay required a lot of teamwork so we worked together well! It’s definitely a harder game, with puzzles that make you think and problem solve. I liked the story a lot and like with all games if you play into the theme you’ll enjoy it a lot more! :)
The Lost Treasure of Captain BlackbeardNerdy by Nature Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLTHIS ROOM WAS SO SO MUCH FUN!! From the moment we stepped into the room (prisoners of Captain Swan) the immersion was IMMEDIATE!! The room was so much fun, hand-built by the staff and obviously full of so much love! Eden, our GM was so amazing and gave us a ton of recommendations for more rooms! The best way to enjoy this room is to really get into character, pirate accents, referring to your fellow game members as “captain”, “first mate”, “matey”, “scallywag”, etc. it really makes it that much more fun!! Treating it like the adventure it is. My friend and I have now completed both of the rooms currently available at “Nerdy By Nature” and could not recommend the company more! As someone who works at an escape room, you can see the love put into every single corner of their games. Daphne and I had a blast, thank you so much Eden for the amazing experience!! We’ll be back for sure when the Scooby Doo comes out!!
The Mystery of Whispering WoodsThe Exit Room KCEscape roomIRLI’m super sad to hear that this escape room closed down, as it was by far one of my favorites I’ve ever done! I went on my birthday in 2019 and still have the picture from when we completed it. I love cryptozoology (Bigfoot, Loch Ness monster, mothman, etc.) and LOVED this room. Sad to hear it’s no longer around :(
The InitiationNerdy by Nature Escape RoomsEscape roomIRLMy friend and I did The Initiation and had an absolute BLAST!!! Our GM Grace was so awesome and kind, and helped us out exactly when we needed! The puzzles were super satisfying to complete while still providing a challenge and a brain teaser, and when we got stuck it wasn’t because of the room, but because we just lost track of the resources we had already found (haha!) The GM Grace was definitely a highlight of the experience! As soon as my friend and I got to the car we booked the pirate room for tomorrow, just because of the amazing impression the first room left on us!! If you have an hour to spend unraveling secrets and becoming initiates, I highly recommend coming to play the room! The staff was amazing, the room was fun, and it was the best way to spend a Saturday night!! Thank you so much for the fun evening!
Tourist Trap [Outdoor]ScaventourEscape roomIRLSo I am a big escape room fan, and came to Honolulu for vacation with my family. With there being 11 of us in total on the trip, not everyone wanted to do an indoor escape room on account of the beautiful scenery and surroundings already. Due to this, I wanted to look for an outdoor adventure that was good for kids. I’m very happy to report that Scaventour provided! Not only was our host extremely accommodating (letting us move our booking one day over due to a scheduling mistake on our part) but was very knowledgeable about the area we were in. As the name of the company implies, it’s definitely a scavenger hunt / tour more than anything else. The whole thing took about ~70-ish minutes, where we walked around downtown Waikīkī looking for clues to open various locks on a backpack, each pocket giving us the next step towards our “escape” from the island. I wouldn’t say the story is super tied to the game, but it provides a setup and ending that I appreciated! While completing the tasks, there was also a bingo board of things to look out for on our journey which, if blacked out, would provide us 5 additional minutes on our time! Since it utilizes the area around us, instead of being built around it, we focus a lot on what exists already, which allows for us to get a good look at the surroundings and enjoy Waikīkī!