The DungeonPuzzleWorksEscape roomIRLMy favorite thing about this room is how it incorporates many mechanical elements that feel well designed and accurate to the medieval atmosphere--a chalkboard for taking notes, key locks rather than number/letter locks, wooden props and puzzles, and lots of ropes and pulleys! My second favorite thing about this room is how much it centers teamwork and collaboration. You NEED to work together to make it through this room. The puzzles are very difficult but not unsolvable. There's a lot going on and many puzzles can be solved simultaneously so bring a big group and prepare to have a LOT of fun.
Pirates Of The Spanish MainEnigma Adventures - Maple GroveEscape roomIRLOne of my favorite escape rooms I've done! The set and prop design in this room had elements that I have truly never seen anywhere else. It was absolutely delightful to discover all the details. The puzzles were a bit riddle heavy for my taste and a few things seemed in need of updates to function better. But overall I have very few complaints about this room. It's so fun and special and I highly recommend it.
Prison BreakThe Escape Game - MinneapolisEscape roomIRLI loved this room a lot more than I expected to! The teamwork especially at the beginning was so strong. Atmosphere was extremely immersive. And the room had so many fun surprises in it. I wish the puzzle design had been a bit more creative--too many number/letter locks which is always a pet peeve of mine. And while I truly did love this room and had tons of fun in it, prison themed escape rooms just give me the ick to a certain degree.
The Legend Of Lyndale HouseTrapped Puzzle Rooms - North LoopEscape roomIRLHonestly one of the best escape room experiences I've ever had. I'm so sad that this closed down. For those who missed it, it was a massive escape room that took place in an entire house. There was so much going on it would be impossible to see it all in one play. I got to participate in so many unique forms of teamwork that spread out across multiple floors of the house. The story brought us all together in the end and everyone there had a blast. Such a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I got to do it while it was open.
The Istanbul GambitEnigma Adventures - Maple GroveEscape roomIRLThis particular theme for an escape room is pretty overdone in my opinion and it's not my favorite. That being said, I still think this is a really high quality room. The prop design is extremely impressive and while there were some elements I've seen multiple times in similar rooms, there were still some others that were unique and interesting. Bottom line is that if you aren't interested in this room based on the theme, I think it's still worth playing. Enigma Adventures has really special rooms. And if you ARE interested in this room based on the theme then you simply cannot miss it.
The Cursed Carnival [Abandoned Carnival]Lock and Key EscapeEscape roomIRLThis is one of my personal faves in the Twin Cities. I love this room so much I've actually played it twice. I'm such a sucker for carnival themes so admittedly I'm very much the target demographic for this room, but I do think it's great regardless! It's extremely fun to play because it integrates so many elements of carnivals and midway style games. I absolutely loved the characters you meet along the way and how they get brought to life. This room just has so much personality and silliness to it. And the puzzles, though not super challenging, felt fresh and innovative and satisfying to solve.
The ApothecaryThe Lodge of Lazarus CroweEscape roomIRLWe loved this room! Location is incredible. The room's atmosphere was impeccable--the theming and aesthetic was just delightful. My only real complaint is that the room is entirely linear which isn't my preference. It's also very easy but that's not necessarily a problem, just good to know going in. We played with 4 people and it was borderline too many. I think this room would be perfect for 2 people.
The VaultPuzzleWorksEscape roomIRLThis room is extremely solid on every level. The set is particularly great--it's very open and clean looking and it has some great details. The puzzles are straightforward but not too easy. One puzzle involves perfect teamwork between two players and it's one of my favorite escape room puzzles I've come across. I don't find the story or theme to be particularly exciting but it feels like a classic escape room done right. I think this would be a fantastic room for beginners but it won't disappoint experienced players either.
Lost CityEscapology - BurnsvilleEscape roomIRLThis room is very solid! Not too much about it stood out or wildly impressed me but start to finish it was fun and well put together. There were a couple moments of physical interaction to solve puzzles that I loved. The story and theme are admittedly pretty unoriginal but the set created a really nice atmosphere. I think this would be a great escape room for beginners!
7 Deadly SinsEscapology - BurnsvilleEscape roomIRLI really loved the story of this game. We got super into the plot and by the climax of the room we were running around screaming. The atmosphere and set were solid. However I was a lot more mixed on the puzzles themselves. We had to ask for several hints because certain details felt extremely obtuse and we just couldn't quite make the connections. I do think this room was a hard difficulty level and that's okay but to me some of the details we missed just felt like bad puzzle design. I want to get a hint and say "ohhhh wow, now I get it!" not "huh?!?! Why would I ever think of that??' Overall I still enjoyed the room and I would recommend it for a fun thrilling time but it just led to a couple frustrating moments.
![The Cursed Carnival [Abandoned Carnival]](https://res.cloudinary.com/mortyapp/image/upload/c_limit,w_260/f_auto/v1/store/s/89672fa6-0476-4725-9664-5c26a323cbeb.jpeg)
