Fall Harvest13th Hour Escape Room - WhartonEscape roomIRLStylistically similar to 13th hour’s other rooms. Lots of content/puzzles; pretty difficult. Fun actor interactions!
Crazy Train: The Ballad of Skeemin' PlotzDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLSo much fun. Incredible decoration; looks like you’re inside an old-timey cartoon. Perfect cartoony atmosphere and props. Puzzles are solid and well-clued. Game is fairly easy and linear, recommend for small groups.
Gnome Sweet GnomeCo-OperativesEscape roomIRLPortableMini escape room where almost all the gameplay takes place on a single two-sided wall. The team is split by the wall and communication between the sides is crucial to gameplay. Managed to capture the communication-based gameplay of split-team escape rooms quite well. Puzzles and theming are fun. Not a must-play, but pretty enjoyable.
Elixir MixerCo-OperativesEscape roomIRLMini escape room where almost all the gameplay takes place on a single two-sided wall. The team is split by the wall and communication between the sides is crucial to gameplay. Managed to capture the communication-based gameplay of split-team escape rooms quite well. Puzzles and theming are fun. Not a must-play, but pretty enjoyable.
Codebreaker’s DelightCo-OperativesEscape roomIRLMini escape room where almost all the gameplay takes place on a single two-sided wall. The team is split by the wall and communication between the sides is crucial to gameplay. Managed to capture the communication-based gameplay of split-team escape rooms quite well. Puzzles and theming are fun. Not a must-play, but pretty enjoyable. Codebreaker’s Delight is larger than this company’s other games, consisting of two walls rather than just one.
Sword in the WallCo-OperativesEscape roomIRLMini escape room where almost all the gameplay takes place on a single two-sided wall. The team is split by the wall and communication between the sides is crucial to gameplay. Managed to capture the communication-based gameplay of split-team escape rooms quite well. Puzzles and theming are fun. Not a must-play, but pretty enjoyable.
The Big DigCo-OperativesEscape roomIRLMini escape room where almost all the gameplay takes place on a single two-sided wall. The team is split by the wall and communication between the sides is crucial to gameplay. Managed to capture the communication-based gameplay of split-team escape rooms quite well. Puzzles and theming are fun. Not a must-play, but pretty enjoyable.
Wayward Spacers - CLOSEDCo-OperativesEscape roomIRLMini escape room where almost all the gameplay takes place on a single two-sided wall. The team is split by the wall and communication between the sides is crucial to gameplay. Managed to capture the communication-based gameplay of split-team escape rooms quite well. Puzzles and theming are fun. Not a must-play, but pretty enjoyable. One puzzle in this room is substantially more difficult than average, making this room the most difficult from this company.
Box Two By Neil Patrick HarrisTheory11 OnlineEscape roomTabletopIt’s fine. Definitely less good than Box One, but Box One was quite a standout. The vibes / style / components are quite good but the actual puzzle content is meh. Online chat interface is pretty terrible. They could’ve actually paired you up with another person; would’ve been an interesting gimmick at least. Instead we get the “chatbot with a human name and face and delays sending messages like it’s ‘typing’ response”. I strongly dislike these bots in all contexts, and I’m sad to see them used here. 3/5
High Speed NYCExit Escape Room NYCEscape roomIRLUnique theme and cool set design of the subway car. Some set and puzzle elements felt worn / poorly-maintained. Nothing super special or inspired aside from the subway theme. 3/5
Sugar RushExit Escape Room NYCEscape roomIRLUnique theme, but unpolished. Held back by low budget and poor upkeep. A few unique sensory puzzles. One puzzle was broken and GM didn’t notice for a long time, though GM found a workaround eventually. I enjoyed the ending. You won’t hate it, but definitely skippable. 2/5
The Witch's CurseExit Escape Room NYCEscape roomIRLPretty barebones room; decor and atmosphere were lacking. Puzzles were largely fine except one was broken due to two locks being switched by the employee resetting the room. Fine if you want to do every room in the nyc area, but there’s nothing special here. 2/5
Haunted MansionDisney World - Seven Seas DriveHauntHaunted houseOne of my favorite rides at Disney World, I ride it every time I go. Not too scary, just the right amount of spooky. 5/5
Gold RushPoconos Escape RoomEscape roomIRLAn arcade attraction. Obviously not up to the quality of a real escape room, but it exceeded my (quite low) expectations. Quite short. I feel quite similarly about the gold rush and space themed games at this location. 3/5
Space Escape Room ObscuraPoconos Escape RoomEscape roomIRLAn arcade attraction. Obviously not up to the quality of a real escape room, but it exceeded my (quite low) expectations. Quite short. 3/5
The Werewolf ExperimentEscape Room in a BoxEscape roomTabletopOne of the original tabletop escape games. The Mattel edition is more mass-produced and somewhat less charming than the original printing, but it’s perfectly fine. There are far better tabletop puzzle games out there, but there’s nothing wrong with this one 3/5
Part 2: Minerva's Escape - CLOSEDDecode Detroit - Ann ArborEscape roomOther Scavenger hunt through Ann Arbor to find mini-puzzles at various local businesses. Pretty fun way to spend a day, got to see some cool shops I’d never been in (and find secrets in ones I had already been to!) but not much puzzle/story content 3/5
Dreams WorkRyco's Escape Room and LoungeEscape roomIRLTheme is legally-distinct Monsters Inc (which imo wasn’t clear from marketing materials.) I enjoyed the theme, design, and puzzle ideas. A few places where execution fell flat. This room could’ve been excellent with a higher budget. Many components/puzzles had good ideas but it felt like the budget was too low to fully realize them. 4/5
TitanicRyco's Escape Room and LoungeEscape roomIRLVery elaborate, high-tech set. Sticks to the theme well. Puzzles make sense in the context of the story. Some neat physical elements to the set. I’m surprised this company isn’t more popular — it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the nyc area 5/5
Black Box - CLOSEDEscape Room RVAEscape roomIRLOne pretty neat physical element, which was central/foundational to the room’s design. Puzzles not particularly memorable. The theme didn’t really land for me. Overall not bad but not one of my favorites from this company 3/5
