Madness: 1917

The game starts from the moment you walk in. Because we played the rooms in order, 1897 first, we were booked for a private experience, but we also brought a friend who was not in the first room and she was completely engrossed and didn’t miss a beat. There are two game hosts and they did an excellent job pulling us into the moment and offering help when requested. Everything is themed and all the puzzles are tied in. Things you don’t even recognize as clues are necessary and indispensable later through the game but fully on display at all times. There are also a ton of red herrings and set dressing that really drive the creepy factor.

Incredibly fun and would highly recommend playing!!

Truly a unique experience! We enjoy Heresy a lot but we’re more blown away by Madness. Excellent actors and an amazing use of space. While it is more story first, puzzle second, the puzzles are fun and flow nicely. Having to work with a split team takes a little time to get used to, but we’re excited to do this one again and try new choices. Cannot stress how amazing their actors are. The final moments were STRESSFUL. Highly suggest booking both in the same day.

We did 1897 and 1917 back to back. That was really neat because the story just extended, and we saw the outcomes of our choices from the first one. Would love to see what would happen had we picked other options.

We played this right after Heresy. I love that our choices in the first game carried through to the second. We had some major struggles in this one too where things we thought we were doing wrong was because something didn’t work. At one point we had spent so much time on a puzzle they just let us move on to complete the story which was nice. We thought that we were going to acquire things as we went along but we ended up getting them at the very end. This could be an over the top amazing room if the little bumps are fixed.

We did 1897 and 1917 back to back. The atmosphere and performer interactions for both were very well done. 1917 had a few technical issues and puzzles that had some apparent design flaws, which ended up causing quite a bit of confusion and wasted time. There's also at least one puzzle that doesn't fit the atmosphere of the story, which our group struggled with. We ended up having to get assistance in moving forward so we could continue. While the overall concept and storytelling are great, the actual hands-on parts were very mixed and I'm not sure I'd recommend this.

Despite a broken panel on a puzzle, this game had fewer issues than the first one for us. This was more actor- and story-driven than Heresy and the actors were perfect. (We didn't even realize the panel was supposed to be on until afterwards because the actors had come up with an in-story reason why it wasn't working.) The puzzles by themselves were also good. This is the better acting experience by far, but at the same time the one I care about replaying least (there are more endings but it appears to all take place in the same room). The randomness of the collectibles is unsatisfying in some ways, but this was one had more of them, so somehow felt better than the first one on that front.

I highly recommend playing Heresy: 1987 first, before moving onto Madness: 1917 to get the full beauty and depth of the storyline and the magic that Doors has in store(s). Our second playthrough of both games the next day led to noticeably different puzzles, actor interactions, and outcomes, making the experience feel fresh rather than repeated. About 90% of the puzzles were unique each time we played. We really vibed with the storyline the second time around, and are thrilled with our outcome! Long live our queen [spoiler]! The actors are phenomenal and do far more than simply play a character, they make the entire world feel alive. One of the most enjoyable parts of replaying the experience was watching the same actors step into entirely different roles, each with their own goals, personalities, loyalties, and hidden agendas. We were especially impressed by the range Kat and Annmarie showed as their stories evolved in completely different directions across our playthroughs. We already know we'll be returning to the Paradox Bar. There are still many paths unexplored, too many choices unmade, and almost certainly more chaos waiting for us to quell/unleash.

Such a cool experience. The narrative (cannot wait to try the other story outcomes), the immersion, the actors -- just overwhelming amazing. If you are a story-first type of player, this is your escape room. The immersion and the actors were outstanding! Cannot praise the room and staff enough. When you walk into Doors of Diversion, your game has begun (before you even get to your room) Complete this room after Hersey. Your outcome there will set the stage for the narrative you receive here. So the narrative is wonderful, the puzzles had a great flow but there was one in particular that confounded us a bit (broke the flow and narratively didn't really have the same connection to the other elements we were learning and solving) However, it did not deter us loving the room and wanting to come back to play it again when we are back in the area. Tidbits: Wonder actors. Time permitting, chat after. Truly wonderful people Parking is easy. The location is a small "mall". Just enter into the door towards the center and follow the signs. Food and drink near by