Last Call

1st time visiting Game Theory Escapes in Crystal Lake and it was a fantastic experience. We were the last group on a Saturday night, and, Kristy, the owner, greeted us and let us play with some of the mini-games in the lobby before we headed into our room. While looking around, we talked with Kristy about some escape rooms we recently experienced and she let us know she is an Enthusiast, so we knew this room was going to be fun. The theme of Last Call is something different than we usually see, but being locked in the bathroom after closing is something that could totally happen at a bar, and actually did happen to a friend of mine just after college, so it brought back memories of his story. The flow of the room was very good. We seem to always have slow starts, but in this room, we found some items immediately, identified several clues, and started connecting the dots almost from the very beginning. The rooms were non-linear, but some puzzles connected with later ones overall and although there were a good number of locks, you always seemed to know what lock the discovered combo went to. Some of the puzzles/games had unique concepts that I had not experienced before, and we really enjoyed a puzzle that you had to reflect upon. There were several fun sequences and reveals that brought our team a lot of energy. Our team had great communication and flow throughout, and although this room had a lot to get through, we were efficient and enjoyed every minute of it. Just a great vibe in the room throughout. The rooms had real props in them which made you feel like you were in a real sports bar and bathroom. I loved the urinals on the wall, all the bar games (some of which we get to play), and cool Chicago sports/liquor decorations in the bar that were used throughout the experience. Even cooler, was having the ‘85 Bears Super Bowl game being played on the TV during the entire experience…such a cool touch! After we were done, we spoke with Kristy again, and she told us how she built her room and we talked about other ER’s in the area we both liked. Kristy even let us take a peak into a Carnival themed room she is currently building, which may open later in 2026. She builds her rooms basically by herself, so it will take some time, but the build quality is extremely high and she uses real materials/props for everything. Really happy we found Game Theory Escapes…we had a blast! I have now played 60 rooms, and this room was easily in the top 1/3 of all rooms I have played, in terms of puzzle variety, immersion, and overall fun. Kristy was a great host/GM, and it was evident that she does this because she loves escape rooms. Highly recommend Last Call and can’t wait to come back to play Haunted Manor.

Alot of fun in this one. Lots going on but flowed pretty good.

This is a really nice escape room! I think it's a great one for beginners. The puzzles were surprising and not too challenging. Storyline is fun and has some humor to it. This facility is SO CLEAN, which i seriously appreciate. She has done a great job with the design, too.

This was a pretty engaging and fun room. The theme is very unique, giving it a lively vibe. There were a few puzzles here that I had not seen before, and even if some of the other puzzles weren't necessarily innovative, they were well integrated into the props in the room in a way that made them feel more interactive and rewarding. The production design here isn't necessarily going to match some of the more exteme rooms, but there is a strong foundation and great polish since everything just works smoothly. Definitely a fun room and worth your time.

I'm always happy to see new escape room company and owners that want to make fun games, and Game Theory is one of them. I enjoyed this more than Haunted Manor - Last Call has better lighting, a more interesting set and an unusual premise. I always appreciate nods to local culture that wouldn't make sense if you just picked up the room and moved it across the country. I think the room feels a bit more like "a pile of puzzles" than most escape rooms - while some made sense in the context of the room, there were also a number that just seemed to be there to be there, if that makes sense. This does mean there's no shortage of stuff to do - from an activity-with-friends perspective, it's great.

Easy 5 stars for this one. If you're into more logical puzzles, this one is good for you. I've done quite a few escape games and this is one of my top choices to date and the owner is great.

Easy love! It’s so clear how much love and attention was put into it. And having gotten to talk to the owner every time we’ve been here, it’s so clear she loves it too! We saw it when it was being built, and it’s developed into such a fun room with a great premise of Chicago sports bar. Puzzles are on theme set to a goofy premise fitting the set. And everything is clued well with good signposting and clear solutions for the numerous locks within. The only puzzle I didn’t like so much (which was dexterity based) actually had a built-in workaround, which is actually genius. Very intuitive for our team of 2 but probably great for bigger groups. If you need to take a dive, hit up this Game Theory bar for Last Call like we did on New Year’s weekend!

What a fun concept! I beta tested and the puzzles involved make me feel like I'm really at a bar!