Ruins

Overall, a very fun escape room and typical of the level and quality of Hourglass Escape Rooms in Searcy, AR. They have a very unique way of moving from puzzle to puzzle in that each has a numbered lock so once you open lock 1 you move on to lock 2, etc. which helps knowing what type of code you're looking for (4 numbers, 5 numbers, 4 letters, directions, etc.) but removes a bit of the challenge from the room. However, there are A LOT of locks in this room which makes it very enjoyable. Their hint system is also unique in that all hints are programmed into a tablet in the room. You make their leaderboard by points, not time. Each hint costs points and the level of hint you choose has a varying value (i.e. easy = -5 points, medium = -10, etc., or something like that). The shortfall is that the hints aren't dynamic. We requested 1 hint in this room and it told us to get X from Y. Unfortunately, we'd already gotten X from Y but just didn't know how to use it (request another hint?). We eventually figured it out without any further hints, but obviously a live GM overseeing the game could have been more helpful. The room is very well designed for such a confined space. With so many puzzles they are varied, but we didn't really see anything we hadn't already seen elsewhere. They indicated from the start that there is only 1 room which is always a little anticlimactic, but still a satisfying escape. Having played much more sophisticated rooms this entire location is relatively basic, but they have a variety of rooms, the staff is friendly, all four rooms are fun, and you can't beat the price -- the value of the game is definitely worth what you're paying. If you're traveling on US 67/167 northeast of Little Rock, or live in the area and are willing to drive the hour because you've played all of the local rooms, Hourglass Escape Rooms, and The Ruins is definitely worth an afternoon.

There were a lot of puzzles crammed into this room. As with any room at this location, there is practically no plot whatsoever, just a string of puzzles leading to the final puzzle. It was fine. Scratches the itch if you're needing to do an escape room.

This is suppose to be a linear room but the flow wasn’t good. It was just a fine room

By far the best room this location has to offer! It was full of puzzles, which I love. The grand reveal at the end was a bit finicky and trying to make it work/being confused about why it wasn’t working took a bit away from the experience, which was a shame because up until that point, I was into the room and had a lot of adrenaline pumping. There were some really fun and unique puzzles, though most of them weren’t particularly challenging.

Firstly a humble brag, my partner and I were the first ones including staff to complete this room under the time limit. Overall this is the best room this location has to offer. It has really fun and creative puzzles. Id say where its lacking is space, being only a single room, and the fact that the story is nonexistent. For someone who really enjoys problem solving and puzzling its great. But others may find it lacking. As I have said in every review of the rooms at this location, the hint system sucks. They should change it to an active GM or always be lacking as an experience. Luckily we only needed a hint for one puzzle so it wasn't very frustrating.