Bonus Fun Time Game Show Challenge

We walked into this one stressed. Car issues made us late, so the timer was 5min in when we started. But a great room with accessible puzzles logic made it worthwhile.

What a fun room! This company understands how to make good puzzles that fit thematically and make sense. Yes, we were solving puzzles, but it also felt like we were playing games as you would on a game show during that process. The live actor didn’t play a huge role, but they fit into the environment well. I really liked the beginning and felt that it was a great segue into the game. Afterwards, the game master was telling us about which changes they made to the game based on comments from players. It’s always refreshing to hear that companies take action based on feedback, and it 100% made the game better. This was probably my favorite room at this company by far (although their other rooms are great too). It’s not a difficult room and totally doable with 2 enthusiasts. It’s a little expensive but I would say it’s worth the price to play.

Rating: 4.5/5 - Charming, joyful room with great game-like puzzles, one of my favorites in Chicagoland Pros: ➕Vibrant, colorful set really puts you in a game show mood. ➕The GM played a fun role as the gameshow host in the room ➕The puzzles were fantastic and brought me so much joy, they were so well integrated with the theme and felt like you were doing both a puzzle and playing a game at the same time. Many unique puzzles I haven't seen before. ➕Good balance of difficulty, not too hard or easy. ➕Lots of nostalgia ➕It's fairly lock heavy, but I didn't mind that since the puzzles/games were so fun and there were many physical/tactile interactions and some tech. ➕Some non-linearity so you can divide and conquer ➕Very well lit, no flashlights needed ➕One of the final reveals was so fun, I haven't done anything exactly like that in an escape room before. ➕Our GM (Brandon) was awesome and great to chat with, he provided the perfect level of nudges when needed, just enough to help without giving too much away. Room for improvement: ➖The GM being in the room the whole time can be a bit awkward when he's not interacting with you. ➖This is only a single room, though it's probably one of the best single room games I've played so far, it's packed with puzzles. Despite it being a single room, lower tech game, I LOVED this. We played as a team of 2 (paid for 3 ) and finished with time to spare but I'd still recommend 3-4 enthusiasts. No crawling or climbing. My ranking of the rooms here starting with my favorite: 1. Bonus Fun Time Gameshow 2. Ghost in the Graveyard 3. Tree House Raid 4. The Timekeeper's Trapped

Best escape room ever, bar none!

Very nice room. Varied puzzles and plenty to do at any given time. Would definitely recommend a visit. My main gripe with this place is that almost all puzzles resolve to a key or combination lock.

Fun room. Mostly mechanical but still interactive and fun. One of those “solve multiple things at once” rooms. Loads of “game-show” puzzles… well it’s all it is. Had a good time. Game master Ben was fun, they’re in the room with you the whole time. Definitely avoid 5+ as it is a bit tighter.

A solid room. Low tech but enjoyable. Theme was pretty good. Puzzles were on the easy side.

What a fun room!

A solid, fun room with several puzzles that can be completed at once (so good for larger groups!) Some fun physical elements. Would definitely recommend this company.

Bonus Fun Time Game Show does a great job of capturing the vibe of an era of game shows - it's an unusual, and (as promised) fun, theme. The set is great, and puzzles fit in well with the environment. However, if the theme doesn't speak to you, you might not see the appeal. I think a major reason I'm not rating this a "love" is that I would have had a better time with fewer people. I had been told this game was better the more players you have, but I don't think it's true - like most games, the more players you have, the less any player gets to interact with. We played with 5, and I would have preferred 2-3. Having said that, if you're looking for a fun time for a group, this would probably fit the bill better than many games because of the theme and because it's decently parallelizable.