Mark as done to rate
Bear attacks are becoming pretty frequent at Grandview campgrounds. You find yourself lost in the woods with only one cabin to be safe from the attacks when a deep mystery unravels around you. With our most jaw dropping moment in any of our games, this is one you’ll want to sink your teeth into. Please Note: while this game has some thrilling effects and moments unlike any of our other games, this is not a horror or gore game and still family friendly.
All ratings (56)
Very positive
Gameplay
Very positive
Atmosphere
Very positive
Customer service
Very positive
183 escape rooms
Rating 3.5/5 - Creepy cabin with one very cool reveal I've never seen done anywhere else Pros: -The "jaw dropping moment" from the description was fantastic and mind bending, it's the highlight of the room -Immersive set that looked high quality and appropriately creepy -Multiple areas to explore -There was at least one significant jump scare but it made us laugh afterwards -Friendly and helpful GM Mixed feelings: -Way too many padlocks and number/letter locks, especially compared to their other rooms. I dislike requiring multiple locks to open a single item as you don't get much reward for solving a puzzle. However, the lock mapping made it obvious which lock went with which puzzle. -Too much reading for my tastes, there are paragraphs upon paragraphs. I prefer more visual storytelling, sometimes less is more -Not a fan of the math puzzle, though it is basic math and a calculator was provided Cons: -The final effect wasn't working and made the ending anti-climactic -One puzzle where we put physical pieces into a board was completely pointless, the GM confirmed that it did nothing when we completed it -There was one puzzle at the end that the GM told us to ignore. It was clearly a puzzle (since it had a button, knobs, and a diagram) but the GM told us not to do anything with it, I suspect maybe it was broken so they bypassed it. -No writing pad provided and many of the puzzles are easier if you take notes. The owner says they don't provide markers due to vandalism, but many other escape rooms provide inexpensive electronic Boogie Boards to solve that problem. Taking notes on your phone is not a good substitute for something to write with. There is a lot to do in this room, so 4-5 enthusiasts is recommended. The room is difficult but not unfair, so I wouldn't recommend this to beginners. My ranking of the rooms here I've played starting with my favorite: 1. Ghost Town - Rating: 4.5/5 2. Murder Mansion - Rating: 4/5 3. The Pirate Ship - Rating: 4/5 4. Prison Break - Rating: 3.5/5 5. Time Machine - Rating: 3.5/5 6. The Scary One - Rating: 3.5/5 7. Abduction - Rating: 3.5/5 8. Shock & Awe - Rating: 3/5
Yes
The reveal was unique
Hard
High tech
Mix of tech and locks
4
Spooky
Creepy with at least 1 jump scare (no actors)
Yes
No
Not at all
Yes
Easy
Hello! The only comment we have is about the "puzzle" you mentioned at the end that you suspected was broken and bypassed. The GM was correct in saying it was not a puzzle. Yes you are able to mess with it, but it doesn't accomplish anything. It's just an area / item in the game that adds to the story and lore. Thanks for coming out to play!
Mar 26, 2025
46 escape rooms
The Scary One starts with you in the campgrounds at 11 at night where you happen upon a cabin in the woods. The storyline was interesting (although afterwards, our group wasn’t sure if the guy who owns the cabin became a bear or just wore a bear suit). Many of the puzzles fit with the theme, surrounding murders happening. Some of the puzzles required multiple calculations without provided paper or writing utensils. One of our group had been before and brought his own notepad, but it definitely would have been nice to have that in the experience. The ending was really cool and the “next suspects” made us all laugh. Although there were some items that didn’t make sense in the storyline (like the jump scare - who was that? What was the point of him being there?) Overall, really ambitious set. We did three other games during our trip to Lexington here and this was probably my third favorite. (In order from least to best: Time Machine, The Scary One, Murder Mansion, and Ghost Town.)
Kalli was the person introducing most of our games today, but everyone we encountered at Countdown was great!
Yes
Easy
Mechanical
Lots of code locks, but a couple items that were triggered.
4
We played with four enthusiasts and thought it was a good amount. There were a good number of puzzles and we ended up completing with about 8 minutes left as we each did a few puzzles independently.
Spooky
Spooky - scary. One real jump scare moment triggered by the game master in the final scene.
12
A bit of a scary theme
Not sure, we think there was perhaps a final puzzle that was broken that we didn’t complete, but the game masters didn’t say anything to make us feel like it was a lackluster ending.
No
Not at all
I think this would be fairly good for people with impairment issues. There are a couple steps here and there, I believe. I’d definitely reach out to Countdown if you’re uncertain.
Yes
Easy
Parking lot in front of business
Hello! If you could please remove the storyline spoiler about the guy who owns the cabin, since that plays into the "twist" we would appreciate it (your second sentence in the review)! Thanks for coming out to play!
Mar 26, 2025
70 escape rooms
To be honest, this was my least favorite game at Countdown. Countdown has always impressed us with their immersive set designs and originality, as well as flow through their huge spaces. However, this one is *mostly* just a room with a bunch of different locks. There is one surprise that we imagine some players never even get to see, so we felt like the pacing was off a bit. There was a lot of tedium and math involved, which also broke the immersion a little for me. Maybe Countdown set the bar too high, because I was honestly a little let-down... With that said, I'm sure I'll still be back someday! P. S. If you're inexperienced with escape rooms, or if you don't have a big group, I wouldn't recommend this. There was a massive amount of puzzles that my husband and I really couldn't have realistically have solved much faster on our own! P. P. S. Just saw the owners' response! Just wanted to clarify that we weren't complaining at all about the difficulty or the amount of puzzles. We would just recommend it more for larger groups. We really appreciated you letting us play even though we understood that it was meant to be experienced by more than 2 people at a time! One thing that keeps us coming back to Countdown (hours from home!) is the deeply imaginative and narrative flow throughout their rooms. This room just wasn't our favorite because we have *really* enjoyed our experiences in other rooms there!
It was fun, but there were some very lengthy puzzles which interrupted the flow at times.
The set design was great!
Expert
This is the first escape room in over 60 that my husband and I didn't escape from! The sheer number of puzzles makes it very challenging!
Mechanical
6
This was extremely hard for only two people!
Spooky
8
No
No
Somewhat
Yes
Easy
Plenty!
Hello! We are a little taken aback from this review, since you were warned about the difficulty your group of two would have in this game. We mentioned to you that it's our most challenging game out of our current 13 games and requires 4 people (as stated on our website). We were happy to make an exception for you two, since you were from out of town and really wanted to play despite all of our warnings ahead of time (even mentioning to you that you most likely would not win). The surprise you mentioned in your review that "a lot of players never even get to see" is seen by most groups, since most groups are at least 4 players. The math and locks may have been tedious to you since you were having to do double the work, a warning that was also given to you ahead of time. For a group of two, though, you definitely did better than most other groups of two! Thank you for the thumbs up, and we hope to see you back for more games!
Jan 3, 2025
114 escape rooms
The amount of reading in this room is absolutely bonkers. There are some VERY cool surprises, and the set is absolutely delightful. But there were also some VERY frustrating logic jumps and time-sinks (and that pretty much ruined the experience for our group). And one hint our GM gave because “it isn’t actually in the room.”
Our game started a couple of minutes late (even though we were 20 minjtes early) and our GM busted in right at the hour mark, even though we were about to finish the final puzzle. If you’re going to be late, you can give 15 seconds of grace for an escape- especially when the final “puzzle” is a game that we had already figured out. It felt like they were short-staffed and needed to get us out to turn over the room for the next group.
Yes
Hello! We are sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this game. The majority of the reading is story / lore based and the clues needed in any reading is emphasized to make whatever is clue-related clear. We hope to see you back for some of our other games, thanks for giving us a visit! -Countdown Games Team
Dec 24, 2024
1 escape room
This game is a great game to play with a larger group of people because there is more than one puzzle that can be worked on at a time. It is count downs hardest game! This game could be considered scary for smaller kids due to some of the special effects but nothing gory. Game does have a "darker" story line.
Great special effects! Very immersive
Staff is great! There is always great staff at countdown games! Chatted with a GM after the game was over about other games because they also loved escape rooms
Had a great plot twist
Hard
High tech
5
Spooky
Could be considered a little scary but kids can still play!
9
Yes
We did have one puzzle that was broken. The GM stopped our time so they could fix the puzzle. They weren't able to get it fixed so we were able to by pass that puzzle and escape!
No
Not at all
Yes
Easy
61 escape rooms
Fantastic escape room! The game is packed with a variety of puzzles, making it ideal for groups of 4-6 people to stay engaged the entire time. The creepy plot line includes a few jump scares, but nothing too intense. I recommend it for ages 12 and up. After reading other reviews we thought it would be incredibly hard, but most puzzles were self explanatory. The room features a great mix of traditional puzzles and innovative high-tech effects that we had never encountered before, even after completing over 50 escape rooms.
No
134 escape rooms
This room was very unique and I loved the story/atmosphere! As far as difficulty goes, The Scary One (the hardest game at countdown) is a really big jump from Prison Break (2nd hardest at Countdown). My group of 3 got out of prison break without any hints but asked for at least 6 hints in the scary one. I really enjoyed the tech in this room but I think some of the puzzles may have been a little bit overly ambitious.
There was a lot to do in this game! Overall I enjoyed the puzzles but it threw me off how many things were in this room that weren’t used. Some parts of this game were linear, other were non-linear.
The cabin was very cool and I loved the tech for this room! Very immersive and unique concept.
Yes
Super unique concept and execution!
I really enjoyed the storyline and the plot turns that this game took!
Expert
There were so many things to do and some of them were somewhat complicated. You definitely want a group larger than 3 for this game, preferably people who are experience with escape rooms.
6
Spooky
This game is not too scary for older kids but the theme/storyline is the spookiest out of all of the rooms at Countdown.
12
This game is hard and the story is relatively dark.
Yes
The final puzzle didn’t work as expected in this room but the gamemasters were very apologetic and explained to us what would have happened had it worked.
No
Not at all
I think that there may have been a couple of steps but there wasn’t a whole stairwell.
Yes
Easy
444 escape rooms
The Scary One, as the name implies, is Countdown Games’ scariest room. That said, for most people, I wouldn’t worry too much about the jumpscares, and there is no gore so it’s technically ok for kids. Older kids, mind you, because there is a legit creepy plot as the room literally unravels. The big reveals are mind blowing in this room, and it’s worth seeing them here! However, do be warned that this is a super hard room with densely packed puzzles that essentially requires at least 4 experienced escape artists to be able to divide and conquer at a fast pace. The surprises towards the end made my mind implode, and the creepy cabin setting is totally my vibe. I hate scary rooms, but yet I am a fan of The Scary One. Try it out, if you can bear it!
Yes
Mind blown by what happens here
Creepy
Expert
High tech
Scary
The Scary One, but it leans more towards spooky actually
No
No
Not at all
Yes
Easy
55 escape rooms
Overall rating - 9.7/10 Puzzles - 9 Gameplay - 10 Atmosphere - 10 Experience - 10 For a breakdown of my weighted rating system you can refer to my bio. This is my favorite room here. It's hard but in a really fair way. We were very close to finishing, we were on the final puzzle when we failed. We had three experienced players I think one more would have been perfect. It's one of those rooms that makes you look back and go "gah if we had just gotten that one puzzle sooner." Only one puzzle felt like a stretch, 95% of it was fair and fun.
56 escape rooms
This was one of the, if not the most immersive rooms I have ever done. Great room - highly recommended.
2