Top Shelf Elf

With Top Shelf Elf, you’re probably thinking, ok a Christmas room, should be easy. They’re seasonal and simple for families celebrating the holidays, right? Wrong! This Christmas room was not only the hardest room we did here, but it’s also definitely the hardest Christmas room we’ve ever done. We needed the extra time that we earned in the room. There’s just A LOT. Lots of locks and tasks. Some of them are repetitive. It’s not always clear what to do or which keys or codes go with which locks. I overall had fun, but it was also frustrating. It’s not a complete mess, but we would surely not have escaped without our helpful top shelf elf, the GM, who ensured we got to the top!

Wow. Amazing room. The storyline and theme of this room was fantastic. Perfect room to play on Christmas day or any other day. We struggled with a few of the puzzles and needed quite a few nudges and our GM Addison was awesome and gave us extra time to escape. Dont let the cute whimsical theme fool you, this is no easy Christmas themed room. It was a LOT of puzzles for 2 people to solve in this room. The use of technology, storytelling and artistry in this room and all the rooms at Key To Escape is as good as it gets. You must stop at Key To Escape if you are near the Stateville NC area or just looking for some great rooms. Roger the owner was very hospitable and we enjoyed talking about escape rooms, tech and various other topics.

Loved this room. Lots of technical features, effects, and clues. We’re experienced escape room players and didn’t beat it on our first try.

I absolutely loved this room! Even though we didn’t escape, we plan on coming back to finish it. The puzzles were clever, fun, and hard. I love a good puzzle room and this was that. I definitely recommend this room!

Definitely the hardest room. Has some clever puzzles. A great room to play anytime but definitely during the holidays

We opted for the longer version of this room and were not disappointed. The first challenge starts at the door to enter the room. After solving, you gain entry to THE North Pole and Santa's command center and toy workshop. Lots of challenges to solve and some require augmented reality from Santa's tablet. Not a linear game so everyone can be working on something. It seemed odd at first to be playing a holiday themed game in April but once inside you will quickly forget it's not December and understand why they opted to keep this room around longer. Great for families and kids will love it.

This room has some fantastic ideas, but there's so much to do that it's really not feasible for a group of two to complete in the allotted time. I would suggest a minimum of 4 players to have a chance of completing the room. It's a lovely room, but there's an awful lot going on so it's difficult to keep track of the objectives.

If you’re looking for a fun and festive escape room, this one’s got it all—cute Christmassy vibes and even twisted Christmas carols! 🎄🎶 Highly recommend going with at least 4 players for the best chance to escape, but if you’re just playing for the holiday fun and don't need to finish it all, 2 works too! The mix of high-tech features and classic locks kept things interesting, though we needed a few hints for clarity. Owner Roger was our GM and is super warm and friendly.