Mark as done to rate
Break into a warehouse and steal a relic with your crackerjack team… who just happen to be puppets.
All ratings (1001)
Very positive
Gameplay
Very positive
Atmosphere
Overwhelmingly positive
Customer service
Overwhelmingly positive
29 escape rooms
SUPER fun and creative loved all the effects with puppet and getting to carry him around was a blast. Super immersive felt as if we were in a silly muppet hijinx movie. Highly recommend the experience
19 escape rooms
Puppet Heist was a really cool room with the main concept - you have a puppet friend that can do things you can’t - being executed REALLY well. Set held up, puzzles were novel and well thought-out, and our host Covey was awesome. Well done room all around!
Really interesting puzzle concepts involving Melvin. You will do things that make you go “wait, that’s allowed?” but it’s all really reasonable (and there are voice lines if something feels crazy that tells you it’s fine).
Everything was in tip-top shape (excluding one minor prop) and it all felt natural to be in the room. Really fun special interactions as wel.
Covey was awesome! Really kind and helped us really well with the one clue we needed.
Yes
The concept of “you have a puppet who can do things you can’t” lead to really amazing moments.
Simple heist-like game, with some puppet extras.
Medium
Some puzzles were a bit confusing, but it went down really wel.
High tech
High-tech elements abound - but it still felt mechanical.
4
Went with a group of 3 and honestly, one more would’ve been fine. Groups of 2-5 are perfect.
Not scary
6
Children would love this room 100% - very strong variety of puzzles for all ages.
Yes
Unfortunately, a trigger for one of the puzzles activated late, leading to some confusion. However, it then essentially reset to where it should’ve been without issue. Other than that, some props had some missing googly eyes - but I can’t tell if that was intentional or not.
No
Not at all
Someone will have to reach low at some points and there is a dexterity puzzle, but it’s really light.
Ending sequence does rely on colors. Sound cues throughout keep you on track.
Yes
Easy
29 escape rooms
The whimsical nature of the story is what really makes this room. So many moments of this room will make you smile. Every detail counts in this room, and makes everything feel so real and even magical at times. This room asks you to break the rules of a typical escape room in a couple of fun ways, so you’ll definitely want to trust your gut on this one - don’t let your fear of breaking the game hold you back, because we certainly lost some time that way. This room has a healthy mix of practical and high tech effects that make it a truly unforgettable experience.
Some moments we needed a little extra help to connect the dots. The answers are very rarely obvious, but clever nonetheless.
Yes
It takes the typical “Heist” room and introduces a brand new spin. While there are no live actors, you will have a friend every step of the way helping you out.
Hard
Mechanical
5
Can be played with 2 players, but prepare to be slowed down. Multiple perspectives are needed for this room.
Not scary
If you have a fear of puppets or dolls, especially if them moving on their own/when you’re not looking freaks you out, this room is not for you.
12
No
No
Somewhat
Floor is flat and level all around. No steps, no crawling, and no climbing required. At least one person in the party will need to crouch onto the ground a couple times. Almost everything is pretty low, so players in a wheelchair will be able to participate a lot. Some areas of one room have some tight corners that may be difficult for a wheelchair to navigate around. All scenes with dialogue are captionless. There is no strobe lighting but there are lights that will occasionally flash and change colors.
Yes
Location is hidden but you receive an email beforehand with clear instructions on how to find it.
Easy
49 escape rooms
I love how the game didn’t involve keys and codes, but rather an immersive, story-driven experience that felt as though you were truly in the world of puppets.
Yes
Medium
High tech
3
Not scary
10
No
No
Somewhat
Yes
Easy
370 escape rooms
Have you ever done an escape room and thought, this would have been so much more fun with a Muppet? This is the room for you! In this escape room, you get to physically help Melvin the muppet puppet steal the Hand of Life. I didn’t realize how much the room would involve Melvin until we completed our 1st few puzzles, which were legit hard for us to piece out the logic to at first. But then, I was wowed so much that I started flailing Kermit style! I love that Melvin is literally a member of your escape team for this heist. Trust in Melvin or else you’ll be Muppets most wanted!
Melvin
Melvin
Yes
Melvin
Melvin
Medium
High tech
Melvin
Yes
Some puzzles were finicky, and a puzzle prop was literally broken by another group at some point before we played so it made a puzzle awkward
No
No, but Melvin is basically a live Muppet in the room
Not at all
No
Be sure to read your email carefully for directions
Medium
39 escape rooms
Best escape room I’ve ever done. Puzzles were fun and fresh
2 escape rooms
𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 �𓅝𓃄 �𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿 𓆜𓋘𓄁 𓊛𓇙𓋸𓌤𓌥 𓌦 𓅐𓆢 𓆣 𓀉𓆤 𓆥 𓅑𓆘 𓆙 𓅒𓄙 𓄚 𓄛 𓅓𓃺 𓃻 𓅔 𓅕 𓃕 𓃖 𓃗 𓎷 𓄁𓎸𓅖 𓅽 𓅾 𓅿𓅗 𓅘 𓇆 𓇇𓅙 𓅚 𓁵 𓁶𓂵 𓂶𓃝𓋲 𓋳𓀬 𓅛𓁃 𓂺𓅜 𓂨𓅝𓃄 𓄁𓅞𓂙 𓅟𓂿
10 escape rooms
This room was incredibly fun and unlike any room I have played before!!
Somewhat
50 escape rooms
This one is interesting, the theme is unique and cute however there's a bit of an issue with the order of gameplay which can be frustrating and sometimes it felt like we either knew what we were doing or kinda stalled not knowing what to do next. The story felt jumbled and was confusing at parts and as a common theme with this company it felt like there weren't a ton of puzzles in the room. That being said the whole Melvin aspect of things was something I hadn't seen before, and they did a pretty good job with that. Overall, it was a fun room. Worth doing if you can get a discount.
62 escape rooms
Geez, this one’s rough. On paper it sounds like a really unique, inspired and entertaining escape room, but it very quickly devolves into a frustrating, unintuitive and poorly conceived gimmick. So much potential is completely unrealized, so much talent and work is squandered, and it’s really overdue for some TLC. There are some fun moments, but they are so few and far in-between all the frustration and poor design choices. We were left scratching our heads in disbelief by the time we escaped. Let’s briefly get through the good, and then deal with everything else. There are some funny moments and inspired design choices involving the set design, and the atmosphere is better than most escape rooms. It’s an ambitious concept that struggles to reign in a lot of creative decisions to make everything work, but what does work is quite good and funny. This all accounts for maybe 30% of the room. However, looking back on it, there’s actually very little to do in the way of puzzles for the entirety of the 60 minutes, and I wouldn’t really even call them puzzles. They’re more like fetch quests. And yet nothing really made sense as to why you’d do them to progress. So logically, you wouldn’t think to do most of these actions in the first place. The gameplay is just really uneven, weird (not in a good way) and feels like an experiment from another time that hasn’t been refined since. Other experiences I’ve had with “The Bureau” have been smooth, designed with puzzles that are thoughtful and well integrated into the theme. Puppet Heist seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. There’s one task in particular in the very beginning which actually breaks two golden rules that are pretty universal in escape rooms (throwing something, and throwing said object to/behind an unreachable area). While it is played for laughs, we found it baffling as a design choice, because it’s LITERALLY one of the first things you do, and then that logic never comes back into play again. But from the get go, it encourages destructive behavior, which brings me to my next point. The state of the room, namely the puppet. The room has many areas of clear abuse, with the previously discussed logic having been applied in many different manners across the room. A lot of things have been noticeably dinged, beaten up or treated poorly. Then there’s the puppet…my goodness has this thing seen better days. It clearly has not been maintained or serviced since this experience opened. You’re expected to carry this thing around, but it’s so filthy, grimy and is really gross to handle. It is disgusting, caked in who knows what. I only held it with my fingertips and away from my body when I was required to move it. Something that’s so integral and important to the experience shouldn’t be in such a state of disrepair that you’re inclined not to connect with it, especially because it’s a character in the story. Look, I really don’t like tearing rooms a new one, and I don’t go into any escape room with the intention of having a bad time, but sometimes there’s just too much wrong with an experience that it’s hard to overlook. At $42 a person, this should be a premium experience from top to bottom. I appreciate what The Bureau tries to do with their entire business theme, and world building that comes with it. They take a lot of risks, and that’s an admirable thing in a creative field, especially when most creative industries are risk averse these days. There’s some charm and inspired choices here, but it needs a major overhaul, refurbishment and a gameplay refresh that addresses all of the issues above. Puppet Heist is a mostly frustrating and unintuitive time that feels more like a slog instead of breezy fun.
This one’s rough. Very little to do and yet nothing really made sense
The high point of the experience
Medium
3
Not scary
10
No
Not broken, but the puppet has seen better days and is really gross to handle. Only held it with my fingertips and away from my body.
No
Not at all
Color related puzzles, some others requiring crouching to manipulate.
Yes
Easy
“The sheer uniqueness of the room and its obstacles/style more than made up for the few bumps [...]“
“Some of the puzzles were not intuitive so going into this game and knowing this would help a lot.“