The Poe Adventure

We tackled this room with just the two of us and had a great time overall. It packs in a lot of puzzles, so there was always something to work on, and we appreciated the variety. There are some fun tech elements mixed in throughout, and fans of Edgar Allan Poe will enjoy the references sprinkled around the room. Even if you're not familiar with his stories, don't let that discourage you. The room is still completely solvable and enjoyable. The hint system was a bit of a mixed bag. You're provided with an iPad containing puzzle solutions, which felt a little immersion-breaking. We tried to avoid using it, but with only two players and the clock winding down, we found ourselves relying on it more than we wanted. There is also an in-character hint system, which we actually preferred in concept, but it was difficult to hear and understand what was being said, so it wasn't as helpful as it could have been. That said, we completed the final puzzle within seconds and I know the staff gave us a bit more time to experience the finale which was appreciated. I think this room really shines with three or four players. It's absolutely doable with two experienced players, but because of the number of puzzles, having an extra person or two would make the experience flow much better. Our biggest disappointment wasn't the room itself but the presentation. The host seemed very matter-of-fact from the moment we arrived, almost like, "Your room is ready, go ahead." We don't expect over-the-top acting, but a little enthusiasm goes a long way in building anticipation before an escape room. The same feeling carried through at the end—we were simply told goodbye, and we actually had to ask if we could take a photo. It wasn't unfriendly, just very routine, and it made the experience feel less memorable than it could have been. That said, the room itself is fun, puzzle-heavy, and worth playing, especially if you enjoy solving a lot of different challenges. With a few updates to the hint system, some improvements to the audio, and a little more energy from the staff, this could easily become an even stronger experience.

Rating: 4/5 - Beginner room for those who love Poe and magical feeling tech Pros: ➕ Set is looks great, high quality, and detailed. It is appropriately decorated floor to ceiling. ➕ High immersion, everything in the room looks like it belongs, no LCD timer screens. ➕ GM talks to you as a character, this is the first time I've seen it done this way. ➕ Room is filled with cool tech, some of it feels magical. There isn't a single combo lock and the few keyed padlocks they do have look appropriate to the theme. ➕Multiple areas to explore and discover. ➕Some fun theatrics and props I haven't seen before. ➕Puzzles fit the theme, no outside knowledge of Poe required. ➕Good use of audio ➕Dramatic ending Room for improvement: ➖Most of the puzzles are very simple and are not that satisfying to solve for puzzle lovers. ➖If you are not a fan of Poe, many of the references will go over your head and end up making no sense why certain things are in the room. ➖While I love when GMs play a character, our GM's acting just felt a bit awkward instead of engaging. ➖There was a lot of sound leakage from the Area51 room next door which was distracting. This is not really a scary room though there may be at least 1 minor startling moment. We played as a team of 3, but I feel like this could be played solo due to the simplicity of the puzzles. They do allow single bookings.

Well themed room. We liked it ok but didn’t love it. They do really well with the decor and props. Customer service wasn’t the best. They were nice enough but you had to walk yourself back to the room and start the intro video yourself, as well as let yourself out when it’s time to leave. They don’t take your photo afterwards either. We are interested in trying their other rooms sometime.

Awesome room that lived up to the hype of the reviews. Very fun and unique puzzles. The live actor "ghost" added a very fun bit to the room. I am pretty sure we ran over a few minutes but they let us finish up to see the incredible ending. Very well done! Must do room if you are in the area.

Poenomenal room! A room based on the works and life of Edgar Allen Poe is probably not what anyone expected, but it works well to create a spooky mysterious manor set with telltale secrets and wow moments masqued as references to the famous writer. Literary nerds will appreciate it even more! It’s compounded by a GM who also functions as a (somewhat) in-room live actor. It isn’t scary, but it is spooky and maybe even a little… haunted. Feeling like ordinary escape rooms lack thrills or lore? Quoth the raven, never more!

The room was very well-designed and immersive with some surprising and creative concepts. It had a great atmosphere — not exactly creepy, but definitely eerie in a fun and engaging way. The variety of puzzles kept things interesting, and overall, the experience was very enjoyable. Although it’s rated as a 2/5 difficulty, we didn’t find the puzzles too easy. However, some of the concepts weren’t very intuitive. One feature in particular, while a cool concept, felt more like a gimmick that ended up setting us back. It was something we could had solved much faster without that extra step, which made it a little frustrating. We got stuck there and ended up asking the game master for about eight hints, none of which were very helpful. We were doing very well with our pacing, so spending that much time on that particular puzzle was frustrating. That said, the game master should have given us more direction at that specific part; we spent about 20 minutes on something that should have taken two. Unfortunately, that setback cost us the escape. Still, the room itself was fantastic — creative, fun, and atmospheric. The only downside was the game master experience, which detracted a bit from the overall flow. Final thoughts: I’d definitely recommend this escape room. It’s a solid 9.5/10 for design and experience — just wish the game master support matched the quality of the room itself.

What a wonderful escape room! Definitely one of the best I’ve done in DFW!

Out of the 200 escape rooms I’ve done at this point, this is the first location where I felt like the game masters were intentionally designed with the story. It’s quite refreshing! Our trio did all three rooms with Secret Chambers in Arlington in one day! We started with Poe’s Adventure and the spooky jump scares were so much fun. The puzzles were enjoyable and Barnaby, our game master, nudged us along just the right amount. If you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, you will enjoy the references but background knowledge is not needed here. Set design was also stunning and thematic. Some crawling may be involved but as long as one person in your party can crawl, the rest of your group can join them. Shout out to Kashes for taking care of us the entire time! In addition to the game master, Kashes also introduced us to the rooms and made sure that we had enough time to do everything!

Really loved this room! Great story board and gameplay! Highly recommend

Great incorporation of Poe’s works without seeming forced. Some of the recordings were hard to hear, as was the game master on occasion. If you love Poe’s works you’ll like the room, but it can be played with no outside knowledge about Poe. Set design was immersive.