While it may lack some of the upscale excitement of downtown, West Chicago is full of life, culture, and a number of attractions that are enticing to people of every stripe. If you find yourself visiting during the summer months, then Turtle Splash Water Park might be perfect for you and the family. Or if retro fun is more your vibe, then the Cascade Drive-In Theater is a must visit. This part of Chicago also happens to be home to some of the most original escape rooms in the whole midwest, and should certainly not be overlook. Whatever your interest, West Chicago is without a doubt worth a visit. You may one day look back and realize that some of your favorite memories took place here.

Best of Morty (2023)

Nominee (2023)

Best of Morty (2022)

Nominee (2022)

Finalist (2021)

Finalist (2020)

Finalist (2019)

Silver - Best Use of Actors (2019)

Best Puzzle Game (2018)

As a contestant on this vintage game show set, you’ve made it to the final round and have just minutes to win the grand prize!

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.

Escape Factor

Bonus Fun Time Game Show Challenge

Escape room

A strange doll shop has appeared overnight at the edge of town. No grand opening, no announcement, and no one remembers seeing it built. The windows are dusty, the shelves are full of hand-crafted dolls, and each one looks disturbingly lifelike.

You and your team step inside to investigate, but the deeper you go, the more unsettling the truth becomes. The dolls seem to watch you. Whispers echo through the halls. Something is very wrong.

You discover the shop’s owner is a grieving father performing a dark ritual to bring back his son. The missing children from the neighborhood are part of his twisted plan.

You have one hour to uncover the secrets, stop the ritual, and escape before you join the collection.

3rd visit to Just Escape Room and The Haunted Doll Shop was a fun room. We were going to play as a pair, which would have been more appropriate for this smaller room, but having 4 also worked fine. Good variety of puzzles in the room, and I really appreciated the dry erase board in the room, as that was utilized for several puzzles to keep track of sequences. Also, I appreciated the puzzle where we got to use a bungee cord, because who doesn’t like to play with bungee cords. 

Set was solid and made you feel like you were in a spooky Doll Shop. Lighting was a little dark but appropriate for the theme and manageable. I only wish the game had 1 more room with more puzzles as it was fun, but we got through it relatively quickly. 

Jordan (owner/builder) was our GM, so we finally got to meet him. Jordan was great to speak with after about our favorite ERs and games we have played in the area. Jordan also told us about his upcoming room, Cabin Murder, which will be opening later this summer, and it sounds really fun. You can tell that Jordan puts a lot of thought and love into his games, so I cannot wait for Cabin Murder. Defintiely check out Just Escape if you are in the area. 

Ranking at Just Escape
1)Floor 66
2)Haunted Doll Shop
3)The Attic

Just Escape Room

The Haunted Doll Shop

After a quiet hike nearby lands you as the primary suspects in a high-stakes murder investigation, the police give you one chance to prove your innocence. A remote cabin serves as the crime scene, and the murder weapon is still hidden somewhere inside. However, a rookie officer accidentally triggered a trap, and a sixty minute countdown has begun to destroy all evidence within the structure.

The cabin was once a workshop for the A.R.K. a techs, a group of eccentric masterminds who turn homes into elaborate mechanical nightmares. Fearing the complex traps and quirky gadgets, the police refuse to enter the crime scene themselves. You must navigate their twisted puzzles and recover the weapon before the clock hits zero and the proof vanishes forever. If you succeed, you walk free. If you fail, the evidence is lost and you will be the only ones left to take the fall for the crime.

Big fan of what this company and its owner are doing with escape rooms! Great set and fun puzzles. There are a few puzzles that we wouldn’t have gotten without a nudge, but the owner is very open to feedback, especially as this was a brand new room when we played. Bonus for playing it early is that we made the leaderboard with many minutes to spare! Don’t worry if you get scared easily. Despite a name that includes the words cabin and murder, this room isn’t spooky at all. Unless one of your teammates gets cabin fever!

Cabin Murder

Activate offers high-tech games that test your team’s physical and mental agility across a wide variety of real-life challenges. Once inside, you and your team choose from hundreds of combinations of games and difficulty levels, each lasting one to three minutes. Your electronic wristband tracks your score and progress throughout your experience making Activate perfect for a casual night out or intense competition.

More of a physical challenge activities facility than an escape room, Activate is often a great time! The company has multiple facilities around the U.S. and Canada, and the location in Chicago has more games than the other one I went to in Lexington, Kentucky. It has active arcade games like a portal challenge, where you throw balls into holes and they pop out of another hole, and a game where you have a control panel similar to a video game adventure. Most of the other games are great too and range from being in an interactive platformer video game to throwing basketballs to solve trivia. We end up sweating from all the running around and crawling! There are about 15-20 rooms, so there are a lot of choices. The only thing that was tough is if it’s busy, you may have to use up more of your limited 75-minute time slot waiting for people. And if they’re too loud, you can’t hear some of the audio-based challenges. So it really depends on the day. I still recommend it for groups, and I would definitely say it’s a great spot for parties and big hangouts!

Activate

Activate [Interactive Arcade]

Other 

Another child has mysteriously fell into a coma, and with Elise gone Tucker and Specs have continued her work. They have recruited your assistance to journey into the further to help this child escape and retrieve the gatekeeper’s horn before the red face demon absorbs the soul of this child. Tucker is overly obsessed with getting his hands on the horn as he says it’s the key to stopping the red face demon…..but is it?

Things to Do in West Chicago: Escape Rooms and More

Top escape rooms in West Chicago

Bonus Fun Time Game Show Challenge

The Haunted Doll Shop

Cabin Murder

Activate [Interactive Arcade]

Insidious: Return To The Further

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