The Return of White House Down

I actually loved this room. LOTS of puzzles and LOTS of non-linear stuff but the flow was super cool and I enjoyed this room a lot.

Loved being able to have a little more time added. A bigger room for two people, would suggest having at least one more person. Great gameplay overall , lots of puzzle which we enjoyed.

Room was arduous and unintuitive, but had potential. Lots of “NO” signs. Lobby was unmanned, no signage, no greeting. Another family walked in and was equally confused. Our Briefing was given to the wrong group. No apologies for such clumsiness. Host turned to us and finished the briefing, assuming we were listening to the first part that was directed at the other team. Host very gruff and seems a bit over it all. Afterward, Host talked to us in the room about the final puzzles with the door open, and next group seeing and hearing everything they were about to do. Use hints. The room has a LOT more puzzles than you think.

We had a less than ideal experience both with playing the room and our introduction to the business. The staff seemed overworked, rushed, and not terribly interested/well trained with giving any semblance of a personalized experience. The room, while being inspired and pretty cool in some parts, is in dire need of TLC and some streamlining for the puzzles and flow. We’re not inexperienced, and have played plenty of “hard” (and I mean really hard) escape rooms and beaten them. I love challenges. The issue with this room lies in just how unintuitive and artificially time-wasting the puzzles are. Nothing really has a rhyme or reason. You just kind of float from one thing to another, without much forethought put into why (or how) anything really connects. Within the first minute or two, you’re essentially just unhooking lock after lock after lock in quick succession, becoming a guessing game which felt both antiquated and lazy, and very strangely out of character for the theme. Then it does a 180, and starts presenting puzzles that are strange, disconnected leaps in logic. Honestly, you can’t feel bad for not piecing them together without help or hints, as the business admitted a lot of people have trouble with this room (maybe a sign to update things?). I will say, I did love the theme, and the reveals are neat and somewhat inspired. Which is disappointing because this one has so much potential and could be really awesome, but its execution left a lot to be desired. It’s in clear, desperate need of renovation and help. The room(s) actually felt kind of musty and dirty. Wallpaper is peeling, most every prop is really beat up and not maintained. A lot (ie: almost everything) in the room has a “NO” label on it, or instructions relying too much on telling you what not to do, which is both immersion breaking and confusing when you actually “do” find something you should interact with (that also aren’t always glaringly obvious and kind of unfairly tucked away). The takeaway is this. I didn’t really have fun. Flow and consistency is this room’s main enemy. It needs an overhaul to be a more focused, and engaging room. It doesn’t have to be made easier. It just needs to be thought out a bit better. And just touch it up a bit and replace the worn out stuff. I can’t really recommend the room in its current state. I will give Time Trap another shot in the near future and hope this was just a fluke.

Family of 5 adults - lots of locks - fast pace. Great room for experienced players.