Rating: 4.5/5 - Charming, joyful room with great game-like puzzles, one of my favorites in Chicagoland
Pros:
➕Vibrant, colorful set really puts you in a game show mood.
➕The GM played a fun role as the gameshow host in the room
➕The puzzles were fantastic and brought me so much joy, they were so well integrated with the theme and felt like you were doing both a puzzle and playing a game at the same time. Many unique puzzles I haven't seen before.
➕Good balance of difficulty, not too hard or easy.
➕Lots of nostalgia
➕It's fairly lock heavy, but I didn't mind that since the puzzles/games were so fun and there were many physical/tactile interactions and some tech.
➕Some non-linearity so you can divide and conquer
➕Very well lit, no flashlights needed
➕One of the final reveals was so fun, I haven't done anything exactly like that in an escape room before.
➕Our GM (Brandon) was awesome and great to chat with, he provided the perfect level of nudges when needed, just enough to help without giving too much away.
Room for improvement:
➖The GM being in the room the whole time can be a bit awkward when he's not interacting with you.
➖This is only a single room, though it's probably one of the best single room games I've played so far, it's packed with puzzles.
Despite it being a single room, lower tech game, I LOVED this.
We played as a team of 2 (paid for 3 ) and finished with time to spare but I'd still recommend 3-4 enthusiasts. No crawling or climbing.
My ranking of the rooms here starting with my favorite:
1. Bonus Fun Time Gameshow
2. Ghost in the Graveyard
3. Tree House Raid
4. The Timekeeper's Trapped
Particularly interesting or different
No
The GM is in the room the whole time as the gameshow host.
Physically active
Not at all
There is a decent amount of paid street parking in the surrounding blocks.