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I Participated in an Escape Room tonight (1 Viewer)

Hot Sauce Guy

Footballguy
Sunday is a 4 AM workday for me, so I was hesitant to accept the invitation. I’m so glad I did. 

The theme was a bank heist. We had 5 adults, a 12 y/o & a 9 y/o. We’ve all been friends for a while so no one was afraid to look dumb, and the teamwork was excellent throughout. 
 

We had to solve some 40+ puzzles, and had 1 hour to do it. Clues were behind picture frames, with riddles to open electronic locks, which then opened drawers in the desk, revealing more clues. We had to hack the computer & use the emails to glean more codes to decipher other clues, build a hook on a pole to fetch a lanyard badge off of a hook through a door with a barred window, which opened to a 2nd room. There was a lock box, 3 locked drawers, a small fire safe on the desk, and a vault door. There was a drawer with an arm sized hole in it, and a metal box inside with switches and knobs that all had to be turned a specific direction. So may switches and levers and clues to unlock clues to unlock clues. 

Once we solved all those puzzles, we had to get the Diamond out of the special case, replace it with a mug (Indiana Jones-style) and figure out several more puzzles to open more drawers and get more clues to finally escape.

You're allowed 3 additional clues, if you want to ask for help. We used none of the free clues, and escaped with 9:32 to spare.

Oh yeah, the 3 guys put a significant dent in a bottle of High Whest Double Rye before making our way over there, upping the difficulty & hilarity.  

If someone invites you to do an escape room, say yes. Don’t even hesitate. So much fun. I highly recommend it. Would be a terrific family outing, too - fun for anyone about 7-8, but more fun for teen to adult.

TL/DR: did an escape room for the first time & it was win. 👍🏼

 
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Sunday is a 4 AM workday for me, so I was hesitant to accept the invitation. I’m so glad I did. 

The theme was a bank heist. We had 5 adults, a 12 y/o & a 9 y/o. We’ve all been friends for a while so no one was afraid to look dumb, and the teamwork was excellent throughout. 
 

We had to solve some 40+ puzzles, and had 1 hour to do it. Clues were behind picture frames, with riddles to open electronic locks, which then opened drawers in the desk, revealing more clues. We had to hack the computer & use the emails to glean more codes to decipher other clues, build a hook on a pole to fetch a lanyard badge off of a hook through a door with a barred window, which opened to a 2nd room. There was a lock box, 3 locked drawers, a small fire safe on the desk, and a vault door. There was a drawer with an arm sized hole in it, and a metal box inside with switches and knobs that all had to be turned a specific direction. So may switches and levers and clues to unlock clues to unlock clues. 

Once we solved all those puzzles, we had to get the Diamond out of the special case, replace it with a mug (Indiana Jones-style) and figure out several more puzzles to open more drawers and get more clues to finally escape.

You're allowed 3 additional clues, if you want to ask for help. We used none of the free clues, and escaped with 9:32 to spare.

Oh yeah, the 3 guys put a significant dent in a bottle of High Whest Double Rye before making our way over there, upping the difficulty & hilarity.  

If someone invites you to do an escape room, say yes. Don’t even hesitate. So much fun. I highly recommend it. Would be a terrific family outing, too - fun for anyone about 7-8, but more fun for teen to adult.

TL/DR: did an escape room for the first time & it was win. 👍🏼
You're a Bay Area guy. Is this something someone set up for you or did you sign up somewhere to do it? Sounds super fun.

 
You're a Bay Area guy. Is this something someone set up for you or did you sign up somewhere to do it? Sounds super fun.
My friend’s wife got it for her husband for Christmas. She invited a bunch of his old friends out to Livermore, where the place is. (in a strip mall). 

Reservations, a 1 hour experience, and there are 3-4 themes to choose from. There’s a pirate themed one, Wizard-theme, bank robbery, etc. 

So so so much fun. Super interactive, lots of Switches & dials and electronic locks and stuff to figure out. Teamwork makes the dream work. Cannot recommend it enough. 

this is the spot:

https://www.limitlessescapegames.com

 
I went to an escape room with a pirate treasure theme in Miami, pre-pandemic. It was rated medium difficulty and our group of 5 adults found the hidden treasure. I agree that it was an enjoyable experience. This company operates over 10 escape rooms including one in SF. 

PANIQ ESCAPE ROOM MIAMI 

 
I participated in an escape room in for the first time last week in Phoenix.   I had no idea what to expect and wish I had investigated how these things operate before hand.   We were in groups of 4 and none of us had any idea what we were doing.   

It was a blast.   After the first fifteen minutes of bumbling around we started to figure out what needs to be done to find and solve clues.   Definitely recommend.   

 
We did one for my kids birthday party a few years ago.  It was just him and his friends but we got to peak in at them a few times

ended up doing one over the summer as a family in Pigeon Forge

then the boy did one for his birthday back in December (they did not escape, needed another minute or two)

Agree they are a good activity for family or friends outing.  

 
I once broke a door knob and couldn’t escape a locked room until Mrs. O came home. That counts, right?
I can top this. We have one of those glass stall type showers. The door hinge broke and I couldn't get out. My wife wasn't home, so I had to climb out the top. A 230 pound, naked Courtjester going over the top of a shower stall was probably a pretty horrific sight. .

That being said, we have always wanted to do a room, but it is usually only my two daughters and us and a lot of these rooms want groups of six or eight. I don't want to be lumped in with a bunch of strangers, so we have avoided them. 

 
I can top this. We have one of those glass stall type showers. The door hinge broke and I couldn't get out. My wife wasn't home, so I had to climb out the top. A 230 pound, naked Courtjester going over the top of a shower stall was probably a pretty horrific sight. .

That being said, we have always wanted to do a room, but it is usually only my two daughters and us and a lot of these rooms want groups of six or eight. I don't want to be lumped in with a bunch of strangers, so we have avoided them. 
i think those are the max allowed.  In the past I think they would mix groups but with Covid most of the places are not mixing groups (YMMV).  You could probably always ask them to keep it private, maybe have to pay a little extra or something 

 
I will say, IME the quality of these places varies wildly. The first one we did...yikes- 7 years ago- was awful; designed and built poorly...just a room with stuff on tables to solve, half which didn't work when solved (despite the host yelling us do exactly what we had just done). Left a bad taste. We've been to others since that were a lot better.

Still a very fun thing to do with friends.

The place my son has been going to has 8 different rooms, and each one is awesome- multiple rooms to get through that unfold as you solve things...and all themed and really well designed and varying in difficulty. It gets to be a little expensive for a- hey, go hang with your friends this weekend and do an escape room...if I'm paying for everybody at 40 a pop.but it's been a popular bday/special occasion present. He just went to one last weekend.

 
The place my son has been going to has 8 different rooms, and each one is awesome- multiple rooms to get through that unfold as you solve things...and all themed and really well designed and varying in difficulty. It gets to be a little expensive for a- hey, go hang with your friends this weekend and do an escape room...if I'm paying for everybody at 40 a pop.but it's been a popular bday/special occasion present. He just went to one last weekend.
The latter is how ours was. Mechanical puzzles, electronic locks physical puzzle pieces, hidden clues behind picture frames, a podium that has switches on top & when you align them with the pics on the wall it rises 2’ to reveal a hidden chamber with another clue in it - on and on. 3 rooms, lots and lots of complexity. I loved it. 

I hope to do another one sometime - hopefully the quality is the same. $32 per person not too bad. 

 
The latter is how ours was. Mechanical puzzles, electronic locks physical puzzle pieces, hidden clues behind picture frames, a podium that has switches on top & when you align them with the pics on the wall it rises 2’ to reveal a hidden chamber with another clue in it - on and on. 3 rooms, lots and lots of complexity. I loved it. 

I hope to do another one sometime - hopefully the quality is the same. $32 per person not too bad. 
We have Israeli friends here in the city who do them all over the place...I think it was Israel, or maybe Germany where they started handcuffed to a wall. Seemed a little extreme.

Eta...just realized the juxtaposition of the countries made that sound a LOT worse than it was.

 
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I've done one set with a work group that was mildly fun, but too many people were afraid to look dumb.  I did make my boss think I was a wizard for figuring out something he was stuck on, though.

I did another with family, and it was great fun.  They're expensive, but worth doing from time to time.

 
I've done one set with a work group that was mildly fun, but too many people were afraid to look dumb.  I did make my boss think I was a wizard for figuring out something he was stuck on, though.

I did another with family, and it was great fun.  They're expensive, but worth doing from time to time.
I’ve done a few with a group of friends and we’ve solved it every time, once in the monthly record time.

Only time I failed was with our group from work. It was an epic cluster with poor communication all around which was a great reflection of the group at the time. Though I did think it was a fairly poorly done room that required some serious mental leaps to figure out some of the clues.

 
Tick said:
 but too many people were afraid to look dumb. 
Absolutely key. Solving puzzles means a lot of wrong answers before hitting the correct one.  Especially with bigger and more complex multi-faceted puzzles. You can't be afraid of looking stupid, which is why for a work group function, I would not recommend (unless you're the boss & you want to figure out which of your employees are more clever / comfortable at problem solving) 

 
My family got hooked on escape rooms about 4-5 years ago.  I imagine we've done well over 30 at this point.  We've done all the available rooms in Indianapolis and we travel a fair amount and often do escape rooms when we visit other cities as well.  In my experience, there are a few things that impact your overall enjoyment of any given room:

  • How well the room is designed - You can get a sense of this by reading online reviews
  • How good the person running the room is - If they give clues, hopefully they give just enough to nudge you towards solving the puzzle you're currently stuck on so you'll stay on-time and at least have a decent opportunity to escape.
  • The others that are doing the room with you - This can be a complete crapshoot if you don't buyout the whole room, or even if you know who you're playing with, they may not necessarily know how to play an escape room.  My family generally likes to have the room all to ourselves, and with COVID, a lot of escape rooms have started making that mandatory anyway which is a plus for us at least.
General tips:

  • Search everywhere for keys, clues, etc.
  • Whenever you find a clue, key, etc. put it in a central place.  99% of the time any given clue, key, etc. will only be used ONCE.  So once you use something, move it to another "done" pile so you know not to mess with it anymore.
  • Communicate - "I'm looking for a 4-digit combination for this lock", etc.
 
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  • Communicate - "I'm looking for a 4-digit combination for this lock", etc.
This was 100% KEY to our success. And it was exactly for that - lock combos, clues to decipher codes, etc.  Gotta get it wrong before you can get it right, and sharing info is the fastest way to solve the puzzle. 

Everyone has their strengths. Heck, the 11 year old solved one of the biggest clues (partially) and 2 of the adults shushed him. I asked him to repeat what he said, and he was spot on - he didn't get the answer completely, but he nailed what we needed to do to get to the answer. 

Gotta be open to listening, and not try to be the hero all the time. It's fun to figure it out on your own, but it's more fun to win as a team. 

 
if i eat a lot of pickles and apple juice any room i am in pretty much becomes an escape room for anyone not named swc take that to the bank bromigos 

 
We designated someone as the captain who wasn't there to solve puzzles, but managed the pile of clues and connected people to each other - this person has a 4 digit code, that person needs one.  It worked well, and that person stayed busy.

 

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