Bros for Life: Fraternity HeistThe Escape VenturesEscape roomIRLDefinitely one of my favorite rooms that I have done. From the staff, to the theme, and the fun/super interactive puzzles that were involved, I had a blast. This hidden gem is a bit out of the way, unless you are closer to UCF, but is so worth the drive. The setting throws you into a college campus where you have the goal of stealing the statue from a university, and it does this so well. If you are in the Orlando area, this room and company should be on your must do list!
Captain Spoopy BonesDoldrick's Escape RoomEscape roomIRLDoldrick’s is a MUST if you are in the Orlando area. The owners/creators are some of the nicest and enthusiastic people I have met. You can tell that this isn’t just a job/company, it is a passion project for them, which makes me wish they had an infinite number of rooms so I could keep coming back. The room itself is a split start, but you can see each other. From there the room has so many things for both sides to do and even more adventure when you reunite. I 1,000% urge you to go play this and all of their other rooms!
Outage: No VacancyThe Escape VenturesEscape roomIRLOne of the most unique room experiences I have had. As an over-thinker in rooms, this game allowed me to turn off my brain and just get to work. I don’t want to spoil anything, but just get your feelers ready for an amazing adventure!
PlaygroundThe Escape GameEscape roomIRLShort answer: This room is truly the most fun you will have playing an Escape Room. Long answer: Everything in this room from puzzles, to theming, to surprises gets 87 thumbs up from me. Definitely in my top 5 for the rooms that I have played.
Operation TreehouseEscape GoatEscape roomIRLDo not walk, but run as fast as your little Escape Room nerd legs can carry you to this place! This is a family owned company that is small in stature, but packs the most impressive punch. Not only are they truly passionate about this place, but they are the NICEST family you will meet. As per the room, it truly takes you back to your childhood where your small box fort/tree house/barn roost seems like a massive world of fun and imagination. The theming, design, and puzzles are all so cute and fun, and you will have so much to do the entire time. A non-linear game, so you can take it section by section, or divide and conquer. Definitely recommended for at least 4 people, but they were so nice and let just me and my friend play because we had just played their 3 other impressive games. We were basically running the whole time, so there is plenty of stuff to fill the entire hour.
PlaygroundThe Escape Game Nashville: Berry HillEscape roomIRLPlayed this back when it was Underground Playground. My first ever Escape room back in 2014, that unfortunately has closed, but has evolved into something bigger and even more fantastic - Playground. Absolutely a must do to have some wonderful, stupid fun!
PlaygroundThe Escape Game - New YorkEscape roomIRLThis is a must-do game for everyone. From the puzzles to the game play and extra surprises in the room you will truly have such a blast. Definitely recommend having a decent sized group if you are newer to Escape Rooms as there is A LOT to do in this room.
Gold RushThe Escape Game - New YorkEscape roomIRLThis is truly one of my favorite games and favorite themes of any game I’ve played. TEG really knows how to immerse their players and make you feel like you have transported to a whole new place. Lots of surprises and different styles of puzzles, so plenty to do for all types of thinkers and players.
The Video StoreDare 2 EscapeEscape roomIRLPretty standard Escape Room with some fun nostalgia and a nice surprise in the room as well. Ended up playing this because my friend and I decided against throwing just the two of us into The Seventh Room, and we had so much fun. None of the puzzles are very difficult, and everything flows really well. Knowledge of movies is beneficial, but not at all necessary!
Puppet Heist: The Hand Of LifeThe Bureau Adventure GamesEscape roomIRLI know I am in the minority, but I did not have fun in this game. I really really wanted to like it too because I had only heard good things. It is more of an immersive search/find/do room as well versus an Escape Room. The theme was cute and I was so excited to start, but there were two big things that left me frustrated and ultimately made this one of my least favorite experiences. For one, I won’t go into too much detail as to not spoil anything, but there is a moment where I needed to do something specific, but as someone that works at an Escape Room, and someone that is always nervous of breaking something, it took me a very long time to complete because I was so worried of damaging something. I kept asking for them to give me approval and had no response, so eventually I just said, welp… guess I’ll see if I get in trouble. So that threw me for a huge loop. The second came with some technology issues that cost me and my teammate somewhere between 5-10 minutes in the room. We had solved a puzzle, but it didn’t work/take. So then we spent the time running around the room trying to figure out what was next. Ended up needing a clue, and the Game Master told us to do exactly what I had already done, so I did it again. Nothing. Asked for a clue again. Tried once more and it worked. At the end of our game I asked about that and if I was doing something wrong, and if he wouldn’t mind showing me what I was doing wrong, but he just shrugged and said that it is a testy puzzle and sometimes doesn’t read or work. In the end we still won, so it didn’t cause too big of a delay, but I was just more irked with his dismissive attitude about it and feeling like he didn’t care. I still support that this company is different, it’s new, and it’s unique. I unfortunately don’t know if it would end up on my must return to list though.
