2021 TERPECA: Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts' Choice Award

If you were ever wondering what the top escape rooms in the world were, TERPECA does a pretty good job at aggregating ratings across trusted enthusiasts across the globe. In my opinion, this is vastly superior in comparison to sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google Reviews and even the Facebook Escape Room Enthusiast group. For TERPECA, only enthusiasts who have played +200 escape rooms can nominate rooms and those who have played +50 can stack rank the games they have played. Note that only games that can be played in English are eligible. From TERPECA's site:

"...each stack rank was used to create all possible pairwise comparisons between rooms (or companies) in a given stack rank, and then those were used to create a matrix of scores between rooms using all the direct comparisons from any of the participants".

I have played 10 of the top 50 rooms which are listed below (links for reviews). These are all great games and I would say that there are many other rooms that did not make the list that are just as fun as the below. Anything with a 5 stars in my ratings are all top notch and must play escape rooms.

Top Escape Rooms

11. Strange Bird - The Man From Beyond (Houston, TX, USA)

13. Cutthroat Cavern - 13th Gate (Baton Rouge, LA, USA)

21. Ghost Patrol - Trivium Games (Emeryville, CA, USA)

25. The Lost Island Of The Voodoo Queen - Escaparium (Montreal, Canada)

28. Servant Of Sleight - The Exit Game FL (Clearwater, FL, USA)

31. Evil Robots - The Nemesis Club (Phoenix, AZ, USA)

32. The Edison Room - Palace Games (San Francisco, CA, USA)

35. Mogollon Monster - The Nemesis Club (Phoenix, AZ, USA)

37. The Attraction - Palace Games (San Francisco, CA, USA)

45. Lab Rat - Hatch Escapes (Los Angeles, CA, USA)

2021 was a tough year to travel and play escape rooms so hoping that 2022 will be a better year!

Best Escape Rooms in Orlando (+ Tampa)

 

Orlando is known for its theme parks like Disney World and Universal Studios but as true enthusiasts, we came here to play escape rooms! We played 24 games in the Orlando area and four in Tampa (90 minutes east of Orlando by car). While the area is not known to be an escape room hot spot, there were a few games that were great and definitely worth playing. 

Orlando and Tampa Escape Room Standouts

The Exit Game: Servants of Sleight (Clearwater, Tampa Bay Area)

There are a lot of magic themed escape rooms out there but none are quite as spectacular as "Servants of Sleight". The overall narrative and unique interactions perfectly blend into the environment. This game did a good job across pretty much all escape room elements such as set design, puzzles and fun factor! Based on other enthusiasts reviews, this game could be the top game in Florida!

• Set Design: Good
• Difficulty: Medium
• Price: $34-$51/person 
• Number of players: Up tp 6 (we recommend 2-3)
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Doldrick's: Captain Spoopy Bones and the Magnificent Quest For Some Other Pirate's Treasure! (Kissimmee, Orlando Area)

Doldrick's was a standout in the Orlando area with multiple great games. This game was their largest creation and it had a wonderful final act with nice tech that set this game above all the other games we played in Orlando. All the games at Doldrick's were whimsical and I thought that the Captain Spoopy character was pretty funny and I am sure that this played a role in my rating. While at this location, you should also play "Spoopy's Ghoulish Graveyard" and "Super Bomb Squad" which were also solid games.

• Set Design: Great
• Difficulty: Difficult
• Price: $40/person 
• # of Players: Up to 12 (we recommend 4)
• Duration: 75 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★½

Escape Venture: Bros For Life, Fraternity Heist (Orlando)

Having a theme that I have never seen in 400+ rooms was a bonus in my book. The start of this game was the highlight and it made us feel like frat boys doing stupid things which was very fitting. While at this location, you should also play their Christmas game, "Satirical Miracle", which we almost liked as much as "Bros For Life".

• Set Design: Good
• Difficulty: Easy
• Price: $40/person
• Number of players: 2-8 (we recommend 2-4)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★½

Mind Masters: Strange Magic (Orlando)

Strange Magic was one of my top single-room experiences. Some really clever integrations of puzzles into the environment made for a lot of cool moments that tricked us. If you are in the area, you should check Mind Masters out!

• Set Design: Average
• Difficulty: Medium
• Price: $30/person
• Number of players: Up to 6 (we recommend 2-4)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★

Escape Artist: Dream (Orlando) & Protocol Zero (Sanford)

These two games are actually located in different locations that are about 30 minutes apart. Dream, A 90 minute game had some funky room concepts and some novel interactions throughout a large physical space. Protocol Zero had a great space station setting that you rarely see.  I recommend playing both these games in Orlando.

• Set Design: Great
• Difficulty: Medium
• Price: $29-$45/person
• Number of players: Up to 6 (we recommend 4)
• Duration: Dream 90 minutes, Protocol Zero 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★

The Escape Game: Mission Mars (Orlando)

Another solid game, as with many of the other "The Escape Game" escape rooms. It's rare to see a super clean, sleek space environment which is exactly what this room offered. I also played "The Playground" in Houston and Special Ops in Minneapolis and San Francisco and assuming the Orlando location has identical copies, these games are also great. 

• Set Design: Amazing!
• Difficulty: Difficult
• Price: $38/person
• Number of players: Up to 8 (we recommend 4)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★★

The Bureau: Puppet Heist (Orlando )

This will undoubtedly be a controversial pick! My teammates didn't like this game but I applauded the unique style of it. First of all, we were in a Muppets-style universal and interacted with Muppet-like characters. We had to do things that we probably wouldn't do in other escape rooms. Some of the puzzles were not intuitive so going into this game and knowing this would help a lot. I also like whimsical themes, something my teammates did not generally enjoy. The lobby is also enormous and nice just to visit.

• Set Design: Great
• Difficulty: ???
• Price: $35/person
• Number of players: 2-8 (we recommend 2-3)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Overall Rating: ★★★½

Other Escape Rooms In The Area

Here are some other honorable mentions:

• Dare2Escape: The Video Store (Orlando): A lighthearted and nostalgic video store game that would be fun for all ages.
• Mystique Escape: Murder London (Lake Mary): The game really makes you feel like you are on an old school London Street. Great for those into nice sets.
• The Bureau: Loch Ness (Orlando): A great set with nice props to play with but lacking in terms of content. 

We hope this post helps out anyone who is hoping to venture off to Orlando to play escape rooms!

Escapology: Shanghaied & Budapest Express (Las Vegas, NV & more)

Flying to victory!

Escapology is an escape room chain with 7 different rooms in 12 cities (soon to be 21 cities) and it was one of the places that seemed really polished in terms of production value. We played two rooms at Escapology, the "Budapest Express" and "Shanghaied" with four people. The first thing that you notice when you walk into the lobby (at least in Vegas) is the beautiful decor. The seating area was large, comfortable and lavish and while it's not that important, it's a nice to have while waiting between games.