Mad Genius: Cat Lady (Portland, OR)

We avoided a "cat-astrophe"

While in Portland we came across a new escape room establishment called "Mad Genius Escape Co.". This wasn't on our radar at all but was suggested to us by an employee of another escape room. We had some extra time for non-escape room stuff...which was used to book this room. So much for seeing other things! We always love playing rooms with new themes and the funnier the better so we booked "Cat Lady". We were four and given it was a public room, we were joined by a 10 year old and her grandparents. From their site:

"Your neighbor Mrs. Humphreys has always been a little bit of an odd-ball. I mean, she does have 23 cats, after all! But she's been acting stranger than normal lately, complaining about things being out of place and feeling like someone's watching her. She's decided to take the whole feline family to the vet for a check-up, buying you time to snoop around the house undisturbed. But you'll have to be quick- you only have one hour to get to the bottom of this"

Escape Games PDX: Sherlock's Secret (Portland, OR)

Escaping Sherlock's Secret

Having trekked to Portland for a family reunion, I decided it would be a great opportunity to introduce my cousins to escape rooms, and to check out the Portland escape room scene. Escape Games PDX's Sherlock's Secret did not disappoint, and proved a delightful experience for our escape room veterans and neophytes alike. From their site:

"You’ve been called in to help an infamous but now kidnapped detective and his assistant, a Mr. Watson, has asked for your assistance in recovering a missing artifact and using it to barter a deal to release the hostage. It might feel elementary but you will only have 60 minutes to discover all the hidden clues in Mr. Holmes’ library and help him escape, for if you fail, you will both be trapped forever!"