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"

Portland Escape Rooms: Steampunk Airship & Madame Neptune's Voodoo Curse (Portland, OR)

We played two of the six games at Portland Escape Rooms on our first trip to the area. The Steampunk Airship was their new game that not many others have played yet so we were rolling the dice on this one. Normally, the latest room in a location is the best, as the lessons learned from previous rooms helps improve upon the next room although there were a few other times on this trip when this wasn't the case. We chose what we thought were the two most immersive rooms which both had actors in them. From their site:

Steampunk Airship
"Strap on your goggles and prepare for adventure as we transport you to another world of steam and gears! You and your team will become crew of the Undaunted, a famous air ship that stands against the devious Allied Industry Corps. Can you thwart the Corps. and fly the Undaunted to safety in this new choose-your-own-adventure style escape experience, or will you fall from the sky? (age 12 and up, adult participant required for players under 15)"

Madame Neptune's Voodoo Curse
"Have you ever wondered how close you are with the spirit world? Here at Madame Neptune’s we bring your fortunes to life, be they good or evil! You and your friends will have 60 minutes to explore Madame Neptune’s Cabin! Working together, navigating the spirit world and breaking the spell may be enough to escape… The Voodoo Curse! (age 15 and up)"

MindSpark: Spellbound, Terminal, Zombie Room (Tempe, AZ)

"Brainsssssssssssssss"

MindSpark has locations in Tempe, AZ and Austin, TX and was at the top of everyone's list to visit in the Phoenix area. The staff was exceptionally welcoming and friendly which was something we felt from a lot of the staff in the Phoenix rooms that we played. We went through all three games at this location. From their site:

Spellbound (The original room is from Rise in Tickfaw, LA)
"Hidden deep in the woods lies a cabin that was at one time inhabited by a coven of witches tasked with guarding our world from the rise of the vampires. Unfortunately the witches have long since vanished and the protection spell is wearing off. Use the clues left behind to find vampires' lair and destroy the king before he rises again."

Terminal Room
"You and your team have boarded a subway car, when the car crashes into an abandoned subway station. You explore the station and soon learn of a conspiracy. Your team must learn the details and stop the impending results."

Zombie Room
"Trapped with no way out, chain link by chain link a brain-crazed and bloodthirsty zombie invades the room. You and 11 others must solve the room before the time runs out and the zombie is unleashed. With only sixty minutes and your brains, you must uncover clues, decipher riddles, and discover the keys to unlock your freedom."

Dare To Escape: X-Child (Tempe, AZ)

"X-Men we need you"

Date To Escape, not to be confused with the nearby "Dare 2 Escape" company, has three rooms in Tempe, not far from MindSpark. We played one game at this location, "X-Child" and for some reason I thought it would be about some little girl's haunted spirit which wasn't the case. It was actually more of a play off of "X-Men" and kids with superpowers. From their site:

X-Child
"Telepathy Acclimation Program, or TAP, was a programme set up to train potential human telepaths. Children who showed telepathic potential were sent to Station Zero, a facility located deep in Mojave Desert for training.

You were one of the children who was sent to this facility. Officially, TAP’s function was “to evaluate telepathic abilities so an understanding of this phenomenon could be compiled.” In reality, they did physical and psychological experiments on you and other children.

The facility was closed down, and your memories of the place is hazy. After years of searching, you and a group of TAP victims were finally able to locate the now-abandoned facility.

Some old systems are still active though. As soon as you enter the facility, it goes into a lockdown..."

North Valley Escape Room: Escape From Alcatraz & The Great Outdoors (Anthem, AZ)

One of Best Escape Room Locations in the Phoenix area!

North Valley Escape Rooms is located 33 miles north of downtown Phoenix in the city of Anthem. This was the first place that we visited on our trip to Phoenix and weren't quite sure what to expect given it was pretty far out in a little town of 30,000 people. When we entered the establishment, we were greeted by three employees who were energetic and friendly, a perfect way to start an escape room!

There were five games at this location and we were able to play two of them,"Escape From Alcatraz" and "The Great Outdoors". We have played a good number of prison/Alcatraz types of rooms so it generally takes something different for us to get excited but there was enough buzz from other enthusiasts for us to book the room. We also hadn't played an outdoorsy themed game so it was nice to mix things up. Although we didn't get to play their newest game, "The Legend Of The 7th Stone", we took a peek at their set which was beautiful and seemed to have a good mix of tech integration. From their site:

Escape From Alcatraz
"Get prepared for the ultimate in escape room experiences! With almost 2000 square feet of puzzles and clues, Escape from Alcatraz is certain to WOW and amaze even the most experienced escape room enthusiasts. What could be better? How about 75 minutes to complete!

Your crimes have brought you to The Rock to serve your time. A life sentence in this dark hole is not an option. Escape is your only choice. Do you have what it takes to escape The Rock?

The Great Outdoors
Your all-inclusive camping trip at Fall Mountain Campground is confirmed! No need to pack your camping gear... the Fall Mountain Campground is all inclusive. When tragedy strikes, will you have what it takes to escape? Survive the trip and live to tell the tale!

LA Dragon Studios: Knights Of The Round Table (Van Nuys, CA)

Written by Matt Neal: As a seasoned veteran of escape rooms, when I see a new room pop up that touts being “family friendly” and “great for all ages” I get a little nervous. I know that experienced enthusiasts do not make up the bulk of the market and targeting newcomers and families makes a lot of financial sense, but in my experience, the rooms that result just don’t scratch my itch for a challenging, exciting experience. Likewise, the rooms that offer a challenging, exciting experience to those that have ran out of fingers and toes to count rooms on can leave those exploring an escape room for the first time with a frustrating experience, never getting to taste success. Rarely does a room offer an experience that is accessible to those that have never heard of an escape room, a playfulness to be within reach of children, and enough fun and excitement to have the experienced walk out with just as big of a smile. LA Dragon Studios offers just that. They have one of the first games from Israel to make its way to the United States and if this is a sign of what’s to come, I can’t wait to see more. From their website:

"In this adventure, you are sent into Camelot on an epic quest. Explore the castle, find the hidden clues and become a Knight! 

We want you to have the fun, there's no limitation on hints, no pressure, it’s about your experience and your story."

This experience is about letting you into their world to play around and that allows for a positive experience for a much broader audience. For someone that’s done a lot of rooms, saving Camelot wasn’t particularly difficult, but it didn’t need to be. There’s so much to see and do, enough to play with and take in, that there is something here for the experienced. I only wish that this was how my first escape room would have been.

Clockwise Escape: Party In Vegas & The Asylum

Party In Vegas!

Clockwise Escape opened in 2017 in Downtown San Francisco and we were able to play both their games. We played "The Asylum" back in September 2017 and "Party In Vegas" in January 2018. Both these escape games were creative and solid, with the edge going to "Party In Vegas" for having a more unique theme and some whimsical elements that made everyone laugh. From their site:

Party In Vegas
"You wake up hungover in a trashed penthouse suite. Looks like you guys had the bachelor party of a lifetime last night, but you can’t remember a thing. How’d a motorcycle get in here? Who broke the front door? OMG where’s the RING?!?! It’s your buddy’s wedding day and the ceremony starts in an hour. Hurry up and get it together guys! You need to retrace your drunken steps from last night, find that ring and get out of here, fast! 

The Asylum
It's 1974 and you've been abducted as test subjects in a horrifying, government experiment! They’ve locked you away to conduct highly classified and unregulated tests on the limits of the human brain. The orderlies are down the hall preparing the first round of tests. Electro shock? Lobotomy? Chemical experiments? You have 60 minutes to escape before they come back and fry your brain for good. Hurry, it's time to get out! 

Exit2Escape: Quest For The Crown (Dublin, CA)

Excellent craftsmanship and unique props

"Exit2Escape" is East Bay's latest room, joining Omescape in Richmond and Limitless Escape in Livermore. Exit2Escape is family run by a woodcrafter, an interior designer and a math major who all chipped in their various skills to create "Quest For The Crown". We played this game in November 2017, just a few weeks after opening. From their site:

"You are the elder sibling born into a Royal family. It was your birthright to inherit the crown upon the King’s death, but an evil secret plan executed by your younger brother and some corrupt castle guards has left you exiled from the kingdom. The corrupt guards were given strict orders to kill you if you ever returned to the castle. When the King and Queen died, your tyrannical brother ran the kingdom into despair. Disgusted by the decline of a once-prosperous and peaceful land, you decide to risk your life to set things right. Disguised as a pauper, you’ve managed to make it back to the castle undetected, and with your knowledge of the secret passages within the castle walls, you’ve made it to the King’s study. In the next sixty minutes, you must now find proof of your birthright and escape undetected before the castle guards return."

2017 Achievement unlocked Medalists

Finally, we are proud to announce the Escape Rumors Achievement unlocked Medalists for 2017!

Achievement unlocked medals are given to the top escape rooms played by Escape Rumors every year. On top of being solid escape rooms, these rooms also distinguished themselves in the following categories:

• Best Immersion
• Best Technology
• Best Storytelling
• Best Puzzles
• Best Set Design
• Most Creative
• Most Climactic
• Most Clever
• Most Shocking

Escape Rumors 2017 Year In Review

We are proud to present our inaugural Escape Rumors 2017 Year In Review Infographic!

Some previews of what to expect

Click here to see the infographic

Palace Games: The Edison Room (San Francisco, CA)

We finally escaped, with no hints!

"The Edison Room" is Palace Games' latest room and the follow up to "The Great Houdini Escape Room" and "The Roosevelt Escape Room". The set design and automation were real standouts in the previous two games that we played here and we were hoping that their newest game would have some of the same magic. We have yet been able to escape any of the Palace Games rooms so we were ready for the challenge. From their site:

"The Palace Games team recently unearthed this telegram sent by Thomas Edison in 1915 on October 2nd. 

Since the discovery of Edison’s telegram, the Palace Games team has located his study at the Palace of Fine Arts. It is now open to the public. Come play to learn the secret reason Edison built and maintained this special place at the Palace of Fine Arts!

Mindtrap: Gold Rush & Conspiracy (Temecula, CA)

Gold Rush & Conspiracy

Written by Matt Neal: A weekend trip out of town for us almost always means exploring escape rooms outside our normal playground. On this trip, it meant a drive to explore what San Diego had to offer. San Diego has some great rooms to play, but can be overshadowed by the quality and quantity of experiences to be found in Los Angeles and Orange County.

As we hopped in the car to leave San Diego, that feeling persisted. We had a great time but we weren’t satiated by what we had seen. Our drive home took us through the small town of Temecula, known mainly for their wineries. On several occasions, I have been given recommendations for MindTrap in Temecula but have always been hesitant to make the trip to try it out. In my experience, rooms in small towns, isolated from a competitive market, are great for small towns. The market doesn’t support a lot of investment and the customers don’t have much experience with escape rooms, so you see a lot of no/low-tech rooms, common puzzle types, and nothing but lock boxes.  These rooms can still be wonderful, especially for beginners. It’s the format that initially got many of us hooked on escape rooms. Competition in dense markets, however, has pushed the boundaries as to what an escape room can be, leaving these rooms in the dust. So, on a long drive, passing through a small town, I was fully expecting to find a room great for a small town. MindTrap did not deliver on that expectation.

Escape Games NYC: Outer Space (New York City, New York)

Escape Games NYC (New York City)

The Outer Space room at Escape Games NYC was a blast! From start to finish, it was an enjoyable experience that has surpassed the dozen or so escape rooms I've done. The plot has you, the crew of the spaceship, stuck in a situation where the ship has started to malfunction and you must regain control of the situation or else you'll be stuck in outer space forever. Though it doesn't state it on the website's description of the room, there are references to the movie Alien throughout the entire room that made it more fun if you've seen the movie, but not essential to know if you haven't.

Maze Rooms: Magic Kingdom (Los Angeles, CA)

The magic is real

After playing Maze Rooms' "Lunar Mission" at the S. Vermont location, we immediately played a second room at the same location. We jumped into a magical world that took place in a colorful, fairytale like environment that was intricately designed. The Magic Kingdom turned out to be heavy on the immersion side with some great use of tech and fun puzzles. From their site:

"The Magic Kingdom: a place of wonder where all things are possible and magic is real. Join this fairytale adventure and save the Magic Kingdom before time runs out, and the magic is gone forever."

49 Boxes: Evening At The Houdini Estate (San Francisco, Los Angeles, CA)

Evening At The Houdini Estate

After not being able to find any enthusiast reviews for 49 Boxes, I decided to post about my experience at 49 Boxes San Francisco showing in November of 2017. At the time of this writing, there seemed to be limited showings of "Evening At The Houdini Estate" in both San Francisco and Los Angeles with costs ranging from $100 for a normal 90 minute session (my ticket) to $650 for a session and accommodations. From their site:

"The 49 Boxes is an episodic, story-driven experience where audience members play a role in solving mysteries that have been kept secret for more than half a century—all while interacting with artifacts from the Golden Age of Magic. This is not an experience that unfolds around you…it unfolds because of you.

Entry into one of the world's most exclusive and private members only club [The Battery]. An exclusive, intimate performance of the most buzzed about immersive storytelling puzzle experience: 49 Boxes—"The Magic of Thayer."

Reviewing this event was not a simple task as the designers do not see this as an escape room (more as immersive storytelling) but from an enthusiast's perspective, the format and experience is on par with any large format escape rooms games that a company like SCRAP commonly holds. There are 10+ tables with 8 people per table all solving puzzles with an overarching storyline.

Think Fun: Escape the Room Stargazer's Manor (Board Game)

Escape Room in a box!

This is our first review of an escape room board game! Not only are we escape room enthusiasts, we are pretty well versed in European style boards games which are basically games that rely on strategy and problem solving rather than just luck and dice rolls (I'm looking at you Monopoly). Board games that we love include Dominion, Agricola, Battlestar Galactica and Deception in Hong Kong.

The reason why we haven't played an escape room board game until now is because I felt that the point of an escape room was to be physically immersed in an environment. I like large and detailed sets with tangible puzzles and the feeling of being in a movie scene rather than imagining it D&D style. Note that the rating of this board game will be relative to other board games and NOT relative to physical escape rooms as they are completely different experiences. As for as escape rooms go, a good physical room is significantly more unique and fun than a good board game. From their site:

"Spend an evening working with your guests to solve puzzles, unlock hidden clues, and unravel the mystery of the Stargazer’s Manor. Will you and your guests be able to solve the mystery and save the astronomer before time runs out?

The Mystery: It’s 1869 and the town’s well-respected astronomer has not been seen since the untimely passing of his wife. Recently, strange things have been happening at his manor – loud and unfamiliar noises, an unpleasant smell, and smoke billowing from the observatory. It’s up to you and your guests to solve the mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor!"