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!"

Escape Room LA: The Alchemist (Los Angeles, CA)

The Alchemist: A smartly designed room

If you are in the downtown LA area there are two popular escape room companies that are in the vicinity: "The Virus: Get The F Out" and "Escape Room LA". Both these public rooms take upwards of 10 people so it may be a craps shoot in terms of who shows up in your game. Escape Room LA's "The Alchemist" is known to be a puzzle centric and challenging room where you only have only 50 minutes to escape. We were lucky enough to play on a Thursday night with only our group of four. From their site:

"An ancient library leads you through a secret passage into a medieval alchemist’s mysterious lab, where you must find the four lost elements of earth, air, fire and water. Unite the elements and unleash the magical powers of the Philosopher’s Stone before the alchemist returns! Will you escape?"

Exit Game: An Hour To Kill, School of Sorcery & Lab 51 (Monterey Park, CA)

A hidden treasure in a jungle of escape rooms in the Los Angeles Area

Exit Games was one of the companies that we haven't really heard much about and initially not part of our LA escape room crawl. We heard good things about "The A.I." room so it made our final list but that particular game was down for maintenance so we ended playing some other ones instead. "An Hour To Kill" was their newest 007 James Bond game, "The School of Sorcery" was a Harry Potter inspired room and the closest thing I could think of for "Lab 51" was the X-Files. We played all these games as a trio, well short of their 10 person max. This turned out to be a good thing as I feel anything more than 4 people would greatly hinder the experience. From their site:

"An Hour To Kill: Come and be a part of James Bond's last adventure. James is on his last mission before retirement when he went missing. You, England's best agents must figure out a way to get through all the security systems in Military Intelligence (MI-6) and the vaunted training facilities and danger room. Your mission, should you choose to accept it agents, is to find out what happened to Bond on his final mission?

The School or Sorcery: It's your first year as a wizard. You have 1 hour to finish magical exams to prove your abilities. Conjure up spells, and make potions with your classmates. Be careful, there is dark magic in our castle.

Lab 51: As part of an elite military strike force, you must infiltrate Lab 51 and find out what happened to the mysterious alien life form that is kept there. The lab is set to self-destruct in 1 hour. The clock is ticking, soldier."

Maze Rooms: Lunar Mission (Los Angeles, CA)

Floating in a tin can

Written by Brad Melluish. Maze Rooms' "Lunar Mission" is the first escape room I've encountered that is fully committed to a hard science fiction theme in a space setting, so I was excited to give it a spin when I found out it would be part of our recent Los Angeles escape room marathon. The room did not disappoint, and it was refreshing to see this room boldly go into a genre that is so surprisingly unexplored! From their site:

"Try to escape lunar station in disrepair and survive. Far in the outer space. Only team work can return lunar crew home."

Get The F Out: The Virus (Los Angeles, CA)

Get The F Out: Dab Best!

"Get the F Out" states on their website that they offer "Virtual Reality that will blow you away". We decided to try out their game, "The Virus", late on a Thursday night and as a duo, we weren't sure what to expect given it was an eight player room. From their site:

"A deadly virus has ravaged the planet.  Join a team of top scientists and descend hundreds of feet to a military laboratory below.  There you must discover an antidote and save the world. But be careful not to set off the computerized decontamination system or you may be smashed flat by the slowly moving laboratory walls."

While there are a LOT of lab themed escape rooms out there, there are some unique elements at GTFO that were fresh and exciting. There was an Easter egg and I feel all rooms should have this as it makes the game more special for those who have extra time to spare. Given we were only two, when I saw the lab my initial thoughts were "we're toast, there are a LOT of locks in this room"...

Secret City Casa Loma: Escape The Tower & Station M (Toronto, ON)

So you're staying near downtown Toronto and ask around about what escape room you should do. What does everyone say? Casa Loma! This Gothic Revival style house is a landmark and similar to "The Secret of Station House No. 4" in that the actual location the game takes place in was film worthy even before escape rooms were invented. I don't know how companies are able to partner up with landmarks but the setting and environment are absolutely perfect.

Toronto is known for having large format rooms and I signed up as a solo player in Escape the Tower and Station M. The exterior of Casa Loma is magnificent and I was hoping for the game play to be great as well.

Crazy Cats Escape Room: The Deadly Dining Room (Houston, TX)

Crazy Cat Escape Room (Houston)

The Deadly Dining Room at Crazy Cat Escape Room was an enjoyable room. The story is that your long lost great uncle has recently died and you and some other guests have been invited to his estate for the reading of his will. Upon arrival you all find out that instead of a reading of his will, you've fallen into a trap and have 60 minutes to solve the mysteries and find his will or you'll meet your death. At the start, each person is given a character card on a lanyard which has some symbols next to the character name and bio.

Escape Games Canada: Crossroads & Syndicate (Toronto, ON)

Premier escape room facility in North America

Escape Games Canada was another Toronto escape room company that was highly recommended by escape room enthusiasts. There are two locations somewhat far away from the downtown core: one in Mississauga and one in North York. I was lucky enough to be staying close to their North York location (40 minutes north of downtown) where they have six, soon to be seven, escape rooms. I was expecting to have a great time with a bunch first timers by playing "Crossroads" and Syndicate: Relic Heist.

2017 Escape Room Enthusiast Survey

Fellow escape room enthusiasts Errol Elumir and Lee-Fay Low compiled an insightful survey about escape room players and owner. The below are  snippets of the survey and you can see the entire professionally done summary here.

Secret City Adventures: The Secret of Station House No. 4 (Toronto, ON)

The Secret of Station House No. 4, one of Toronto's finest escape rooms

Secret City Adventures runs a couple of different escape rooms series ranging from the familiar franchised Real Escape Games rooms (Time Travel Lab) to what I presume to be their own creations, the Casa Loma Escape Series and The Murdoch Mysteries Escape Series.

I heard through word of mouth that the "The Secret of Station House No. 4" was a top escape room in Toronto so I bought my ticket and flew out to the land of hockey and maple syrup. One thing that I noticed was that a LOT of the top rooms in Toronto are geared towards large groups so it makes it difficult for travelers to plan ahead. From their site:

"Solve the Secret of Station House No. 4
Detective Murdoch is missing and as Toronto’s newest constables you’ve been called into action, but the clock is ticking! You only have 60 minutes to save Murdoch. Discover the clues, piece together the evidence, crack the case, and unravel the Secret of Station House No. 4!

Step into a world of intrigue and wonder as Secret City Adventures & Shaftesbury bring the global hit television show Murdoch Mysteries to real life in the Murdoch Mysteries Escape Series, immersive escape games for all ages."

Although I had no idea what the Murdoch Mysteries TV show was all about, that didn't quite matter as the story was self contained and communicated by the actors in game.

EscapeX Room: The Attic (Irvine, CA)

Krazy Katz & Bill joined us for a midnight game

While we were in the Orange County area we met up with some other enthusiasts and it was fun to play with people who are just as passionate as we are about escape rooms. Bill and the Krazy Katz joined us for this last minute booking late on a Saturday night. From the EscapeX site:

"Sixty years after the disappearance of the Cain family, prospective residents have come to the manor ... every one of them citing strange behavior in the household. Voices echo from the ceiling and footsteps go pitter-patter across the attic floors.

Though the manor has remained abandoned, those that dare enter the establishment report inexplicable chills that linger in the air and feelings of being followed. Some say the spirit of Master Cain remains trapped in the attic, doomed to stay in the house for all eternity. 

Do you dare explore what lies in the attic?"

Mission Escape: Escape The Hydeout (Anaheim, CA)

Caleb was the star in this room!

The Hydeout is the same room that was originally created for the NYC location.  The Anaheim location is smack in the middle of the Anaheim GardenWalk mall beside Disneyland, which is a bit surprising as most rooms are usually in an office building or in some remote industrial area. Judging by the pictures I have seen of the set design, it seems that the Anaheim decor is far superior when compared to the original NYC location. From their site:

"The Hydeout is a Victorian-era mission inspired by the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Be prepared to go into the good doctor’s home but beware of his dark side. Dr Jekyll has been acting strange and gone missing. It’s up to you to find out what has happened to Dr Jekyll before Mr Hyde shows up…"

Red Lantern Escape Rooms: Midnight On The Bayou (Anaheim, CA)

Unique and different...in a fun and enjoyable way!

Red Lantern Escape Rooms opened earlier this year and there weren't any enthusiast reviews that we were able to find to help guide us in our research. We were intrigued by the theme so we made a stop here after we played the Hex Room and Funhouse at Crossroads. From their site:

"You haven’t set foot in Bayou High since graduation, but this carnival-themed reunion sounded fun. Though it is a little strange they’re holding the event on the old Boudreau property at the edge of the swamp, where decades ago several students died in a barn fire. And it is odd that all the carnival workers are mysteriously absent, with the exception of your reunion host who keeps nervously glancing at that creepy old chest…"

Countdown: Pandorus & Krampus (Los Angeles, CA)

Escaped Pandorus and Krampus

Countdown Live Escape Games has great reviews on many sites and its "Krampus" room is a 2016 Golden Key recipient from EscapeRoomArtist and its "Pandorus" room is a Top 15 LA Escape Room for EscapeRoomTips. While I am personally not a horror fan and never frequent haunted houses, we decided to give it a go when one of our team members really wanted to play Krampus. We were also very excited to play Pandorus as for some reason, there aren't that many spaceship themed escape rooms.

Evil Genius: Occam's Apartment & Norcross Art Gallery (Los Angeles, CA)

Chapter One > Chapter Two

Evil Genius created a two chapter adventure that you can book in a single two hour slot. This was the first time we had seen such a scenario and we hoped that there would be a natural transition between the rooms. Chapter One came out a few years ago and they more recently added Chapter Two, so these rooms could also be played separately. When played in one session, teams can bank the extra time from Chapter One and put it toward Chapter Two and that's exactly what we did. The transition between the chapters was fun and the layout of the location also helped make it feel more immersive.

60out: Titanic, Wizards Workshop, Senator Payne (Los Angeles, CA)

60out is often touted as having extremely high quality set designs and “Titanic” in particular is recommended on many escape room blogs. This company actually has a few locations in the LA area after some independent rooms were merged together so expect some variation in style between the different franchisees. "Titanic" and "Wizards Workshop" are at the Marina Del Ray location while "The Mystery of Senator Payne" was at Corinth spot. We also played Grandma's Masterplan at the Melrose location which was one of our favorite escape rooms of all time. We love tangible puzzles and beautiful set designs but we're aware that this alone doesn't make a great room.