ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY
Play if… you enjoyed the Hangover movies, retained photographic evidence of what happened in Vegas, or lost all your personal items the last time you went.
Avoid if… you don’t drink, gamble, or laugh.
THE BASICS
Mind Twist:
Address: 3200 S. Las Vegas Blvd Ste 1835, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 (click address for Google Map)
Contact and Website: 702-504-4225
https://mindtwistescapes.com/
The Room – Stag Party:
Description (from the company website): Based on the fan favorite Hangover Movies: You and your buddies partied SO HARD last night and you’re sure you had so much fun. . . 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. You better retrace your drunken steps, find the ring, find a way out and don’t be the idiots that ruin the wedding!
Difficulty (1-10): 7/10
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $35
Identifier: R1
Party Size: 2-8 (must book minimum of 2, all bookings are private)
Staging Area: Lobby was a little small, as they’re still working on the space, but there is sufficient seating/standing room.
Metro Access/Parking: You can walk there (it’s in the Fashion Show Mall right off the Strip) but there is also a parking garage.
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the first video I took before we entered the room:
This is the second video we took before I entered the room (because I forgot what the room was about the first time):
This is the video I took just after we completed the room:
Note: The ERG were given the opportunity to try out this room for free, with the understanding that we would continue to provide an honest review and follow the same process we’ve used on all of our other ratings.
Logistics:
Description of the room: Looks like a hotel room that has seen a lot. There’s a fish tank, bathroom, and a lot of empty beer bottles.
Understanding of the Mission: Figure out what happened last night, where you went, where the wedding band is, and how to get out of the hotel room.
Did We Escape: Yes, and in record time!
Time Remaining: 28 minutes
Our Suggested Party Size: 2-6; 8 was a little cramped
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Steph D, Marco, Holly, Mike, Jeanne, Samantha, and Rori
Worth the time and money? Yes
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: I don’t recall where we went after, but it’s a mall on the Strip; you will figure it out.
| JASON says: |
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| Overall Expectation (Summary) |
| I was in Vegas with friends to celebrate a milestone birthday and was tasked with finding us a fun room close to the strip. This location is as close to the strip as you’re going to get, as it’s in the Fashion Show Mall ON THE STRIP. So yeah, if you don’t want to worry about stumbling down any back alleys or such, this is perfect!
That said, I chose this room because it’s the easiest of the three offered and we were a group of 8 consisting of 4 Escape Room Virgins (ERVs). I originally chose the Cannibal room, but didn’t realize it was only for 4 people (well, I thought we were only 4 people at the time, so *shrug*), but after getting the total number of people to be in our group, Stag Party it was! |
| Story (Rating) |
| You will need to retrace your steps using all of the items and paraphernalia found in the room to figure out what happened “last night” and where your friend’s wedding band is, since, you know, he’s getting married in an hour! (Not to mention figure out how to get out of the hotel room since you’re locked in.) Reminiscent of a movie we all know and love, Mind Twist’s take on it is not to be taken lightly. There’s plenty to see in the room, and plenty to do, so keep your eyes sharp, and your wits sharper.
Rating: 7/10 |
| Mission (Rating) |
There are two main objectives here:
It’s a pretty simple thing, but there’s so much going on in the room it will feel next to impossible until you really get going, which, IMO, is great. Additionally, the payoff for the actual exit of the room was something. I wish more were like that (or just had some more sort of fanfare when you escape). Rating: 8.5/10 |
| Puzzle Diversity (Rating) |
| The only thing I can remember that was in this room that I have seen before was a magnetic key maze. (Ok, and a blacklight puzzle, but it was only one specific thing.) Everything else was totally unique. I won’t ruin it by saying too much, but just pay attention to the TVs. Both of them. It’s hilarious (and I hope it’s split to another monitor in the GM booth…).
Anywho, again, don’t want to give away too much, but I’ll put in some highlights: Breathalyzer, modified slot machine, RC Car. I think that’s different (and varied) enough that you can get some idea of how fun this room sounds. There was also (simple) math (but it was made cool by the way in which you have to figure it out the equation THEN the answer), some easy pattern recognition, maybe even some dancing… I will say that there were several keys and locks, but you’re in a hotel room, so they’re for what you would expect. Rating: 10/10 |
| Puzzle Complexity (Rating) |
| As you may have guessed from the time remaining listed above, we killed this room. We were having a good time, everything was flowing, and everyone split up to work on separate things (several simultaneous paths) and called for help if they needed it. Probably the hardest thing was figuring out the order to make the math equation in. But have fun blowing into the breathalyzer, just don’t do it too many times or you’re going to piss off your friends. :p
That all said and done, the range of difficulty was 1 (there was some fishing) to about 6/7, because some of the things are a little trickier than they are hard. (And here’s your obligatory link to Run DMC’s Tricky.) That’s obviously not a knock on the room, I just think we were in a good place when we came in there. Considering the room is rated a 7/10, though, that might want to be revisited (or the room updated). Rating: 7/10 |
| Flow/Cohesiveness/Uniqueness (Rating) |
| Where this room really excelled was the overall flow and design of the room. It’s incredibly well decorated (as are the other 2 rooms they had, as they gave us a little sneak peak), the puzzles move from one to the next extremely well, there’s plenty for people to do (though as I said above, 8 people got a little cramped at times), and everything fits well in the theme (with the exception of the RC car, though the ‘instruction’ for what to do with said car was relevant (but it’s still a fun thing to do)).
I have been to one other hotel hangover type room with Steph and we found that one to be incredibly lacking (review still to come) in all aspects. The difference here was night and freakin’ day. This is a perfect example of how one room’s beautiful design makes you wonder about how the other rooms are at a location, and I will be trying at least one of the others next time I get out to Vegas. Rating: 10/10 |
| Fun/Amusement (Summary) |
| Oh man, this room was tons of fun. There’s so many little things that make it a great room. And if you read this review and have done or will be doing the room, leave me a comment on your thoughts on the TV scenario I referenced earlier. |
| Game Master (Summary) |
| The owners knew we were coming beforehand and they asked us up front if we would want their help or wait to be asked for it. We opted to have them wait for our cues, of course. |
| How Helpful Were Any Clues Given, if any (Summary) |
| I remember a nudge or 2, but no actual full blown clues. |
| RAGE Meter OR ERG (pronounced URG, as in “we should have known better”) Score |
| 1 fist, or a miffed Jason. I was only annoyed that I missed one thing in the back room. Grrrrrrrr
Rating: 👊 |
ESCAPE ROOM GUYS’ OVERALL SCORING 8.5/10
Final Thought: I have high expectations of Vegas based on some other rooms I’ve done there, and Stag Party didn’t disappoint. The owners are incredibly nice, the place looks great, and there’s an ABC store across the way from them, so, really, what’s not to like? The build quality is great, the rooms seemed sufficiently soundproofed, and I’m looking forward to going back.