Author: Jason

What’s the Difference Between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…? – Room: Dr. Jekyll – October 27, 2018

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you’re a fan of Stevenson and like old science.

Avoid if… you’re afraid of transformations, allegory, or don’t like to read.

THE BASICS

Perplexodus Escapes

Address: 2501 W Market Street, Johnson City, TN 37604 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 423-491-8980
[email protected]
https://perplexodus.com

Room – Dr. Jekyll’s Laboratory:

Description (from the company website): Dr. Jekyll needs your help! He is transforming into Mr. Hyde much more often and he fears that he will soon be destined to remain as the hideous creature forever. Can you investigate within the laboratory and help him find the cure that will save him? Or will the same fate be your destiny?

Difficulty (1-10): Advanced

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $24 (ages 15+)/$20 (ages under 15), but use ERG25 when booking to get 25% off your tickets

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 3-10

Staging Area: Small lobby with standing room and restrooms through the briefing room (which is where most of the seating is).

Metro Access/Parking: We drove. I’ve no idea of the public transportation system down there.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we 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: You begin in Dr. Jekyll’s lab. There’s your typical lab-found items, but you can see there’s a lot more than meets the eye (just without the Transformers).

Understanding of the Mission: Upon entering the lab, you need to decipher the clues left by Mr. Hyde and figure out how to get into the freezer in the back of the lab before it’s too late and the potion is ruined.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 12 minutes even

Our Suggested Party Size: 4-6 is sufficient for this escape

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Steph, Scott, Gordon (and his daughter whose name I can’t remember)

We helped Dr Jekyll keep himself out of trouble.
We helped Dr. Jekyll keep himself out of trouble.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • 7 Hermanos – pretty good tex-mex restaurant we stopped in before the room

Continue reading →

Interview with Escape Room Arlington (Arlington, VA) – December 1, 2018

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM INTERVIEW:

Last August, we were one of the sponsors of a scavenger hunt/race in DC. We offered a lucky winner and their team a free escape room to play with us. We coordinated a time with the winner and chose to do Glitch (review to come) at Escape Room Arlington.

We’ve known about Escape Room Arlington (and Ravenchase Adventures) for quite some time now, and had been meaning to try and get over there since they opened this past June, and try out one of their rooms.

We met with the manager, Bobby, and had a nice chat before starting the video, but he was very forthcoming with his answers and we had a lot of fun chatting with him on, and off, camera.

We also have a DISCOUNT for you! Using the discount code THEGUYS will net you $3 off per person.

Have you done any of the rooms at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.

Stay tuned for our review of Glitch. Check out and follow our social media channels below to be notified when new postings and interviews are published.

Are there locations or rooms you’d like us to scout out?

Email us at [email protected] and let us know!

Follow us on our social media channels:

This Great Room… Wasn’t. – Room: The Great Room – November 21, 2018 – FAILED!

~ Jason ~ 3 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you enjoy solving murders and holding hands.

Avoid if… you have bad knees or crippling fear of the unknown (or the dark).

THE BASICS

13th Hour Haunted House and Escape Rooms:

Address: 105 W Dewey Ave, Wharton, NJ 07885 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 862-244-4454
https://13thhour.com/escape-rooms/

Room: The Great Room:

Description (from the company website): This is the Hayden family’s room of murders. This section of the farmhouse is known as the Great Room. This massive section of the farmhouse will challenge your wits in all fashions. Multiple sections, secret passage ways, and puzzles you’ve never experienced before will have your team running mad. What terrible secrets lie within the Great Room? Just what were the Hayden family members up to? Just be warned you have only 60 minutes to complete the Great Room and save yourselves. Do you have what it takes? (ERG note: edited for grammar and punctuation).

Difficulty (1-10): N/A

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $29

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 10

Staging Area: There isn’t much of a lobby here, so essentially when you walk in there’s a small area with a reception booth, and this is where we had our security briefing.

Metro Access/Parking: This is in Northern NJ in a warehouse, so you’ll need to drive in some way.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we 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: There’s a 2-story room you start in with a large table, columns holding up the upstairs, and a few doors.

Understanding of the Mission: “Save yourselves”

Did We Escape: No, and let me tell you why…

Time Remaining: See above

Our Suggested Party Size: 4-6 is more than enough.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Steph, Val, Stu (No picture was taken)

Worth the time and money? Yes and no. Again, let me tell you why…

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • This location is in the middle of nowhere (almost literally) so I have no idea. It was 10pm (ish) so we just went home.

Continue reading →

Interview with Twisted Exit (Lancaster, CA) – November 8, 2018

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM INTERVIEW:

As per the usual, whenever I travel anywhere (business or pleasure), I search around and see what (new) rooms are around. I reached out to 2 locations, both in Lancaster, CA, hoping to hear back from one of them, and just my luck, I heard back from both. Turns out, they have the same owners!

Anyway, while waiting to hear from them, I was trying to figure out which rooms I wanted to try (possibly on my own) and settled on Voices at Greatest Escape (owned by Twisted Exit) and The Apartment at Twisted Exit.

Greg was volunteered by his business partners as the one to be on camera. He was also my Game Master for Voices (Matt was the GM for The Apartment). In addition to being a good sport, he and his partners have set us up with a discount for all of you: 10% off your booking! Use code ERG10 when you’re booking online and tell them The Escape Room Guys sent you!

Check out the video below and leave a comment, especially if you’ve been there before. You can also use the social media buttons on the top of this post to share and spread the (escape room) love.

Have you done any of the rooms at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.

Stay tuned for our reviews of Voices and The Apartment. Check out and follow our social media channels below to be notified when new postings and interviews are published.

Are there locations or rooms you’d like us to scout out?

Email us at [email protected] and let us know!

Follow us on our social media channels:

Who Wants to Live Forever, Anyway? – Room: The Alchemist – October 12, 2018

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you’ve got the Midas touch.

Avoid if… you think that the Philosopher’s Stone originated with Harry Potter.

THE BASICS

Insomnia Escape DC:

Address: 2300 Wisconsin Ave NW, #200B, Washington, DC 20007 (click address for a Google Map)

Contact and Website: 202-600-0419
https://insomniaescaperoomdc.com/secret-society

Room – The Alchemist:

Description (from the company website): A perfect library with floor to ceiling bookshelves. The smell of old books that lingers here is distinctive, but it is hard to know exactly what creates the nostalgic aroma. The room looks like the place where Goldfinger would stockpile gold reserves. Oh, wait… Have I just said gold?

Well, that is right. Probably you have heard that the Order of the Alchemists has finally created the Philosopher’s Stone. The secret gathering of the Order is arranged to take control of the World with this powerful artifact. You are sneaking into the library of the Master of the Order just 60 minutes before the Order members will start arriving. You are the last hope of mankind, you have to stop them.

Our escape room could be filled with enough comfy chairs and reading material to call itself DC’s best-hidden library but you will not have time for such mundane activities anyway. This is the place where the Order of the Alchemist keeps their secret documents and your task it to find the Stone.

The Alchemist is an innovative escape room here in DC. Once you and a group of your friends cross the threshold, you are transported into a different world. Can you escape the library before the members of the Order come for you? Can you find the Stone before it is too late?

Difficulty (1-10): 9/10

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $29/per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-8

Staging Area: The staging area was basically a lobby with a couch, coat closet, and a water cooler.

Metro Access/Parking: The nearest Metro stop is either Tenleytown or Woodley Park metro (and then a bus), so it’s likely easier to drive/cab/Lyft in. There is street parking and one or two garages nearby.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we took just after we completed the room:

Logistics:

Description: Instead of describing it, we have a picture! (posted with permission from Insomnia Escape DC)

This is a view of the room from the entryway.
This is a view of the room from the entryway.

Understanding of the Mission: Pretty straightforward. Find the hidden Philosopher’s Stone before he comes back and catches you.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 13 minutes.

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 6; 4-6 should be perfect.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Not particularly

Members of the team (other than the ERG): Steph D, Heather, Rosemary, and Don

Worth the time and money? This room had previously been billed as their best and hardest room. We can tell you it’s certainly not the hardest.

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • Old Europe. Authentic German food a few minutes walk. Been there twice.

Continue reading →

Losing is Never an Option – Room: The Lost Ruins – June 30, 2018

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you enjoy a challenge and don’t mind getting a little dirty.

Avoid if… you hate losing, have a fear of flying, or are claustrophobic.

THE BASICS

Red Door Escape Room:

Address: 8103 Rasor Blvd Suite #100, Plano, TX 75024 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 972-787-0085
https://www.reddoorescape.com/location/plano

Room – The Lost Ruins:

Description (from the company website): You’ve received a rather cryptic journal from your missing graduate professor, Dr. Summerlee. Gather your classmates, travel to his last known coordinates and locate him before the jungle… or, perhaps something worse, claims him.

Difficulty (1-10): Medium

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $32

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 6v6

Staging Area: Lobby has plenty of seating, some games to keep your hands busy, and a brain teaser that, if I recall correctly, nets you 10% off.

Metro Access/Parking: It’s in a shopping center, but I don’t know anything about the public transit system down there. Drive or call a Lyft/Uber.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we took just after we completed the room (apologies for the wind):

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: You start off your (competitive) adventure in the remnants of a crash site and need to find your way out and through the series of rooms before the other team.

Understanding of the Mission: Find your Professor, or what he was searching before, before it’s too late and you become one with the jungle.

Did We Escape: Yes. We both won and lost, too. Read on.

Time Remaining: I don’t actually know but the other team beat us out of the room, but because they used a 4th clue (you only get 3), they lost 3 minutes off their time. So, we beat them, time-wise, by 90 seconds. (And we only used 2 clues.)

Our Suggested Party Size: We were a group of 6 (with 4 ERVs) against a group of 4 novices. I would highly recommend 4 as your minimum.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): John, Rosemary, Jayden, Julian, Steph D.

Worth the time and money? Absolutely

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

Continue reading →

Interview with Perplexodus Escape (Johnson City, TN) – October 27, 2018

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM INTERVIEW:

I recently reached out to the nice people at Perplexodus Escape as I was in town for a brief weekend. After a short phone conversation, they were more than welcoming and both offered to have us try a room (with a new theme, finally!) as well as graciously willing to sit down for a quick video interview about their location, and other things.

One of the things that makes this location unique is the live actor. There aren’t that many that do it, and honestly some of the ones that do…well, they’re not the greatest. This was an obvious exception.

Matt, our Game Master (and Dr Jekyll actor), as well as Cindy, their owner, provided us with a discount for all of you: 25% off your booking! Use code ERG25 and when you get there, tell them The Escape Room Guys sent you!

Check out the video below and leave a comment, especially if you’ve been there before. You can also use the social media buttons on the top of this post to share and spread the (escape room) love.

Have you done any of the rooms at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.

Stay tuned for our review of Dr Jekyll. Check out and follow our social media channels below to be notified when new postings and interviews are published.

Are there locations or rooms you’d like us to scout out?

Email us at [email protected] and let us know!

Follow us on our social media channels:

We Got Out With Our Lives, But The Mummy…Not So Much – Room: Egypt Tomb – August 18, 2018

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like anything Egypt, Indiana Jones, or digging for treasure.

Avoid if… mummies freak you out or the thought of getting trapped in a tomb makes you hyperventilate.

THE BASICS

Glenwood Escape Room:

Address: 918 Grand Ave, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 970-945-7529
https://www.glenwoodescape.com/

Room – Egypt Room:

Description (from the company website): You and your team of treasure hunters have just discovered riches beyond measure in an ancient Egyptian tomb, but word has gotten out to nearby tomb robbers who are desperate to have it for themselves. Find encrypted clues, solve heiroglyphic puzzles and crack the code within an hour, or be captured by the robbers and locked within the tomb forever!

Difficulty (1-10): N/A

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $29 (All bookings are private)

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-8

Staging Area: Lobby has a couch and some puzzle games to play with. Water is available.

Metro Access/Parking: Glenwood Springs is a little touristy and a few hours from Colorado Springs, so you’re probably driving there. Plenty of street parking, though.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we took just after we completed the room:

 

Logistics:

Description of the room: The room is supposed to be an archaeological dig site. You start in a giant tent and make your way to the hidden tomb. Nothing is really hidden from you except where the tomb is.

Understanding of the Mission: Find the hidden Pharaoh’s tomb, escape with your life

Did We Escape: Yep!

Time Remaining: 10:29

Our Suggested Party Size: 4 is sufficient

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Steph

We found the Pharaoh’s tomb and escaped before it was pillaged.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • Smoke Modern BBQ – We went here before because we were super hungry after the hot springs. The food was great as was the service.

Continue reading →

I’ve Found Worse Things In Worse Places… – Room: The Attic – August 17th, 2018

~ Jason ~ 2 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like solving mysteries.

Avoid if… you don’t like dark, dank, dusty attics (in theory).

THE BASICS

Enter the Enigma:

Address: 3540 N Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80917 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 719-309-6862
https://www.entertheenigma.com

Room – The Attic:

Description (from the company website): Iris Trenton, a famed thief and escape artist, has eluded capture for over six years. Known for her trademark puzzles left at each scene, many failed attempts have been made in cracking these clues. The latest puzzle has finally slid across your desk and as a young detective you are eager to prove yourself. Burning both ends of the candle you are about to call it for the night when you spill your coffee on the puzzle. Words begin to appear. It’s an address! Wasting no time you jump up and assemble a small police force to accompany you wherever this address may lead.

Arriving at a large mansion your team moves swiftly through the residence when a bang sounds from above. Racing into the attic the lights dim and door slams shut behind you. Surveying the room you see a letter
Greetings Detective…….

Difficulty (1-10): Hard

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $30

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-6

Staging Area: Small front room before the hallway where the rooms are.

Metro Access/Parking: This is in Colorado Springs, CO, so either drive or get a Lyft/Uber.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the video we took before we entered the room:

This is the video we took just after we completed the room:

 

Logistics:

Description of the room: The room was sparsely decorated, but what was there felt like it would be in a weird attic.

Understanding of the Mission: Iris has been a step ahead of the police forever and you randomly stumble upon a lead. You follow it and come to a mansion. Upon entering, you hear a noise from the attic, which you investigate. After the door slams, you turn around and see a note from Iris.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: ~15:30 (Leaderboard, bitches!) (Though we’ve been replaced already I think.)

Our Suggested Party Size: 2-4

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Steph

Jason and Steph were able to stop Iris in her tracks!

Worth the time and money? Yes

Continue reading →

Interview with Glenwood Escape Rooms (Glenwood Springs, CO) – August 18, 2018

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM INTERVIEW:

I can’t remember the last time I walked up to an Escape Room location and was all, “Hi, I’m Jason from The Escape Room Guys. Do you have any availability tonight for us to play?” Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever done it at all. But that’s what happened when we got into town in Glenwood Springs, after soaking in the hot springs nearby. We said we were going to go get some dinner and asked for any recommendations, then came back and completed the Egypt Tomb Escape.

The Manager on Duty, Emily, was nice enough to talk to us after we escaped, and you can see that video below.

Have you done any of the rooms at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.

Stay tuned for Jason’s review of Egypt Tomb Escape. Check out and follow our social media channels below to be notified when new postings and interviews are published.

Are there locations or rooms you’d like us to scout out?

Email us at [email protected] and let us know!

Follow us on our social media channels: