Author: Jason

His Roar Was More Like a ‘Meow’… Room: Lion’s Den – June 10, 2017

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… your sleuthing skills are high and you love the smell of books.

Avoid if… you hate libraries.

THE BASICS

Immersion Escape Rooms:

Address: 2125 Ivy Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 434-249-8797
https://www.immersionescaperooms.com
[email protected]

The Room – The Lion’s Den:

Description (from the company website): The Silver Lining computer virus is spreading and the world is now on the brink of total collapse. Alfred Roland, the CEO of Locus Industries, is harnessing its power to locate items of great value without remorse of the destruction it is causing. He is hosting a party at his private manor and Dave has been put on the guest list, thanks to some help from a friend. Jump into Dave’s shoes and sneak into Alfred’s study to disable the core of the virus. It’s a stealth mission, and security is on high alert at this corrupt billionaire’s abode.

Difficulty (1-10): N/A, but the record is 42:15 and it has only a 41% success rate

Time Limit:  60 minutes

Cost: $25

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-8

Staging Area: The location is downstairs in the strip mall and does not have an outside door to the parking lot (you have to go in through the building and down the stairs). Waiting area is clean, several chairs; place looks nice and cozy.

Metro Access/Parking: There’s no metro or anything nearby, but there is plenty of parking.

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: You start off in a library surrounded by books. There’s a desk, a full wall of bookcases, and a podium with a map.

Understanding of the Mission: We had to break into the office and find out how to steal the virus. And then escape.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining:12 min

Our Suggested Party Size: A slightly larger group (7/8) is great for searching this room, as there’s a lot to look for.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Amanda, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Rohan

Team Disturbed Friends (Rohan, Amanda, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Mike and Jason) infiltrated the Lion’s Den and found the code for the computer virus!

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

Continue reading →

I Don’t Remember Putting on That Ankle Bracelet… Room: House Arrest – June 10, 2017

~ Jason ~ 2 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you live in a messy house or apartment. Or you think escaping death is thrilling.

Avoid if… you are prone to wetting yourself or truly believe the moon landing was faked.

THE BASICS

Immersion Escape Rooms:

Address: 2125 Ivy Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 434-249-8797
https://www.immersionescaperooms.com
[email protected]

The Room – House Arrest:

Description (from the company website): The world is heading for a catastrophic collapse since the release of Silver Lining, a cloud-based computer virus developed by Locus Industries. Dave Benson, Chicago journalist and conspiracy theorist, knows this and Locus will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. Enter his apartment and retrace his steps during the final moments leading up to Locus’ arrival at his door. Does he get out in time? The story is in your hands.

Difficulty (1-10): N/A – website lists a 40% success rate with a record of 36:45.

Time Limit:  60 minutes

Cost: $25

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-8

Staging Area: The location is downstairs in the strip mall and does not have an outside door to the parking lot (you have to go in through the building and down the stairs). Waiting area is clean, several chairs; place looks nice and cozy.

Metro Access/Parking: There’s no metro or anything nearby, but there is plenty of parking.

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: You enter a small studio apartment that is somewhat in shambles. Obviously, the person living here has other things to be concerned about than regularly cleaning the place.

Understanding of the Mission: Escape your locked apartment before agents from Locus Industries show up and cart you away.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: Roughly 2 minutes.

Our Suggested Party Size: 6 would have been the sweet spot, but 7 didn’t hurt us

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Amanda, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Rohan

Team Disturbed Friends (Rohan, Mike, Corey, Brittany, Amanda, Mike, and Jason) embraced our inner conspiracy theorist and escaped our apartment before being captured by some very bad men.
Photo courtesy of Immersion Escape Room’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

Continue reading →

Good will always TRIUMPH! – Room: Good vs Evil – May 7, 2017

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like beating your friends at any sort of game.

Avoid if… you’re a sore loser.

THE BASICS

Laurel’s House of Horror:

Address: 935 Fairlawn Ave, Laurel, MD 20707 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 240-278-4545
http://www.laurelhaunt.com

The Room – Good vs. Evil: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): “Good vs. Evil” is a brand new escape room that challenges groups to race each other. The winning group will be rewarded a special prize at the end: a gift card! Join us for this 45-minute game and find out…who is the smartest group?

Difficulty (1-10): not listed

Time Limit: 45

Cost: $25 per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Minimum of 6; max of 8

Staging Area: It’s in an old movie theater that is supposedly haunted, so pretty damn creepy.

Metro Access/Parking: Not metro accessible at all. The theater is in a strip mall so there is plenty of parking.

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: Each team starts off divided into 2 groups with a shared wall between them. You have to help your teammates get out of their room while they help you do the same. The opposing team has the same types of puzzles, but different solutions.

Understanding of the Mission: Get through to the final room to secure your own exit. And let your opponents out if you feel so obliged.

Note: Because we paid to do the other three rooms, and had a lengthy discussion about who we are and our thoughts on the rooms, the GM (this time that’s General Manager…) wanted to get our take on the competitive room and allowed us to go through it for free, provided we give him feedback at the end. We ended up pointing out a few issues with the Evil set of rooms that would have delayed or prevented the team in that room from completing the mission altogether.

We also feel that it is not fair to do the standard rating scale on this room, since each of the different teams would have different experiences, but we have provided our feedback on the experiences in those categories below.

Did We Escape: Jason’s team did (and eventually let Mike’s team out)

Time Remaining: The experience lasted about 35 minutes until Team Good solved the last puzzle and won the game.

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 8 (2 teams of 4). That was pretty perfect.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Alphonzo, Mark, Katheryn, Eric, Eric.

Team Good: Jason, Eric, and Alphonzo

Team Evil: Mike, Eric, Mark and Katheryn

Worth the time and money? Yes, especially if you’ve got a group that’s done a few rooms before and is really competitive. Like ours.

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: We’re not familiar with Laurel, so we’re going to have to leave you to Google for a recommendation. But we did go to a Five Guys for lunch beforehand that’s 2 blocks away.

Continue reading →

Zombies Normally Feast on Brains… Ours Went a Bit Hungry That Day – Room: Resident Horror – May 7, 2017 – FAILED

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you love zombie movies, or the Resident Evil movie or video game franchise

Avoid if… you neither like zombies nor being touched by one (or participated in way too many (in)voluntary lab experiments)

THE BASICS

Laurel’s House of Horrors:

Address: 935 Fairlawn Ave, Laurel, MD 20707 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 240-278-4545
http://www.laurelhaunt.com

The Room.- Resident Horror: RETIRED (Room is now Rising Dead)

Description (from the company website): Come experience our newest escape room “Resident Horror”. Work in a specially-designed laboratory to help find a cure for the un-dead break-out before it’s too late. Hit the wrong button and you’ll let the zombies loose!

Difficulty (1-10): Not listed

Time Limit: 25 minutes

Cost: $15 per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 8.

Staging Area: It’s an old movie theater that is supposedly haunted.

Metro Access/Parking: Not metro accessible at all. The theater is in a strip mall so there is plenty of parking.

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: You start off in a lab with a zombie chained up in the inner room.

Understanding of the Mission: You have to figure out how to get to the next room without getting killed by the zombie and then find the antidote to the zombie plague.

Did We Escape: NO. We needed like 3 more minutes.

Time Remaining: See above

Our Suggested Party Size: 6 (our 8 was a little crowded)

Did the room challenge the entire team? No. There were times that 1 or 2 people were standing around.

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Alphonzo, Eric, Eric, Mark, Katheryn

Worth the time and money? It’s cheaper than a normal room because it’s only 25 minutes. Probably worth tacking on as a second room of the day, but I wouldn’t go specifically for this one.

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: Just call it a day and go to Five Guys.

Continue reading →

After Seeing Michael Myers’ Home, I Wanted to Purge… – Room: Escape the Movies, Revision 3 – May 7, 2017

~ Jason ~ 2 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you [still] love horror movies.

Avoid if… the Purge made you want to, well, purge, or if you are afraid of the dark.

THE BASICS

Laurel’s House of Horrors:

Address: 935 Fairlawn Ave, Laurel, MD 20707 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 240-278-4545
http://www.laurelhaunt.com

The Room – Escape the Movies, Revision 3:

Description (from the company website): “Escape the Movies” is all-new in 2017, with revamped puzzles and features. You and a group will experience four distinctive rooms, with iconic scenes from your favorite record-breaking horror films, including Halloween (Michael Myers), Purge, Saw, and The Conjuring 2. Solve intricate puzzles and race the clock to escape. Your limits will be tested in an attempt to truly Escape the Movies… or become our next victims trapped inside the haunted theater!

Difficulty (1-10): not listed

Time Limit: 45 minutes

Cost: $25 per person

Identifier: R3

Party Size: Up to 8.

Staging Area: It’s in an old movie theater that is supposedly haunted, so pretty damn creepy.

Metro Access/Parking: Not metro accessible at all. The theater is in a strip mall so there is plenty of parking.

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 theater didn’t look as creep-tastic as it did last time, but they still do a yearly haunted house.

The rooms were just as well done as they were last year, probably even better this year. The themes were more clear than last year too. Made no mistake about which movie was which. (And no, you don’t need to have seen the movies to get through, which is good.)

Understanding of the Mission: Make your way through the 4 movie themed rooms with (or without, if you’re a dick to the GM) help from the GM. All you need to do is escape. With your life.

Did We Escape: By the skin of our teeth (again)

Time Remaining: 2. Freaking. Seconds. [You’re welcome! ~Jason]

Our Suggested Party Size: 6 was prefect, but there was room for 2 more.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes (omg yes…)

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Mark, Katheryn, Eric

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: We aren’t familiar with Laurel, but there’s a Five Guys 2 blocks away.

Continue reading →

Action… I said ACTION! Why, Oh, Why Can’t I Get Any Action? – Room: Lights, Camera, Murder! – May 6, 2017

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like a good murder mystery.

Avoid if… you’ve never enjoyed a murder mystery dinner.

THE BASICS

Escape Room Woodbridge:

Address: 12668 Darby Brook Ct., Woodbridge, VA 22912 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 703-910-6015
https://www.escaperoomwoodbridgeva.com

The Room – Lights, Camera, Murder: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): Take a trip back to 1966. You are convinced your fashion model friend’s death was actually a murder. Can you solve the mystery before the police close the case?

Difficulty (1-10): N/A

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $28 per person. – Use ERGUYS when booking to get either a percentage or set $$ amount off per ticket (whatever promotion is running)

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 8

Note: We were told this room is being replaced in late June.

Staging Area: Simple sitting area with couches. Restrooms are located in the back of the building past the Escape Rooms.

Metro Access/Parking: No metro access. This company is located in a shopping center and has ample parking. Watch traffic delays on I-95 and leave ample time to get 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:

Logistics:

Description of the room: Your friend’s murder is about to become a cold case file and you’ve taken it upon yourself to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Understanding of the Mission: It’s up to you to figure out the pertinent information to go back to the cops with. The case is being closed in about an hour, so hurry!

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 4:31

Our Suggested Party Size: We did this room just the ERG ourselves, but we recommend 6, tops.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): None!

The Escape Room Guys (Jason and Mike) solved Madison’s murder with 4:31 remaining. Photo courtesy of Escape Room Woodbridge’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: 

  • Fair Winds Brewing Company – We hit up this place on a previous visit. Great place for beer flights, beers and some food truck grub.

Continue reading →

7 Sins; 7 Doors… Mmmm… Sin-ful-icious – Room: 7 Deadly Sins – May 7, 2017

~ Jason

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you have any vices whatsoever, or loved the movie “7even”

Avoid if… you are a church-going, God-fearing person.

THE BASICS

Laurel House of Horror:

Address: 935 Fairlawn Ave, Laurel, MD 20707 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 240-278-4545
http://www.laurelhaunt.com

The Room – 7 Deadly Sins: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): “Seven Deadly Sins” is the most unique, and easily the most challenging escape room experience we’ve ever created. In five and a half “ancient” and elaborate rooms, you and a group will be tested to your absolute limits to overcome intricate puzzles, time-sensitive obstacles, and a difficult environment. More intense than our original rooms, all of your senses will be tested to escape the seven sins.

You enter through Pride (the first room) – will you leave with Pride, or be Envious of the ones that escape?

Difficulty (1-10): not listed

Time Limit: 45 minutes

Cost: $25 per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 8.

Staging Area: It’s in an old movie theater that is supposedly haunted, so pretty damn creepy.

Metro Access/Parking: Not metro accessible at all. The theater is in a strip mall so there is plenty of parking.

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: You walk into a circular room with a table in the center, at TV on the wall, and 7 doors (including the one you walked in through).

Understanding of the Mission: Solve the puzzles to figure out how to get out with your Pride intact.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: Exactly 11 minutes.

Our Suggested Party Size: At least 6 (1 for each door)

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Eric, Eric, Alphonzo, Mark, Katheryn

Worth the time and money? hell,yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: No idea, other than the Five Guys nearby. (There’s a Chuck E. Cheese next door, if you’re into that sort of thing. And like terrible pizza. And annoying, bratty kids… and creepy animatronic mice)

Continue reading →

Curse? What Curse? Hey, Where’d This Tail Come From…? – Room: Curse of the Mummy – May 5, 2017

~ Jason ~ 4 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like the Mummy movies or anything Egypt.

Avoid if… you don’t want to get dirty or have asthma.

THE BASICS

Escape Room Live Georgetown:

Address: 3345 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 800-616-4880
http://www.escaperoomlive.com/our-rooms
[email protected]

The Room – Curse of the Mummy:

Description (from the company website): You are archaeologists, lost in a forbidden Egyptian tomb with the stone doors sealed behind you. Air is running out & the curse of Anubis will take you! Escape is the only option. Find the secret passage to escape with your life!

Difficulty (1-10): 6/10

Time Limit: 45

Cost: $28 + tax per person but use ERGUYS15 when booking to save 15% off per ticket.

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 8-10

Staging Area: This is probably the swankiest location we’ve seen. Tons of seating AND A BAR (wine and beer). There are also free lockers to stash your belongings before you enter the room.

Metro Access/Parking: Rosslyn metro and then a .9 mile walk across the Key Bridge. It’s Georgetown, so parking can be difficult (so definitely carpool and use the parking garage for Georgetown Mall (at Wisconsin and M, head down the hill towards K Street). We suggest Uber or Lyft.

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: You enter the first room of an Egyptian tomb. There are a number of statues along the walls, a big-ass pharaoh’s head, and some weird altar in the center, and some archaeology tools scattered among everything else.

Understanding of the Mission: Find out what happened to the (now) missing archaeologist and escape before getting cursed.

Did We Escape: Yes, and we SHOULD have made the freakin’ leader board… [Jason is still pissed about this. Mike is pissed too, but only slightly less than Jason’s all burning pissed-off-ed-ness (I hear there are creams for that)]

Time Remaining: 5:30

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 5. Six should probably be your max for this room.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Mostly

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Birgit, Whitney, and Angie

The Escape Room Guys (Mike and Jason) teamed up with Escape Room Woodbridge (Birgit, Whitney, and Angie) to solve the mystery of the missing archaeologist and avoid the mummy’s curse!

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: It’s Georgetown, so there are plenty of places to go for food and drinks, depending on your budget. We’ll leave it to Google, since we had beer at their bar.

Continue reading →

Crime Doesn’t Pay – Room: Perfect Crime – March 16, 2017

~ Jason ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you loved playing Clue while growing up.

Avoid if… crime scenes make you uneasy.

THE BASICS

PanIQ Escape Room Washington DC:

Address: 3283 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: (202) 735-0485
https://paniqescaperoom.com/washington-dc/escape-rooms/perfect-crime
[email protected]

The Room – Perfect Crime:

Description (from the company website): An aristocratic family member has been murdered. Some are calling it the “Perfect Crime”. You and your group of brilliant investigators made a new discovery that has led to a hot pursuit which might shed new light on the truth. Maybe it wasn’t the perfect crime after all?

Difficulty (1-10): 4 of 5

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $24-36 (+ tax per person) (varies based on number of players)

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-7

Staging Area: First, ring doorbell to gain entry. Rooms are on the 3rd floor of the building. Small waiting area with couches and water cooler. Enough space for 1 team to hang out while they wait, but additional seating in stairwell area.

Metro Access/Parking: Rosslyn metro and then a .9 mile walk across the Key Bridge. It’s Georgetown, so parking can be difficult (so definitely carpool and use the parking garage for Georgetown Mall (at Wisconsin and M, head down the hill towards K Street). We suggest Uber or Lyft.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This is the Facebook Live video before we entered the room:

This is the Facebook Live video just after we completed the room:

Logistics:

Description of the room: You start off in a small room that is wallpapered with newspaper clippings and advertisements.

Understanding of the Mission: Solve the murder mystery by finding the murderer, the date the murder occurred, where the murder occurred, and the murder weapon, and then get the key to escape the room.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 17:10 remaining;

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 7, which was pretty perfect.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Tara, Eric, Dalia, Mark, and Katheryn

Team Disturbed Friends (Tara, Eric, Dalia, Mike, Jason, Mark and Katheryn) solved the murder and escaped the room! Photo courtesy of PanIQ Escape Room.

Worth the time and money? Hell yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: It’s Georgetown, so there are tons of places to have dinner or grab a drink.

Our Scoring:

JASON SAYS: MIKE SAYS:
Overall Expectation (Summary)
The description on the PanIQ site didn’t give much background, and I still don’t know why it’s called the ‘perfect crime’ other than that’s part of the story. More on that later.

It took us some time to find the place initially, as well. It’s not a storefront; it’s more a gated alleyway. Which kind of added to the intrigue. Ryan, our GM (who doesn’t like being called that), met us outside and walked us up.

 This was a new location for us, so I really had no major expectations. However, I will say that I hadn’t heard of this company before and only found them after seeing a Groupon deal, which we purchased.

Finding the location took a few minutes. It’s behind a wrought-iron gate that has a buzzer, so that was initially our first challenge (how to actually get into the location!).

The theme itself sounded interesting, but nothing that made me want to choose this room over another. We’ve done a number of detective-themed rooms, so it was a “meh, it’s another room to do.”

Again, I’ll recall the adage to never judge a book by its cover… I was pleasantly surprised.
Story (Rating)
Some high-falutin so and so has been murdered. Allegedly, the plot was so well crafted that it’s the ‘perfect crime’.

We know it’s the 1900s. We know we didn’t do it but we’re there to figure out who did. And all I have is this pencil…

Rating: 7/10

 You are a team of detectives called to a aristocratic family estate sometime in the 1900s (this was stressed multiple times by our GM before we entered the room) to investigate a murder! Man, can’t these rich people settle their arguments over polo, 25-year old single malt scotch, and cigars like normal, civilized people?

Anyhoo, murder rarely pays, unless you don’t get caught… and unfortunately for the murderer, Team Disturbed Friends was called in based on our excellent track record.

Game on!

Rating: 7/10
Mission (Rating)
Holy multiple objectives Batman! We were tasked with the following:

  1. Find out who the murderer was
  2. Find out when the murder occurred
  3. Find the murder weapon
  4. Determine the location of the murder

Once we figured those things out, we just had to make our way out of the room (my favorite, a key to unlock a door!). And I mean that, just having to find a key to unlock the point of egress is literally my favorite objective.

Rating: 10/10

 Your mission – should you choose to accept it – encompasses multiple objectives (oh,yeah, baby!!) where you have to find out:

  • who the murderer is
  • the exact date of the murder
  • the location where the murder occurred
  • and the murder weapon

Once you determine these items, you will find a key that will allow you to escape the room.

Hmmm… we’re in an isolated estate and have to find out who the murderer is, where it happened and with what weapon. This seems familiar?

If you are a faithful reader of this blog (*cough, cough* become a follower *cough, cough*), then you know that a room with multiple objectives is like crack to me * and I LOVED how many things we had to figure out here.

Rating: 10/10

*  DISCLAIMER: Mike absolutely denies ever having tried crack, and is only drawing a parallel to say that multiple objectives in an escape room releases endorphins in his brain mimicking a natural high (kinda like a runner’s high, which he’s also never experienced because he’s not a runner… unless someone is chasing him… with a weapon).
Puzzle Diversity (Rating)
*Wipes tears from eyes*

I…We…They…

The only thing missing from this room was a secret freaking passage.

Seriously though, this room had so many things that we hadn’t encountered before in ANY other escape rooms. There was chess, maps, mazes. Hell, even a freaking stress test (that’s what I’m calling it; you’ll understand when you do this room). I think I was still giddy when we got out of there.

Why doesn’t this rating to go 11…? Oh right, this isn’t Spinal Tap.

Rating: 10/10

 Um, wow. I was initially unimpressed, but then something happened and all was right with the world. It was like Christmas, my birthday, St. Patrick’s Day and Oktoberfest all rolled into one. I think I actually gasped.

So. Many. Types. Of. Puzzles!!!

We’ve seen some of these used in other rooms, but there was not one puzzle type that was repeated, and some of them were brand new experiences for the ERG.

The puzzles also hit two of my hobbies (spoiler below in white text, so highlight if you want to see it), so it was pretty awesome. Kind of like it was tailored to my own interests.

Mike’s Hobbies:
Genealogy & Travel

Also, you need to make sure you have someone with a steady hand with you, and that’s all I’m saying. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you do the room. What a nice nostalgic touch!

The puzzle solutions themselves led to a number of key locks and combination locks. I think there were 7(?), but maybe only 5 – I had trouble counting (one plus two, plus one, plus one – HAHAHAHA).

Rating: 10/10
Puzzle Complexity (Rating)
This room had a great range of puzzles, difficulty-wise. There were one or two that were easy, yet time consuming; others required all hands on deck (both time-consuming and not). That’s the way it should be and they really took it and ran.

I was so impressed with how well thought out they all were that I was just shocked for a few seconds. Walking in and seeing some of them was a giant WTF moment (in a good way) and also made me go MINEMINEMINE on 2 of the puzzles. 

Rating: 10/10

 So, we had no newbies with us this time, and we still needed time to get through some of these clues. They had a few easier ones  in the beginning to whet your appetite and we did have about a 3-4 minute delay when we didn’t follow our Rule #3 again, so we spent time looking for a combination that we already had. Great job, Mark for double-checking!

Then they brought in the big guns. I think that Jason and I may have accidentally run over a few of our teammates on the way to one of the puzzles (hey, they all signed liability waivers and knew what they were getting into… hmmm… DID they sign liability waivers for us? Note to self: get them to sign liability waivers), and I stubbornly went back to one of the puzzles because I couldn’t just let it beat me. SUCK IT, UNNAMED PUZZLE!!

One puzzle was so difficult that we ended up solving it, but we reverse-engineered it to get the solution. I think we actually surprised our GM that we didn’t solve it in the conventional way. Another thing to remember is that certain items are put in the room for a reason. If you get stuck, try and use a prop. I can’t believe that we missed this, but it worked out in the end anyway.

Rating: 10/10
Flow/Cohesiveness/Uniqueness (Rating)
The room was broken into 2 rooms (we were told this at the beginning, so I don’t feel bad telling you here). The bulk of the work is in the second room, but getting there was pretty fun. We had a small Rule #3 snafu (which I blame on everyone but the person that tried that particular combination, including myself), but we got in, regardless.

The second room was extremely well thought out. The bulk of the puzzles all led into other puzzles that funneled their solutions to the final puzzle to find the 4 pieces of information listed in the Mission rating above. Absolutely loved it. Brilliantly put together.

***APPLAUSE***

Rating: 10/10

 I don’t think we’ve done a room where everything JUST FIT together as well as this one did. Everything fit the theme, and it was worked so well into the storyline that I am still nodding my head in satisfaction.

The decor, at first, seems confusing, but that all changes about 10 minutes into the experience. Then, you feel like you’ve been transported to this estate and are investigating a crime scene (the outline of a body is a very nice touch).

Lots of unique stuff to the room that also fit well with the theme, and all the puzzles and clues just flowed into a final climax… which can give you delayed satisfaction if you’re not 100% correct (giggity).

I have no critiques here. Absolutely stunning in how it was put together.

Rating: 10/10
Fun/Amusement (Summary)
Nope. Thought it was just terrible. (I’m kidding, obviously.) BEST. TIME. EVER!!
Game Master (Summary)
As I mentioned before, Ryan prefers not to be called a ‘game master’; he preferred to be called ‘Ryan’. So we went with that.

He was a little rushed through the background story. But he was on top of his game while we were in the room, asking if we needed help here and there (no, we didn’t) and was responsive on the walkie-talkie.

 Ryan was our GM and he added to the enthusiasm with the story outline and mission briefing. When we asked a few questions, he raised his eyebrow (which is one of my habits) and said that it was a great question that no one had ever asked before, which he followed up with “how many rooms have you done?”

He seemed a bit rushed in the beginning, but that could be because he was trying to get two groups into two different rooms (and was the GM for both of us at the same time). I’ve not seen this before (we always seemed to have our own GM specifically for our time block) but I can’t say this for sure..

We also asked what the leaderboard (the best time) and he said it was 18:00 minutes remaining. As we were tearing through the room, he would make comments every now and then about how fast we were moving.
How Helpful Were Any Clues Given, if any (Summary)
No clues needed! None were needed. Ryan actually radioed in and asked if we wanted help when we were trudging through one of the puzzles, and Jason (who had the walkie talkie) said “nope… we’ll radio you if we need you”

And note: he’s not allowed to give you any clues for the first 10 minutes, so keep at it if you get stuck initially.
Anger Level Score ERG (pronounced URG, as in “we should have known better”) Score
The only thing I can even say negative about this room is that I wish the story were a little better/more involved. That said…

Rating: 0/5 Fists

 Just a small facepalm when we realized that we were searching for something we had already found.

We need to start remembering to follow that damn rule so we don’t keep making the same mistakes that keep us off the leaderboards.

Rating: ?‍♂️?‍♂️ FacePalms – 2/5

ESCAPE ROOM GUYS’ OVERALL SCORING: 9.4/10

Final Thought: Can’t say anything more than we already have. The best we’ve seen so far. Good job, PanIQ Escape Room DC. We look forward to returning to do Insane Asylum (which the GM said was harder than Perfect Crime).

I Certainly Felt Like a Private Dick… – Room: Detective Office – March 4, 2017

~ Jason ~ 3 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you like a good detective novel and have an affinity for the 1920s.

Avoid if… you can never remember the combination to your gym locker.

THE BASICS

Escape Room LoCo:

Address: 2A Cardinal Park Dr SE, Suite #103A, Leesburg, VA 20175 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 703-468-8538
http://escaperoomloco.com
[email protected]

The Room – Detective Office: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): You and your teammates are a group of Private Investigators back in the 1920’s.  There have been a series of murders recently all with a mysterious calling card left at the scene.  All clues point to the fact that the next murder will occur in 60 minutes.  Try to solve the case and catch the murderer before time runs out!

Difficulty (1-10): 8/10

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $29 per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-6

Staging Area: a very simple lobby with a few chairs and a coat rack. This place has a sample of each lock for you to practice on before entering the room.

Metro Access/Parking: it’s in Leesburg, so you gotta drive, but there is plenty of parking.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Here is the Facebook Live video before we entered the room:

And here is the video after we escaped the room:

Logistics:

Description of the room: a small Private Investigator’s office, set in the 1920s… and a whole hell of a lot of padlocks.

Understanding of the Mission: Investigate a series of murders and find the serial killer before he/she kills again.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 4:22

Our Suggested Party Size: 4-6

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes and no. More on that later.

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

Team Disturbed Friends (Jason, Mike, Dalia, Alphonzo and Stephanie) solved the murder and caught the serial killer!
Team Disturbed Friends (Jason, Mike, Dalia, Alphonzo and Stephanie) solved the murder and caught the serial killer!

Worth the time and money? yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • Dog Money Brewery – stop in for pub food and a flight their brews. Home-made pretzels and dipping sauces are awesome.

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