It had been awhile since we were at Escape Quest’s location in Alexandria, VA, so Jason reached out to them to see if they’d be interested in doing an updated interview. Tierney, the Creative Director, invited us over to brief us on what has been going on at Escape Quest, and how they’ve adjusted their design process over the last few years.
She also provided our readers with a discount code to use when booking any rooms at their locations (they are expecting to open in Bethesda sometime in mid-2019).. Use ERG25 to take a whopping 25% off your ticket price!
Due to the revamping of some of the rooms, we may have to head back and check out what’s changed…
Check out the video interview below:
Have you done any of the rooms at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.
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?
Espionage is a covert spy thriller, placing you in the role of a secret agent.
The evil CABAL Corporation is threatening to launch a false flag event, inciting worldwide chaos… unless your team of agents can stop them! Your mission: dodge lasers, crawl through real air ducts, hack their computer system, and put a stop to their nefarious plan; and think before you act — with several possible endings to your mission, your mistakes could have global consequences.
Difficulty (1-10): none given
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Cost: is based on how many adventures you purchase:
3 adventures: $39.99 per person (can use over different days/doesn’t expire)
2 adventures: $36.99 per person
1 adventure: $29.99 per person
Identifier: R1
Party Size: Minimum of 2; maximum of 12
Staging Area: There is a very large lobby where you can check out previous groups’ scores and buy some merchandise. Additionally, they have party rooms for corporate/private events.
Metro Access/Parking: It’s in Ballston Quarter Mall so you can take the metro to the Ballston-MU Station, or drive and park in the parking lot (or on the street).
OUR EXPERIENCE
This is the video we took before we entered the adventure:
This is the video we took just after we completed the adventure:
Note: The ERG were given the opportunity to try out this adventure for free, with the understanding that we would continue to provide an honest review and follow the same process that we’ve used on all of our other ratings.
Logistics:
Description of the room: You start off outside in an alleyway with graffiti on the walls. You need to find your way into the experience, and then have your choice of entrances for the first room.
Understanding of the Mission: Infiltrate the safe house, find a way to disarm the missiles, and escape the safe house without being captured.
Did We Escape: Yes, in multiple ways (and multiple times)
Scores: 93%, 96% and 97% (our best score to date)
Our Suggested Party Size: 6 is good
Did the adventure challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Heather, Brittany, Tara, and Chris
Worth the time and money? Yes
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
Punch Bowl Social – it’s less than a 30 second walk from 5 Wits and has good food and drinks and more games, if you haven’t had enough
Closing out our long weekend in Colorado, we wanted to check out one final escape room location. We contacted Sly Fox Escapes and they invited us in to play the room they recommend for enthusiasts, C’thulu Awakens, and to set up a video interview.
After playing the room, we got to sit down with Richard, the owner and our Game Master, to hear more about how Sly Fox designs their rooms, offers a choice of difficulty levels (on the fly), and what advice they have for other escape room owners.
Richard also provided our readers with a discount code to use when booking a room at his location. Use ERG15 to take 15% off your tickets through May 2019.
Check out the video interview 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 our review of C’thulu Awakens. 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?
In preparation for enjoying a nice long, holiday weekend out in Colorado (mostly in Colorado Springs), we were recommended by the owner of another escape room company to check out Time to Escape on our way back from Denver. So, we reached out to Arianna, who invited us to check out her location in Lakewood, and we stopped in to see what Time to Escape was all about.
While we were there, we played throughThe Burning Castle, a theme that involved time travel and the infamous Vlad Tepes (a.k.a. Dracula), himself. Afterwards, we sat down with Arianna and found out how she came up with the inspiration for the rooms themselves.
Additionally, she’s offered our readers a $5 discount on tickets when using the code ERG5D ($5 off per ticket) when booking the rooms.
Check out the video interview below [and apologies for the audio; Jason forgot his recording equipment on this trip]:
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 the Burning Castle. 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?
A few months ago, we had planned a nice long, holiday weekend out in Colorado, mostly in Colorado Springs. We’d been chatting with Ryan, the co-owner and co-founder of Puzzah!, who invited us up to check out his location in Denver. So, we took one of our days to head back North to see what Puzzah! was all about.
We elected to do their Kazam room, since we were intrigued by this option of getting to do bonus puzzles (or “buzzles” – a new term [accidentally] coined by Mike). After the room, we were able to chat in-depth with Ryan and his lead designer, Nick, as to what makes doing a room at Puzzah! a unique experience.
Additionally, they’ve offered our readers a 10% discount on tickets when using the code ERG10 when booking the rooms.
Check out the video interview below [and apologies for the audio; Jason forgot his recording equipment on this trip]:
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 Kazam. 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?
When the opportunity came up to try out a few new rooms at a location we hadn’t done before, we – of course – jumped at the opportunity.
We braved the traffic going South on I-95 from Alexandria, VA on a Friday night to Fredericksburg, VA to visit Rush Hour Live Escape Games. We completed two of their rooms, Something Wicked and Tomb of the Red Queen, and had the opportunity to chat with Paul, one of the owners, about his location, rooms, and how they create great experiences for their customers.
Check out the video interview below:
Have you done any of the adventures at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.
Stay tuned for our reviews of Something Wicked and Tomb of the Red Queen. 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?
As part of our due diligence of keeping track of all the escape rooms in the metro DC area, Jason started a conversation with Zephyr, the Sales and Marketing manager at 5 Wits Adventures in Arlington, VA. He wanted to check on their timetable for the grand opening of their new location in Ballston Quarter. After a few months, Zephyr confirmed that they were ready to do a soft opening and invited us in to check out some of their experiences.
While we were there, Jason was also able to spend some time with Dawn, their Operations Manager, and find out what makes an experience at 5 Wits Adventures a bit different from your typical escape room, and how they came up with their design philosophy.
Check out the video interview below:
Please note that 5 Wits Adventures prefers not to be listed as Escape Rooms, but Adventures (they are a very different breed of interactive experience), but for purposes of consistency within our blog, this is tagged as an Escape Room Interview.
Have you done any of the adventures at this location? What was your experience like? You can add your comments to this post.
Stay tuned for our review of Espionage and the other adventures after we get a chance to do them. 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?
Description (from the company website): Dr. Prescott Joule, Physicist, has hired your team to look after his lab while he is away on a scientific mission! The moment you enter the lab you’re confident that something strange is going on. You may be in for more than you bargained for! Can you figure out what he is up to?
Difficulty: Medium
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $18 per person
Identifier: R1
Party Size: 2-10
Staging Area: a very large lobby with a reception desk, small fridge with bottled water (free to players) and some seating along the walls.
Metro Access/Parking: in Lynchburg, so you’ll have to drive or figure out the public transit system.
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 are in a high-tech lab with lots of scientific gizmos and doodads.
Understanding of the Mission: You and your team are hired to look after a lab for a wacky scientist. Little did you know that YOU have become part of his scientific research. Can you figure out what the experiment is and escape within 60 minutes?
Did We Escape: yes
Time Remaining: 13:00
Our Suggested Party Size: We had 3, which seemed to fit our group (but we’re good friends and work together pretty well). We’d likely recommend 4-5.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Rohan
A professor thought he’d experiment on The Escape Room Guys. The Guys messed with his results.
Description (from the company website): The Elves have gone on strike. They are tired of the long hours and low pay and have hopped a plane to Palm Beach before completing the final gifts for delivery.
You have 45 minutes to complete the remaining toys and save Christmas. It is not that simple, though. These elves were particularly vindictive and have created a series of puzzles to prevent anyone from being able to finish what they started. It is up to you!
Difficulty (1-10): 6/10
Time Limit: 45 minutes
Cost: $29 per person – Use ERGUYS15 to get 15% off per person when booking your reservation for any of their rooms
Identifier: T1 – temporary theme for the holidays
Party Size: 2-8
Staging Area: EXIT Plan has a great reception area (two, actually) with lots of chairs. There is a large flight of stairs to reach the main lobby. Note: this escape room experience is not in their main location, but in a small office that is next to the main parking lot.
Metro Access/Parking: This spot is in downtown Leesburg in the historic district. Lots of street parking, and there is a small lot right behind Macdowell Brew Kitchen.
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 enter Santa’s workshop, complete with presents, Christmas tree, fireplace, and package wrapping area, along with a live “elf” sitting in a chair by the door.
Understanding of the Mission: Find the components to the remaining presents and get them into Santa’s bag before Christmas is ruined.
Did We Escape: No
Time Remaining: 0 – we probably needed another minute or two
Our Suggested Party Size: This room is rated 2-8 people, and we had 4 experienced people, which should have been enough.
Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Heather and Steph
The Escape Room Guys attempted to save Christmas, and failed to complete the last task. Damn those dastardly elves!
Worth the time and money? Yes
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
Macdowell Brew Kitchen – restaurant and bar right below EXIT Plan (the Hog Wings were awesome!)
Description (from the company website): A group of renegade hackers has taken control of the United States nuclear arsenal and have ordered a strike on several major US cities…you’d think it’d be more secure than that, but that’s not the point. As the Secret Service’s ranking agents, it falls upon you to disarm the attack before tragedy strikes.
Use your knowledge and skills to get the job done. The fate of the country depends on you. Good luck, Agents!
Note: If you played Save the White House prior to June 2018, this is a completely different room with new decorations, puzzles and story.
Difficulty (1-10): 2 of 3
Time Limit: 60 minutes
Cost: $27 per person plus tax, but use ERG15 to save 15% on rooms booked for Mondays thru Thursdays
Staging Area: Room Escape DC has a lobby with multiple tables, couches/chairs, vending machines, a sign-in station and two restrooms.
Metro Access/Parking: No metro access, so you’ll have to drive or Lyft/Uber. But there’s plenty of parking in adjacent garages.
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 enter an L-shaped room with the front part mimicking the Oval Office. There is a desk, some other furniture, and artwork and photos along the walls.
Understanding of the Mission: Hackers have taken control of the U.S.’ nuclear arsenal and are attempting to deploy missiles. As ranking Secret Service agents, it is up to us to figure out how to stop them.
Did We Escape: Yes and damn proud of it.
Time Remaining: About 18 minutes
Our Suggested Party Size: Having done the first version of this room, we were delighted when they offered us to come in and review the new version. We’d say 4-ish would be fine for this.
Did the room challenge the entire team? As with the original, there was a lot of back and forth with this room. Thankfully, it was a little easier (in that respect) this time. Yes, though.
Members of our team (other than the ERG): Just us
Jason and Mike donned their best Secret Service identities and stopped hackers from nuking the US.
Worth the time and money? Yeah
Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:
The Wine House – stop in for a glass of wine and dessert.
