Retired

The Doctor Will See You Now – Room: Dr. Panic’s Asylum – December 11, 2016

~ Mike K. ~ 2 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you have good health insurance.

Avoid if… you are even just a wee bit mentally unstable.

THE BASICS

Room Escape DC

Address: 3949A University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 703-865-4178
[email protected]
http://roomescapedc.com/dr-panic

The Room – Dr. Panic’s Asylum: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): You and your fellow patients have been wrongfully detained in this disturbing asylum. No matter how desperately you plead, there’s been no hope for release. Suddenly, in a stroke of luck, the supervising doctor has been called away for a single hour. Finally: a chance to escape. Except, you are not alone…

To claw your way to freedom, you must conquer the frightening Professor’s Room, the menacing Doctor’s Room, and the treacherous Mudroom. Wit and sense alone will save you now. Can you make it out without losing your sanity? Or will this sinister asylum claim you forever?

Difficulty (1-10): 2 of 3

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $27 + tax per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: 2-8 people

Staging Area: Decently sized lobby with plenty of seating and a sign-in station. Two separate restrooms located off the main lobby.

Metro Access/Parking: Parking garage around the corner, but no metro.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

Description of the room: You start off in a small, sparsely decorated office in an insane asylum; you then move into two additional rooms.

Understanding of the Mission: Solve the puzzles as you progress through three rooms and find your way to escape the asylum before the Dr. comes back!

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 13 minutes?

Our Suggested Party Size: 4-6

Did the room challenge the entire team? Unfortunately, no. See our scoring below.

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

Team Disturbed Friends (Mike, Eric, Mark, Katheryn, Sibel, Jason and Cat) escaped being eternally committed to the asylum by Dr. Panic! Photo courtesy of Room Escape DC's Facebook page.
Team Disturbed Friends (Mike, Eric, Mark, Katheryn, Sibel, Jason and Cat) escaped being eternally committed to the asylum by Dr. Panic!
Photo courtesy of Room Escape DC’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

Continue reading →

I’ve Always Wanted to Be in the Movies! – Room: Escape the Movies – July 17, 2016

~ Mike K. ~ 3 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you love horror movies.

Avoid if… a little gore turns your stomach

THE BASICS

Laurel’s House of Horror & Escape Room:

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

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

The Room – RETIRED

Description (from the company website): You and a group will experience four distinctive rooms, with iconic scenes from your favorite record-breaking horror films including Saw, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Insidious. Solve intricate puzzles and race the clock to escape Jigsaw, Michael Myers or Freddy Krueger.  Your limits will be tested in an attempt to truly Escape the Movies… or become our next victims trapped inside the haunted theater!

Note: this room has been revamped since we did it, so your experience may not be the same.

Difficulty (1-10): none listed

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $25 + tax 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

Logistics:

Description of the room: The theater itself was pretty cool looking. They turn it into a haunted house for the Halloween season.

The rooms themselves were very well done… we knew what movie we were supposed to be in and they added some additional decorations to help with the theme.

Understanding of the Mission: Solve the clues going through 4 rooms based on different horror movies, find the key and escape before the monsters get you!

Did We Escape: Yes, by the skin of our teeth (bad pun intended)

Time Remaining: About 45 seconds

Our Suggested Party Size: They say up to 8 can do the room, but we had only 4 (which was supposed to be 6), and that was sufficient.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes, there was plenty for all of us to do.

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

Worth the time and money? Yes!

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.

Continue reading →

It’s All About the Ending – Room: Room Ω (Omega) – October 22, 2016

~ Mike K. ~ 2 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you have some time to kill and have a Groupon, or have a thing for watches.

Avoid if… you are claustrophobic.

THE BASICS

Omescape DC: LOCATION CLOSED

Address: 2406 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 (click address for Google Map)

Contact and Website: 202-644-0825
http://omescapedc.com

The Room – Room Omega: ROOM CLOSED

Description (from the company website): Professor Stanley, known for his theory of time travel, disappeared inside his own office three days ago. His students said he was about to publish new findings on multiple time dimensions. As his closest friend, you’ve decided to find out the truth of Professor Stanley’s mysterious disappearance. Pay attention to any clues related to time, otherwise the same thing could happen to you…

Difficulty (1-10): 6/10

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $27.99 + tax per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 8

Staging Area: The lobby is up a flight of stairs and has a small number of couches and tables.

Metro Access/Parking: Woodley Park / National Zoo and then walk .7 miles across the Calvert Street bridge into Adams Morgan. It’s Adams Morgan, so parking at night and on weekends can be really tricky. We suggest Uber or Lyft if that’s an option.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

Description of the room: A small office… nothing too memorable.

Understanding of the Mission: Find out what happened to Professor Stanley before you disappear without a trace.

Did We Escape: yes

Time Remaining: don’t remember… 11 minutes?

Our Suggested Party Size: we had 6 and that was plenty.

Did the room challenge the entire team? No

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Melissa, Jess, and Jen.

Worth the time and money? Unfortunately, we had to give this one a “no,” and we had a Groupon to discount the price.

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: It’s Adams Morgan, so there are plenty of places to eat and drink. Here’s where we went:

Continue reading →

Where’s Our Tricked Out Automobile? – Room: Spy’s Demise – August 6, 2016

~ Mike K. ~ 3 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you’ve always wanted to be a secret agent.

Avoid if… you can’t tell your right from your left.

THE BASICS

Cville Escape Room: (MOVED TO NEW LOCATION June 1, 2018)

Address: 218 W Main St, 2nd Floor, Charlottesville, VA (click address for Google Map)
New location is: 310 E. Main St., Charlottesville, VA

Contact and Website: 434-566-9499
https://www.cvilleescaperoom.com

The Room – Spy’s Demise: RETIRED

Description (from the company website): Deadly toxins, double agents, and other nefarious elements conspire to eliminate the secret agent players.

Difficulty (1-10): unlisted

Time Limit: 60 minutes

Cost: $25 + tax per person

Identifier: R1

Party Size: Up to 8

Staging Area: They put us in a conference room and came in to give us the briefing.

Metro Access/Parking: There’s a pay-parking lot about 1.5 blocks away and street parking, if you can find it.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

Description of the room: Saying the room was cluttered would not be doing it justice. It was full of props and propaganda (propsaganda?), but almost everything was used.

Understanding of the Mission: figure out what happened to our comrade, who the double agent was and complete his mission.

Did We Escape: We did!

Time Remaining: Thinking it was under 10 minutes

Our Suggested Party Size: We had 10 because it was a special event, but we would definitely recommend no more than 8.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Rohan, Steph, Chris, Cecilia, Trish, Brittany, Corey

Team Disturbed Friends (Brittany, Corey, Chris, Jason, Mike, Cecelia, Trish, Stephanie and Rohan) found the plans and celebrated Jason's birthday in style. Photo courtesy of Cville Escape Room's Facebook page.
Team Disturbed Friends (Brittany, Corey, Chris, Jason, Mike, Cecelia, Trish, Stephanie and Rohan) found the plans and celebrated Jason’s birthday in style. Photo courtesy of Cville Escape Room’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Absolutely

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After: It’s downtown Charlottesville right off the main pedestrian walkway, so there are tons of options. We ate dinner at the place below.

  • Fellini’s – good cocktails and beer selection. Food was okay.

Continue reading →

Venture through the Looking Glass – Room: Adventures in Wonderland – February 12, 2017

~ Mike K. ~ 3 Comments

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you’ve always wanted to have tea with the Mad Hatter.

Avoid if… you have problems seeing in the dark.

THE BASICS

EscapeRoom Woodbridge:

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

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

The Room – Adventures in Wonderland: RETIRED

Description (from company website): The Red Queen has taken the Mad Hatter and wants you to solve an age-old riddle before it’s “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!”

Difficulty (1-10): no rating given

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: 6 people max.

NOTE: we were told that this room is being retired in March 2017 and being replaced by a DaVinci-themed room.

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

Logistics:

Description: The Mad Hatter has been kidnapped and the sadistic Red Queen has issued you a challenge to answer a riddle within 60 minutes, or she’ll lop off the guy’s head… and maybe yours as well (muah-ha-ha).

Understanding of the Mission: Solve the clues that relate to Wonderland and figure out the answer to the riddle.

Did We Escape: Oh, yeah.

Time Remaining: 7:27

Our Suggested Party Size: No more than 6 (in fact, 5 was perfect). The room itself isn’t that large and we couldn’t imagine having 10 people in there.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes, there seemed to be enough for the 5 of us to work on without stepping all over each other (despite the small room).

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

Another successful escape for team Disturbed Friends. At the EscapeRoom Woodbridge "Adventures in Wonderland" escape room. Photo courtesy of EscapeRoom Woodbridge's Facebook page.
Another successful escape for team Disturbed Friends. At the EscapeRoom Woodbridge “Adventures in Wonderland” escape room. Photo courtesy of EscapeRoom Woodbridge’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes, it definitely was. We used a Groupon for this room so we didn’t pay full price, but the room is good enough to book without the discount and we recommend you get in there fast before the room changes theme (which we were told is soon!).

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

  • Fair Winds Brewing Company – We decided to hit up this place (about 10 minutes north of the Escape Room) and have a beer or two. (Well, some of us started with tasting flights THEN got beers.)

Continue reading →

Give Me a Gun and Get Out of My Way! – Room: 13 Hours – January 29, 2016

~ Mike K. ~ 1 Comment

ESCAPE ROOM REVIEW – THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Play if… you have a thing for people in uniform.

Avoid if… you aren’t a member of the NRA.

THE BASICS

Escape Room Live Glover Park: – LOCATION CLOSED

Address: 2300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suites G-102, Washington, DC 20007
(Entrance is DOWN the stairs off of Hall Place NW) (click address for a Google Map)

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

The Room – 13 Hours (temporarily replaced Double Crossed):

Description (from the company website): This room was a temporary room associated with the 13 Hours movie. As such, the description is no longer available on the site, but our military team was dropped behind enemy lines to complete a mission and find the target of an upcoming attack, radio the coordinates to base and then request an evacuation.

Difficulty (1-10): unlisted

Time Limit: 45 minutes

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

Identifier: T1

Party Size: Up to 8

Staging Area: The lobby to this location was downstairs in what I believe is the basement level of the building. There were couches and some games to keep you busy.

Metro Access/Parking: Tenleytown and then the bus down Wisconsin Avenue, or Dupont Circle and the bus up Massachusetts are your best bets. There’s no metro right by, so you’ll have to drive and find a place to park. Probably better to Uber/Lyft.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Logistics:

Description of the room: The room itself was small but packed with goodies: Bookcases, maps, cigars.

Understanding of the Mission: We had to find the target for the attacks and then radio in the coordinates and request an evac.

Did We Escape: Yes

Time Remaining: 6:43

Our Suggested Party Size: Doesn’t matter anymore as this room has been replaced, but 6 people worked well.

Did the room challenge the entire team? Yes

Members of our team (other than the ERG): Dennis, Dennis’ wife, Chris and Dalia.

We completed the mission! Members of the elite squad were Dennis, Jason, Dennis' wife, Chris, Mike and Dalia. Photo courtesy of Escape Room Live Glover Park's Facebook page.
We completed the mission! Members of the elite squad were Dennis, Jason, Dennis’ wife, Chris, Mike and Dalia. Photo courtesy of Escape Room Live Glover Park’s Facebook page.

Worth the time and money? Yes

Where to Eat/Drink Before/After:

Continue reading →