Escape the Room - 3 Mile Island

...............I don't know where to start. Perhaps a good place is that at some point, I sat down and quit doing much of anything cause I was ready to be done with the room. The room is well laid out and interesting with high quality props. Although the room nice, it was just time spent being quite irritated - and not only were we irritated with the room, but it caused us to argue with each other, which is rare.

Price:$$14 per person (used opening weekend coupon)

Theme:★★★This looks nice at first, then turns into misery. As usual, a nice looking room.

Quality:★★Here's the real deal - I cannot tell you what I think about this, really. If you try this yourself, you will understand what I mean.

Difficulty:★★★★★What a pain - so hard, and on purpose for it to be that way (I almost put a few curse words here...)

Fun:★Nope. Just nope.

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰6:20

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Escape the Room - The Theater

This room looks neat, and the idea isn't bad, but the overall experience left me somewhat deflated. There were at least two puzzles that we got by guessing right on the first try (and were later told you just had to try until you go it), and other things that we just hidden so well we had to use clues to find them (reminiscent of things I didn't like in their Bank Heist in Dallas). And when you have to be told that when you solve a puzzle, you'll hear a sound, but look around cause you'll have to figure out what opened, that is quite frustrating.

Price:$$14 per person (used opening weekend coupon)

Theme:★★★This looks neat when you enter, and all of the things about the room focus well around the theme, although some things are a little creepy.

Quality:★★We didn't expect any issues, but we did have a few things that didn't open and had to be triggered by the game master.

Difficulty:★★★Most of the puzzles themselves weren't too hard, but what was hard was figured out what opened once you solved something.

Fun:★★Some parts of this were fun, and others were just confusing (because we didn't listen when told to use "dumb" logic).

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰21:11

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Escape the Room - The Clock Tower

I hesitated on booking rooms here the first day, waiting on feedback from others, but ending up going on Sunday. I'm glad we went for this room, especially with the opening weekend discount. This is the best Escape the Room game I've done, and we were able to figure our way through, do some fun puzzles, and see some really neat technology used throughout the experience.

Price:$$14 per person (used opening weekend coupon)

Theme:★★★★The concept behind the room, the decor, and the sound effects were neat.

Quality:★★★We expected no problems in the room, and for the most part things went great. There was one prop where position was very important, and because we were off a little we spent five minutes or so messing with it. Otherwise, this was good.

Difficulty:★★★Some of the things in the room were easy to find and figure out, while others took some trial and error.

Fun:★★★★I liked this room and how different things came together - I suspect there are even things I never saw, but what I did was fun.

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰5:52

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Red Door Escape Room - Taken

We were out for dinner in the area and stopped by to see if any rooms were available since we had our red keys now, and we joined in on this one with a family who hadn't done a room before. This group was great for first timers - someone on their team took control of the walkie talkie and made this so much easier than it could have been otherwise. Also, they were definitely okay with trying multiple things until we got something right, instead of getting frustrated and giving up. I would have to say that they really made this room a positive and fun experience, and I'm glad we went with them.

Price:N/AUsed red key for free entry

Theme:★★★Since this was a repeat, this was exactly what was expected (once I recalled what it was).

Quality:★★★Well put together - when I compare to my review the first time I went, no finagling was needed, so I think they've made repairs on whatever that was.

Difficulty:★★★None of the puzzles were super hard, but there were several of them, and you do have to communicate well. We were fortunate that, even though we didn't know part of the group, every was good about sharing things.

Fun:★★★This was much less frustrating than last go around, although I did spend a bit of time just sitting there waiting for others.

With:6 peopleJudy, Meredith (with four others)

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰9:00

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Grapevine Escape - Wine Vault

I'm so glad we came out to this room - it was fun, and the owners are fantastic folks really dedicated to making sure you enjoy your time there. I am looking forward to trying the chapel room soon, and then wondering what else they will come up with in the future

Price:$$$26.99 per person

Theme:★★★★★This room really reflects where the room is located and one of the things Grapevine is known for. And as the you move through the room, you get a really good backstory (and if you really pay attention, there is a lot to find).

Quality:★★★This worked well when we were in the room, although there are some things that are a little tricky to do.

Difficulty:★★★This is a nice mix of things that make you think and physical activities that make up those games. Some of these looked awesome and were neat ideas.

Fun:★★★This was fun - the only thing that was missing was real wine to drink.

With:4 peopleList name of people here alpha order separated by commas.

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰15:40

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Exit Plan - Safe House

I am writing this a little retroactively, but one of the things about this one is I don't really remember liking or disliking it. I do remember that some of the puzzles were interesting, but many of the things in there we got through quickly because we'd seen it before. We even made it to the end fairly quickly, and would have been more so if you didn't have to put the same code into two different locks. And then we may not have blown up at the end if we'd made the right choice on the final puzzle (we had the answer but listened to something in the intro video instead).

Price:$$$29 per person

Theme:★★This was sparse - maybe that was realistic, but also it made (or should have made) figuring things out easier because there were few things to find, and some of those we were flat out told not to mess with.

Quality:★★★This was generally good, but the lighting was difficult for us, and there were whole parts a member of our group could not access.

Difficulty:★★★We made this harder as a group by not communicating well what was already done, and by thinking things from the welcome video were relevant in the solution of the room (they weren't, really - at least not the parts we remembered).

Fun:★★...Parts. Parts were fun. Other parts felt like a lot of searching and somewhat guessing what to do.

With:4 peopleBob, Evan, Judy, Linda

Outcome:☹Loss

Time Left:⏰Blew Up

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Perfect Escape - Wong's Chinese

This is a really nice room - you really feel like you are in a restaurant and the decorations are spot on. We were truly amazed when we first entered, and this feeling doesn't leave as you move through because there is such a great use of the theme, the decorations, and other items that would fit into a restaurant environment like this. We had multiple things that made us laugh, and some really nice uses of props in a unique way.

Price:$$$30 per person

Theme:★★★★★All you can say when you walk in is wow. That is all - just wow.

Quality:★★★There are some neat things in the room, and most work very well. Things we had issues with were more on us that the room, with the exception of there was an extra lock that got cut off halfway through our game.

Difficulty:★★★There is a lot going on, and a nice mix of things. We did a poor job looking around which caused some headaches, but the puzzles are perfect in quantity and difficulty, with one exception (later this was explained to us and makes more sense).

Fun:★★★★We had a good time (other than waiting for the lock to be removed). There are really some fun things in here that will make you laugh, and so surprising items/puzzles.

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith

Outcome:☺Win? (we lost track of the time with the pause, but did finish the room)

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Escape the Room - Agency

I really wanted to like this room, but I feel let down in a different way than with their heist room. While in the first experience the game master was a let down, our game master here was fantastic. The room itself was neat at the beginning, but without a coherent story and with progressively more confusing "theme", I really don't know what was going on here. We had a few fun puzzles (some we quite liked), but there were several that were frustrating and we spent more time that should be reasonable just staring, which was irritating. While we ultimately were successful, I was ready to leave long before we were done.

Price:$$$28 per person

Theme:★Parts of this were neat, but overall there is no real story told and we really have no idea how elements in the room went together at all.

Quality:★★★Things worked well, even if we had concerns on what exactly those things were.

Difficulty:★★★There is a decent mix, but some of the things that took us the longest were just puzzles that were designed to take a while to solve, and due to some waiting.

Fun:★★I had fun at the beginning, but towards the end it felt like work and I was ready to be done.

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰15:10

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North Texas Escape Rooms - Submerged

We had a last minute get together at the escape room with friends, and it was a good thing we did. We had a fun time going through the room, and the puzzles were fun and a wide variety. My only complaint is that, due to the size of the group, there are how parts of the room and whole puzzles I missed out on.

Price:$$$27 per person

Theme:★★★There are some neat ideas in here, and most things go well with the theme. I'm not sure all of these would be as they are in a real submarine, but they worked well for the experience.

Quality:★★★Things were pretty good - there are some that didn't open up or line up for us quite well, but after some patience we were successful.

Difficulty:★★★This was about perfect for our group - everyone was able to contribute.

Fun:★★★We had a fun time - our group really came together and we had a good time.

With:7 peopleAmy, Evan, Lesley, James, John, Judy, Tony

Outcome:☺Win

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Conundrum - Bella Notte

We loved this room from start to finish - it really is the perfect room for a date night. The lighting, the puzzles, the decor - everything looks great and drives a great and fun experience. While the puzzles were easier for us, we still had a really good time and enjoyed going through this one.

Price:$$$28 per person

Theme:★★★★This room is so cute! I love the decorations, the lighting, and how well every part of this room and every puzzle is centered around the theme and the story.

Quality:★★★★Well put together and some well put together props - neat use of everyday items and a good mix of ideas.

Difficulty:★★The puzzles were simple and fun to do - nice job putting this together.

Fun:★★★★This is a great room for us and we had a lot of fun doing the room as a couple.

With:2 peopleEvan, Judy

Outcome:☺Win

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Ultimate Escape Game - State Fair

We had a good time in this room - we both think this was a good move from the Dallas room. It kept the fun parts of that room and then really had a much more cohesive theme. To start off, you DEFINITELY need more than two people in here. There is so much content and so much to do that we never would have finished without all our clues at the end. If you want a room with a LOT going on, this is for you. On a second point, I like this room in place of the one it replaced. There are elements from that experience that come through, but the whole experience makes so much more sense and the "guess work" puzzle I hated is gone in this room. And, the touch of freshly popped popcorn at the end was a strong motivator.

Price:$$$28 per person

Theme:★★★★This theme is neat, and even more so the more you get through the experience. Where you end up is cram packed with fun puzzles and tons to look at and put together.

Quality:★★Overall, this was well done. However, we had something in the middle that completely didn't work, and our time had to be paused to reset the prop, and even that took a while. They were great about working with us to rectify, but be careful with things and you should be fine.

Difficulty:★★★SO MUCH TO DO. Again, way too much for the two of us alone. I think if we'd had two or three more with us, we would have needed much less help at the end.

Fun:★★★★Neat puzzles and a good mix of ideas and concepts. You cannot help but enjoy the decor and props to play with.

With:2 peopleEvan, Judy

Outcome:☺Win

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Escape Game Dallas - Playground

We were a bit mixed about this room and really what we were trying to accomplish, but we had fun accomplishing it. Mainly, we were thrown off by the name of the room from the start, but once we got past that and into the actual game, it was an okay and fun time. We definitely had to split up to get through, and there were some complicated puzzles to move through mixed in with some simpler ones.

Price:$$$$34.63 per person (had coupons)

Theme:★★When I first entered this room, I really didn't understand the name given to this room. It clears up slightly as you move through the game, but I was expecting something much different that I got here.

Quality:★★★Things were still in great shape, and everything worked (once we figured out what it was we were to do).

Difficulty:★★★This room has a mix of short successes and longer, more drawn out completion. There are so many directions to go, and there is always something to be working on.

Fun:★★★A little of a mixed review from the group, but this room has one of my favorite things to find in a room so I enjoyed that a lot and a few times.

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Meredith, Judy

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰N/A

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Red Door Escape Room Plano - Warrior's Way

This room looks so nice, and the decor and props and everything you encounter fits in very well with the theme and overall completion of the room. There isn't a lot of extra, but there also wasn't enough content for our group. We could have done this as a group of two and had a better time, but our group of six breezed through this room. We were proud to finish quickly, but also a little sad to not have more challenging things to keep us engaged in the room longer. I am glad that things in the room made a lot of sense, the flow was logical, and there were no leaps of logic required.

Price:$$$28 per person (had coupons)

Theme:★★★★★This room looks super nice, and the concept and design are well-implemented and contribute well to the story.

Quality:★★★★Things are in great shape and put together well, so players should get consistent game play over time.

Difficulty:★We finished the room VERY quickly. There weren't really enough puzzles, and those we did we way too easy for our group.

Fun:★★Parts were fun, but overall this was just so easy that it was mellow.

With:6 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith (with two others)

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰31:15

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Conundrum - Outbreak

We got to play out a mobile room setup in their conference room, and it was a good experience. The room itself was a nice, simple room that is great for larger groups, and there was plenty to keep us engaged. We did have a hard time logistically with a bit of the flow, but we chatted with the owners after and talked through those areas (which have been tweaked since). I love the idea and how involved the owners are in its success.

Price:$$10 per person

Theme:★★★This being a mobile room, it is hard to get a full feel of an environment, but things that were setup were neat and really felt nice.

Quality:★★★★This is neat and well done, but we were also one of the first groups to play and things were in great condition.

Difficulty:★★This was a quick and fairly easy group of puzzles for us. Some difficulty when it came to communicating with each other.

Fun:★★★I enjoyed the room and the group I played with.

With:5 peopleEllie, Fred, Jamie, Judy, Tony

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰N/A (30 minute room)

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Narrow Escape - Case #454

We made the drive down and got to spend a fun night in Granbury with escape rooms and dinner. This is definitely worth the trip from Dallas, and I'm glad we took them time to visit. The room had a great vibe and good decorations, and the way you interact with the props and decoration makes a great use of the space. Puzzles were paced well, and allowed everyone in our group of four to have things to work on the whole time.

Price:$$25 per person

Theme:★★★This room is cute, and there are some great details to the decor that were perfectly misdirecting.

Quality:★★★★Great job with how things were put together and used - some in surprising ways.

Difficulty:★★★A very good mix in here of things for each person in our group - some harder for me, some easier - the right blend of types and difficulties.

Fun:★★★★★I had such a blast here - things were used in really unique ways and it was fun to figure them out together and see them in action. I'm looking forward to making it out for other rooms.

With:4 peopleDan, Evan, Judy, Meredith

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰17:05

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North Texas Escape Rooms - Amnesia

This was a great room to start off 2018 with. Love the atmosphere of the building, and loved how well the room fit into its space. This was the perfect sized room for the three of us, and the puzzles and story were great for our skill sets.

Price:$$$27 per person

Theme:★★★I like the build-out in this room, and the use of the space to fit in with the theme.

Quality:★★Most of this was good, but there were at least two puzzles that we didn't work well. One we solved but it didn't do what it should have (helped arrived) and another worked when we are pretty sure we hadn't solved it yet.

Difficulty:★★★Great mix of puzzles - none too hard or too easy, and all perfect for our group.

Fun:★★★This was a fun room - the physical nature of some of the puzzles, and nature of the props - these came together well to make this enjoyable.

With:3 peopleEvan, Judy, Tony

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰19:07

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The Escape Hunt Experience Houston - Houston We Have a Problem

This was so much fun, and I'm looking forward to going back with a group I know and hoping for a better outcome. Our biggest downfall was around who was in charge of communicating, and that choice lost us so much time that there wasn't a chance of recovering. There was general confusion and lack of things we needed being shared with us. One of the other astronauts and I were lucky in that we both have unique skills that let us solve puzzles without using the information that should have been shared, but for other groups this would be a huge disadvantage. Just choose wisely and you should have better luck. But either way, you will have a fun time.

Price:$$$$38 per person

Theme:★★★★A lot of time went into making this the most realistic space travel room I've ever done - extremely detailed and very well put together.

Quality:★★★This was nicely done and things generally worked well. Towards the end, however, we did something wrong and got it so stuck there was no chance we'd move past it.

Difficulty:★★★★I don't think that any individual puzzle was particularly hard. Rather, the poor decision we made about communicating early in the room made our experience here painful.

Fun:★★★Super fun - I got to wear a space suit in the room and who doesn't want to do that?

With:12 peopleEvan, Judy (with 10 others)

Outcome:☹Win

Time Left:⏰N/A

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Escape IT Houston - Escape the Titanic

The lobby is fantastic - I loved getting to do mini-puzzles and such while we were waiting. For the room, I had such huge expectations going into this game after our experience with the Egyptian room before, and while this was fun and well done, I was a little sad. There was a good use of props for the most part, but some of the areas didn't quite meet what I'd expected heading in. We had fun doing the room and I'm glad we came out and we'll be back, but for this room in particular I felt a little let down only because I'd hyped it up in my head for so long.

Price:$$$30 per person

Theme:★★★This room looked great - overall definitely a good feel. Once I got past what I thought I was playing, I enjoyed the set.

Quality:★★★★★This is one of the better rooms I've done in terms of quality - everything is so well assembled and thought out that nothing stood out as wrong for quality.

Difficulty:★★★There is a great mix of puzzles from the easy to hard, and this is perfect for hubby and I going in. As usual, our downfall was missing the obvious.

Fun:★★★We had fun, and there was a lot of energy with the movement around the experience. I was never bored, and there was always something to keep me engaged.

With:2 peopleEvan, Judy

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰15:38

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Houston Panic Room - Cabin Fever Room

The game we played was a decent game, but most of the issues we had were more with the person running our room. He wasn't particularly welcoming, and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. This set a somewhat strange mood going into the room. Also, we had issues with getting clues on the puzzle we were on, instead of one we'd already finished, which makes it seem like they weren't paying attention.

Price:$$$25 per person

Theme:★The theme is well-defined, but I'm not sure it made the best of sense to our group. Let's offer that snow and snow plans are not things many Texans have a ton of experience with.

Quality:★★Things were pretty good, but we had some issues reaching or finding things.

Difficulty:★★★This wasn't too hard, but it included one of our least favorite types of puzzles, so that immediately made us slow down while we figured that out.

Fun:★★We had an okay time, but when we were done, we were ready to leave and not excited to do another like happens at other places.

With:5 peopleEvan, Judy, Justin, Pat, Robbie

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰13:22

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Alternate Reality Escape Rooms - Bunker 57

This room was a fun time away and definitely worth a stop in. We enjoyed the game masters we talked to, and the room was well put together and designed. We were immediately immersed into the environment, and the play on how materials were used was a unique way to physically interact with different puzzles. I wasn't prepared for some of the physicality, but everything added to the experience and made it feel more real, and we enjoyed the time here.

Price:$$$30 per person

Theme:★★★★I liked the idea, and I liked how you started out in this room. Things fit together well, and it felt like we were in a bunker for real from start to finish.

Quality:★★Things were pretty good, but there was a issue with part of the ceiling, and I was able to solve a puzzle much earlier than I should have been able to because of knowing a lot about how something is used outside of escape rooms. However, neither took away from the experience.

Difficulty:★★In terms of puzzles, nothing was too hard, but there was plenty of challenge. In terms of physical, be prepared for a bit of a workout.

Fun:★★★We had fun - I enjoyed the set and the transitions in the rooms from area to area.

With:2 peopleEvan, Judy

Outcome:☺Win

Time Left:⏰17:00

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