Escape Room Review - Escapology!

Hello again, Guys and Gals!

Last night I just did my first escape room in Vegas at this awesome place called Escapology!

But, first things first.

What is an Escape Room?

Basically, you get locked in a room for an hour and you have to solve a series of puzzles and riddles to get the final code to get out of the room. And for those of you that checked out when you saw the words "locked in a room", because being locked in a room sounds anxiety-inducing instead of fun, don't worry. You aren't for real locked in. They have to pay for insurance and stuff. And I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure insurance companies wouldn't be down with having actual captives.

Also, for those of you that are like, "Uh. Puzzles and riddles? Nah. I can't do puzzles and riddles." You can. And the cool thing about most of the places I've been to, including Escapology, they have rooms that fit all skill levels.

If it helps at all, in any room I've ever done, they will usually give you some hints. Full warning though, while some rooms give them to you for free (Escapology gave us up to 3 for free), some will give them to you for doing a silly task. You may have to dance for a hint so it could depend on how much you really want it.

And I'll tell you, even if you don't make it out, you'll likely have some pretty cool feelings of accomplishment. Every time a lock opens you're like "YASSSSS!!" It's totally a rush. And full disclosure, there are plenty of rooms I did not escape from. Some of them are hard, people!

I had a friend that I made go with me to a scary-ish one. Mostly, so I could force her to look in the weird places I didn't want to look in. She had massive anxiety about "not being smart enough". Psshhhh to all of that and any of you with those same worries. She totally rocked it and you will, too!

Enough of my pseudo pep talk.

Let's Talk About Escapology!

This place was pretty darn cool. It turns out I'm a sucker for décor, because I was super into the vibe as soon as I saw their waiting room.

Isn't it all warm and inviting? It's got this, kind of steam punk feel. There are maps and cool knick-knacks all over. I'm really feeling the furniture, too. It makes me think of some cool adventures study. Like, Indiana Jones or Nathan Drake studies cool artifacts here.

And if you go the bathroom beforehand, there are cool brain teasers in there!

Really though. Go to the bathroom beforehand. You don't want to have a timer counting down and you need a potty break.

There is also a really cool mural complete with a bunch of Houdini stuff. Get it?? He's an escape artist. I'm so into this place you guys!

The room we did here was called Budapest Express. I am not going to talk TOO much about the room, because it would be really lame to give any of the puzzles away. This was definitely one of the better rooms I've done though.

You're detectives on a train and there has been a murder! Which, I think, having a bunch of detectives on board is super convenient for the train staff, however, not so convenient for the person who was murdered. Unless, ya know, we used our detective super powers to stop the crime before it even started. Then, I guess, just have a drink on the train and wait for our stop?

Erm. Anyway... You and your group of detectives have been enlisted to help solve the case before the train reaches its stop in an hour and the murderer gets away free.

That's the super paraphrased version, you get a whole cool introduction video to get you into it before the game starts.

This was one of the better rooms I've seen as far as theme. The puzzles stayed in theme and the whole room was just super cool looking. There were even screens with windows on it so you felt like you could see the outside world passing by you as you searched for clues.

I would definitely recommend this room to both anyone starting out and experienced players. It was just a blast!

So? Did you Escape?

Uhhh, hell yeah we did!

Okay. We needed two hints, but there is no shame in that! We made it out and the murder was solved. Justice was served. Bad guy was apprehended. Another job well done. Any other cliché phrases you can think of to throw in there.

Also, just for playing the room, you get a super cool wrist band with the room name on it!

This is the first place I played where we got a wrist band after, so I thought that was really neat. Annnnnnnd, you know I'm going to have to collect them all now. Thanks Escapology for tapping into the completist in me.

So, get out your fedoras and magnifying glasses! We have some clues to solve!

Let me hear some of your favorite escape room experiences. =)