Jillian Raymond
Jul 15, 20223 min
Updated: Apr 28
Photo above is property of Lockbox Escape Room
Company: Lockbox Escape Room
Games: Principal's Office
Country: USA 🇺🇸
Language: English
Type of Game: Digital Game w/ Live Host 💁💁
Genre: Challenge, School
Date Played: June 17, 2022
Difficulty (based on 4 players): 3.5/10
Size of Team: Unlimited
Time: 60 Minutes
Price: $54.99 (2 Players or less), $79.99 (3-4 Players, $99.99 (5-10 Players), $199.99 (11-15 Players), $349.99 (16-25 Players), $499.99 (26-50 Players), $999.99 (51-100 Players)
You know you’re not supposed to have your phone out in class but, once again, you have been caught by your teacher and this was the final straw. Sitting in the principal’s office you fear you are about to be suspended, but the principal has an alternative for you and as a fellow lover of puzzles you are intrigued with the offer. If you can escape the principal’s office within an hour by following the clues, you will be let go scot- free… there’s no time to lose!
Video above is property of Lockbox Escape Room
"Principal’s Office" is based on an in-person escape room by Lockbox Escape Room that has been converted into a point-n-click game offered on the Unity platform. Upon booking the game, you will receive a link to a zoom call. At your scheduled date and time, log into the zoom call where you will be greeted with a game master who will then give a short briefing on how the game works, before giving us all a link to the Unity platform. One of your players will be told to share their screen so that the GM can keep track of progress, while everyone else is free to explore the game on their own. This means every player must input their own codes and solve the puzzles on their screens in order to move forward. This game uses 360-degree views of a physical escape room for you to explore the principal’s office and I found this style of game was much easier for my computer to run on the Unity engine compared to their other digital point-n-click games. In the room you will see multiple "I" icons, which you can explore further for clues and to see locked items and what they require to be opened, such as a 5-letter word or 3-digit number. I also liked that in the top left corner of the game screen you have a puzzle counter that tells you how many puzzles you have left, which helped keep our group on track.
Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
The puzzles were all on the easier side as this game is tailored towards a younger audience, which means I feel confident in saying younger players will find this a medium level challenge. Our team of four players completed the game in 18 minutes without any hints! The style of puzzles included tracking, pattern observation, ciphers, logic, and more which provided ample variety for players to dive into. My one piece of advice is to encourage players to keep other members in the loop as you solve because groups can easily get lost or fall behind if you aren’t openly communicating. Play to your puzzle strengths and don’t be afraid to ask for help!
The puzzles in "Principal’s Office" are traditional in nature and an excellent gateway into the escape room world for new players wanting to try in the comfort of their home. Also, for anyone who runs into technical issues, there will be a game master who will be there for the entire game as it is a hosted game, even though the gameplay is in digital format.
"Principal’s Office" is a classic puzzle adventure that lends itself to providing the perfect level of challenge and engagement for younger audiences new to the escape room world. More experienced players may see this as easier and expensive for the amount of time you get out of it but I would say the target audience is for new players looking to host an event, in particular. children’s events as the theme and puzzles provide a smooth well-structured format for young players to connect with. If you are looking for a bit more of a challenge, check out some of the other Lockbox Escape Games such as "Order of Illusionists" or "Vampire Hunters"!
Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of these game:
Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
Disclosure: We thank Lockbox Escape Room for comping our tickets for this game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.