Adventurebox Karlsruhe - "Time Unit 49°N"

Ryan Driver
5 days ago
3 min read

LOCATION:  Karlsruhe, Germany

Adventurebox Karlsruhe - "Time Unit 49°N"

Photo above is property of Adventurebox Karlsruhe

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Time Unit 49°N
📅 DATE PLAYED: June 28, 2025
🎬 GENRE: Sci-Fi
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 8/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-6 ppl
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: 90-159 €
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes (53:00)

📖 THE STORY

The Ministry of Inter-dimensional Security has detected bizarre power fluctuations emanating from a student flat at KIT, in Karlsruhe. You are elite specialists in paranormal phenomena, sent in to investigate.

Upon arrival, you uncover something astonishing — a sleek, futuristic door standing in the middle of the apartment. The student who built it has vanished without a trace, leaving behind cryptic notes and experimental equipment. Your mission: figure out what the door does and where it leads. Is it a prototype for time travel? A passage to a parallel universe? Or something even stranger?

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

We were impressed with all the games offered by Adventure Box, but Time Unit was by far our favourite; an excellent finale to our visit to Karlsruhe. The room delivers a well-rounded and consistently strong experience, excelling in set design, immersive storytelling, cooperative gameplay, and creative, thematic puzzles.
Starting with the storyline, what stood out most was the evolving narrative. The game begins with the strongest video introduction across all of Adventure Box’s rooms, offering clear context and setting the stage for a compelling sci-fi mystery. Once inside, the story continues to unfold organically. You're not just reactivating a time machine; you're unravelling a tale of a missing student and her disappearance across time and space. As the story progresses, a major twist adds a thrilling layer, keeping us engaged right to the end. For us, everything — from story beats to puzzle integration — worked in harmony to create a captivating journey.
The set design was a standout highlight. The space was larger than expected and impressively constructed. Just when we thought we had seen everything, the game continued to surprise us with more hidden areas and unexpected transitions. The attention to detail was superb; items replicated seamlessly across timelines showed real commitment to thematic consistency. After the game, we had a chance to chat with the gamemaster, who shared how the room has evolved over time and even teased upcoming enhancements, including the integration of AI into the narrative and puzzle design, a sign of continued innovation.
The puzzles were the third pillar of this room’s success. Much of the gameplay is non-linear, requiring players to complete several tasks to get the time machine back online. This setup allowed for broad collaboration and exploration, especially important in a room with such generous space. Once we made it into the future timeline, the puzzles became less intuitive, but intentionally so, pushing us to think more laterally and communicate closely. This shift from hands-on to mental problem-solving added variety and helped reinforce the escalating tension and stakes of the story. We particularly appreciated how these puzzles felt like a natural continuation of the narrative, rather than interruptions.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Nothing. This is a top-class escape room experience from start to finish.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

Absolutely. Out of the 15 rooms we played during this regional escape room trip, Time Unit was arguably our favourite. It’s a game best suited to experienced players, thanks to its size, complexity, and narrative depth. A group of 2–4 players is ideal, although we were happy to have played as a duo, it meant being directly involved in every puzzle, rather than splitting up as might happen in larger groups due to the room’s nonlinear structure.

Play this game. If you're in or near Karlsruhe and looking for a top-tier, story-driven escape room that balances action, emotion, and brainpower—this is the one.

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

Parking is not available on site. However, street parking is available on the residential streets surrounding the escape room.
There is a lobby area with comfortable seating and drinks for sale

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

BOOK NOW

(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 Adventurebox Karlsruhe for providing us with a media discount for this game. Although a media discount was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.