Brandon Chow
- Nov 9, 2021
- 3 min read

The Escape Game DC - "Dr. Whack's Elixir of Life"

Updated: Apr 28

LOCATION:  Georgetown, Washington, DC, USA

Photo above is property of The Escape Game

Photo above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: Dr. Whack's Elixir of Life
📅 DATE PLAYED: November 9, 2021
🎬 GENRE: Voodoo Magic
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 10 ppl (Recommend ages 13+)
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins
💰 PRICE: $34.99/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes

📖 THE STORY

Rumor has it, Dr. Whack discovered the secret of eternal life and it's being kept safely protected by her. As a 920 year old lady, she is very protective of her powerful elixir and has safeguarded it somewhere safely hidden in her voodoo magic shop! Can you and your team find and retrieve "Dr. Whack's Elixir of Life"?

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

The set design made us feel like we were at a circus and stumbled upon a voodoo magic shop filled with books, candles, potions, and yes... shrunken heads!
The room felt like it possessed some sort of magical power and just drew us right in when we saw the decor.
There's a good mixture of locks and tech in this room.
Since there's a lot of decor in this room, we appreciated that items were bolted down when they were not part of the game.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

Some props had to be replaced or repaired but we weren't notified before the game so one of the puzzles was quite confusing to solve utilizing a different piece of the puzzle that was a last minute replacement.
One puzzle felt confusing to us as we thought that it had to be done in a certain order or a certain time frame but it was due to the fact that the sensors were very sensitive so it wasn't staying on after the initial contact. This will probably need to be looked into.
The latter part of the room felt much mess decorated than the first. They just felt like puzzle boxes left in a bulk. This room could be better decorated or connected with the storyline
There's a cauldron photo in the room that we thought would become interactive at some point with perhaps a character from the story but was a bit disappointed that nothing happened.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

The Escape Game DC acquired the Escape Room Live (Georgetown) location along with their games. We played "A Pirate's Adventure" (previously titled "A Pirate's Curse") before the acquisition. The set design was always on par with the storyline but the puzzles and upkeep felt short with Escape Room Live. We hope that TEG can bring these games to their standards in the future. Although there's still some work needed to be done with this game, we still had a lot of excitement looking for that bottle of Elixir of Life!

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

There is street parking (metered) available in front of the facility on weekends (see note below) and in the surrounding area. Downloading the App might be easier. Because The Escape Game DC is located on a busy street in Georgetown, there's a paid parking garage 1-block away that we recommend. There's a huge lobby area with seating and games to entertain you while you wait (Connect Four, Jenga, etc.). The games are located downstairs (elevator available). Not all games are wheelchair accessible.

*Please note that parking is not permitted Monday through Friday along M Street and on the 1100-1600 blocks of Wisconsin Avenue, NW from 7 to 9:30 a.m. and 4 to 6:30 p.m due to rush hour.

Photos above are 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 The Escape Game DC for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.