LOCATION: Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Escape the Count's Castle 📅 DATE PLAYED: July 4, 2019 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 8 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $30.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Public 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers We are very excited to make Egress our very first ever Maryland escape room that we are visiting as they just recently opened. This mom and daughter team escape room venture is super cute! They are located right in between the town of Lutherville and Timonium. The entrance is in the back of a building with plenty of parking available. Once you enter the building, you would turn right and go down to the basement (you won’t be lost, just follow the ravens). There’s a good amount of space downstairs as they have a comfy lobby area and a large party room. They also have some space to build another room once they are more settled with the ones they’ve just completed. They currently have two rooms available and we are trying both of them today starting with the "Escape the Count's Castle" room. Considering this is all build in-house, we really liked their choice of theme related props. We did feel like this is a more basic design for more beginner escapees. There isn't that much high tech involved but the puzzles were pretty clear to follow. There were a few pieces of puzzles that we felt could be eventually utilized but is not fully at its potential right now. This is definitely a great room to build your escape confidence as I would think most groups would be able to escape the evil Count Vlad’s great room before he returns. Our suggestion would be to make some “wow” moments in the rooms and perhaps add in some more puzzles just to make the room a bit more challenging.  It would be great to see this room running at its full potential. If you can play both games here, take note that the creative mind behind the "Escape the Count's Castle" room was by the mom and the “Dream Within a Dream" room was by the daughter. See if you can tell some of the differences at the end? We would love to hear your comments below! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers * UPDATE - We regret to inform that "Egress" has closed. Disclosure: We thank Egress for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #Egress #Mystery #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Dream Within A Dream 📅 DATE PLAYED: July 4, 2019 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 7/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 6 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $30.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Public 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Read our review of “Escape the Count's Castle" at Egress for more information about this escape location. We were eager to play “Dream Within a Dream" as the room is inspired by the great writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe. You can also find the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, MD. We love to play an escape room that’s build on its local history as that’s a great original idea. As we enter Poe’s home, we felt immersed by his life stories. The “clues” were left as diaries and the design and props used were very much in line with the early 1900's. There was one prop in particular that young people these days are probably lost on how to operate it. Since I had Agent #1 with me, it wasn’t hard to figure that one out (JK, he’s not that old). This room definitely had more tech use than the previous room, but it didn't stray too far from the storyline. We really enjoyed the puzzles as well since we got to learn a good amount of history about Poe through them. Did you know Poe had many women in his life? I guess you had to be a romantic in order to write all those great poems. Some minor suggestions we would give is probably a bit more puzzles with level of difficulty if you want the play time in the room to be closer to that “few seconds left” excitement. We escaped with two people with a good amount of time left on the clock. If they can alter the difficulty of the room to make it easier for novices or more challenging for enthusiasts that would be pretty awesome. If you enjoy some learning while solving a mystery, you’ve found the right room. This type of creativity and originality is something we push in escape room designs all the time. As great as a pirate-themed room could be, how different can you make yours from another similar themed room? What kind of original themed rooms have you done before that you can recommend? What about what original theme room would you like to see escape room owners create in the future? We would love to hear your thoughts and comments below! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers * UPDATE - We regret to inform that "Egress" has closed. Disclosure: We thank Egress for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #Mystery #Egress #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Pasadena, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of Escape Proving Ground 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Mystery of the Holy Grail 📅 DATE PLAYED: July 4, 2019 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6.5/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $27.99/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Public 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Escape Proving Ground is a fairly new escape room location as It’s only been operational for about a year. It’s located in a complex with plenty of parking in the front. The lobby is very spacious and nicely maintained. They have quite a collection of different types of clocks as décor on their wall. As soon as we entered, the owner greeted us and gave us a tour of the place before we began our game. He builds all his games in-house and we were surprised that he already has three games up and running - "Mystery of the Holy Grail", "Velociraptor Escape", "Pasadena Wizarding Academy", and one in the works - "D.I.C.E."! The game we are tackling today is the "Mystery of the Holy Grail". The storyline brings us down to Solomon’s temple to search for the Holy Grail as it’s supposedly buried here within the knight’s tomb. We, as Dr. Bone’s grandchildren also must find out what happened to him as he went missing following this trail. When we first entered the room, we enjoyed the ambience of the lights and the nice touch of the cobwebs. At first, I didn’t know if I can actually pull on them as they looked like part of the decor, but the owner instructed us to search away. We did notice a few furniture and props that may not have fit in with the theme of the set design, but the owner has informed us that he was going to change them out very soon. Most of the props were on point with the ancient temple theme. We appreciated a few clever ways that he was able to utilize the tools to create different types of puzzles. However, there were a few puzzles that was a bit confusing with the clue. There are a few red herrings in the room which normally we really resent but these were quickly discovered by us and we didn't waste too much time on them. I’m not sure how a beginner player would do on the red herrings, but it would be great if some new puzzles could replace them since red herrings are always a moot point when it comes to escape rooms. We prefer real puzzles as it always brings joy when solved. Speaking of endings, you’ll find this one quite surprising as even if you did solve all the puzzles, you may still lose at the end. But if you pay attention to detail, you should get out with no issues. With the two of us, we had a good amount of time remaining and completed the mission and escaped w/ the Holy Grail! If we had the chance, we really would want to go back and try his "Velociraptor Escape" room. It looks amazing with the set design and the “surprise” within. The concept behind his "D.I.C.E." room also sounds intriguing where two teams must play against each other and strategize to win. We see great things coming from Escape Proving Ground in the near future. Make sure you check out our exclusive video tour of their location and pick out your favorite room(s) to escape away! 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 Escape Proving Ground for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #EscapeProvingGround #Mystery #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Rosedale, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: The Elevator 📅 DATE PLAYED: July 4, 2019 🎬 GENRE: Thriller 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 6 ppl): 8.5/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 8 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 45 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $30.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Read our review of “The Lobby" room to find out more about Escape It Baltimore. We are excited to try their second most challenging room, “The Elevator”. Another reason why this could be considered challenging is because this is a 45-minute room. We rarely do 45-minute rooms as it’s quite difficult with just the two of us as is in a 60-minute room but today we have “The Fantastic 6” and after beating their hardest room, we are ready for the challenge. This is the first elevator themed escape room we’ve ever played so we’re excited to see how it’s designed, and boy did they deliver! Right away we felt like we were on a Universal Studio ride. The sound, motion, lighting all felt very real. We were trapped in an elevator and there’s nowhere to escape! Other than a few puzzles that we felt like it didn’t really relate to the theme, others fit perfectly into the storyline. This room had a great mixture of puzzle solving and physical elements. It definitely required a lot of teamwork. We felt the level of difficulty for this room was higher than the previous. There was one particular puzzle later on that was quite difficult for my height, so it was advantageous to have some tall people in our group. Because of the size of the room, we think 6 is an ideal number. It may feel a bit tight with 8 at a later part of the game. We escaped with minutes to spare. Also, when certain puzzles were being solved, only two people can essentially do it, so the others became cheerleaders. Us girls didn’t mind it at all as it was more fun watching the boys’ agonizing faces. If you have a phobia of elevators, we recommend you trying this room to overcome that fear. If you want to gain some upper muscle strength, this is also the room to train in. Most of all, if you want an immersive experience with your team, this is where you want to take them. We can’t wait to see what other new rooms Escape It Baltimore has up their sleeves! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers ** UPDATE - We regret to inform you that "Escape It" has closed its doors. Disclosure: We thank Escape It for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #Escap

LOCATION: Rosedale, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: The Lobby 📅 DATE PLAYED: July 4, 2019 🎬 GENRE: Thriller 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 6 ppl): 7.5/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $35.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Escape It Baltimore was our third stop in Maryland. This owner has families that also own escape rooms in other States. They are true escape room enthusiasts at creating these interactive immersive experiences. This location has plenty of parking available in the front. The lobby is spacious, but the waiting area is actually in the back. There’s plenty of lockers for you to lock up your personal belongings as you won't be needing them. The waiting area is set up like a conference room with a screen which they use for debriefing. Our initial thought was it’s a bit too office-like. Perhaps to create a more immersive feel, they should change the décor. However, you will find Mr. Wolf himself there so make sure to have your camera ready! The debriefing (in our opinion) was a bit long. It would be great if they can limit the story telling into one video (although the actors were entertaining to watch).  The location currently has three rooms and they are all intertwined as a story with Mr. Wolf playing the main character. However, you do not need prior knowledge to play the rooms separately. When the owner told us “The Lobby” was their hardest room I knew we had to call for back up. My sister and her friends were in the area, so we quickly assembled “The Fantastic 6”. Our mission was to locate Mr. Wolf’s next victim, free her from her restraints, save her life and escape before Mr. Wolf returns. As we got sent into what looked like a receptionist area next to the elevator, things started to become unnerving. The room definitely had an eerie feeling to it. My sister is even more of a scaredy-cat than I am. The “no reason” jumpiness and screaming from her didn’t help with my focus on the puzzles at all. Although, I do admit there were a few moments of actual reasons to be jumpy a bit later on, but her reactions intensified the whole experience (she literally thought Mr. Wolf will come in at any minute and snatch her away!). The puzzle flow was smooth at first, but we did experience some “huh” moments at the later stages on why the answer was a certain way. The room décor could be refurbished a bit as some puzzles felt worn. Overall it was a fun room with some “surprising” elements. With some updating it can definitely improve its potential. We can’t wait to try their next room - “The Elevator”! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers ** UPDATE - We regret to inform you that "Escape It" has closed its doors. Disclosure: We thank Escape It for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #Thriller #EscapeIt #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Bethesda, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of Escape Quest 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Expedition Unknown 📅 DATE PLAYED: February 27, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Detective 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 1-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 50 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $26.99 - $39.99/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers We have visited Escape Quest before at their original location in Alexandria, Virginia and have tried two of their games - "The Black Widow" and "The Lost Temple". This is our first time visiting their brand new location - Escape Quest DC in Bethesda, Maryland. Timing-wise, we were very lucky since they had just opened and we were to be one of the first ones to try their new room “Expedition Unknown”. The Bethesda, MD location has a public parking lot right behind their location and it’s free during the weekends. You can walk through the parking lot to reach their location on the other side of the street. As we enter the lobby, the décor and the waiting area was very elegantly designed (similar to their Alexandria, VA location). They will have a fully functional bar up and running soon and it's a great space to mingle with your fellow escapees before or after the games. They do plan to have 5 games at this location but currently the two that are running are “Expedition Unknown” and “The Black Widow” (which they have at their VA location as well). We were eager to start the adventure the famous explorer Dr. Silas Webb had planned for us. As we arrived in Paris at the meeting point with Dr. Silas, we felt transported into his journey instantly. The set design, lighting, and music in the room was amazing as we felt like the room had many hidden secrets just waiting to be discovered. The puzzles were clean and easy to follow. All the props used were clearly associated with the story line and we had a lot of fun discovering new "wow" moments!! There were a few minor puzzles that didn’t have hints on the order sequence, but it wasn’t something that hindered our gameplay. It is definitely doable with two people as we got out with plenty of time to spare. It would still be fun to do with a large group as well since some puzzles are not linear and it’s quite spacious in terms of the room size. We really enjoyed the ending, but was hoping for maybe one more puzzle to satisfy our discovery! In conclusion, this was a very well-done room and we highly recommend players of all levels to try it. We all have that explorer inside of us, so its time to let your imagination run wild! We can’t wait to return to try some of their other new games (“Wanted: Dead or Alive” ,  “Skull Island” and “The Queen’s Revenge”)! 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 Escape Quest for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #CiciCao #IRLescaperoom #EscapeRooms #EscapeQuest #Adventure #Exploration #Virginia #USA

LOCATION: Arundel Mills, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of Mission Escape Rooms Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Last Showing 📅 DATE PLAYED: February 27,, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 1-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 50 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $26.99 - $39.99/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes 📖 THE STORY Oswaldo Pickens, an independent filmmaker and owner of the Saligia Film House has been reported missing. Mr. Pickens spent most of his time traveling the world collecting obscure films to display in his theatre, Due to his absence, the Saligia Film House has been abandoned and there have been reports of unexplained phenomena. Every Friday night, a peculiar film will start playing inside at the stroke of midnight. There is an urban legend that during Mr. Pickens last trip, he obtained a "cursed" film which could explain his disappearance and recent supernatural activity. Oswald fiancée has contacted you in hopes that you might be able to break in and find out the truth about what happened to him – or at least to retrieve the film and end this curse. Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE The minute we stepped inside we were ready to order our drinks & popcorn at the concession stand and head to our seats in the movie theater! The set design had an eerie 80's ambience filled with a variety of nostalgic films. We definitely got the feeling of being inside an abandoned theatre. The puzzle designs all pertained to the movie industry with a clever usage of movie theatre props to decipher. There was a good mixture inside this room from the abandoned traditional lock experience to the secret tech reveals. With a really cool set design and creative puzzles to accommodate, the storyline has got to be extremely unique. We felt that the backstory for "Last Showing" had a mysterious intrigue to it and like most peculiar scenarios we wanted to unravel the mystery! One particular prop in the latter part of the game was implemented really well to give us that "surprising" ending. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK Some parts of the room felt like it needed some up-keeping. The gamemaster informed us at the beginning of the game that wires shouldn't be touched but we didn't expect to find some open ended ones under the tables/in cabinets. Being that this is a mall location, there's a lot of traffic and noise throughout the day. We were able to hear outside noise while playing this game which could took away from the immersion. An easy fix might be to raise the ambient music to drown the surrounding noise out. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? Throughout all the escape rooms that we've played, it's rare to come across a movie theater-themed one. The last similar themed escape room that we played was Codeword Escape's "Movie Theater Mayhem". So choosing the "Last Showing" was a no-brainer for us especially when there's something supernatural involved! Although we wouldn't classify this room as horror-themed, there is no guarantee that you won't let out a little squeal at the end 😝. 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 Mission Escape Rooms for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #BrandonChow #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #MissionEscapeRooms #Mystery #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Annapolis, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of Mission Escape Rooms Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Once Upon A Crime 📅 DATE PLAYED: February 27,, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Detective 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 5/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 1-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 50 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $26.99 - $39.99/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes 📖 THE STORY You and your team are part of an an elite squad known as F.A.B.L.E. (The Office of Fairytale Assistance Business & Law Enforcement). You have sworn to serve and protect all those residing across the Fairytale Realm and lately, there has been an increase of criminal activities. Luckily, one of your fellow agents managed to sent you a coded message that could help you crack this case! Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE This room was the perfect combination of two of the themes Cici loves the most - "fairytale" and "detective (CSI type)"! We loved the fairytale crime scene that we walked into as soon as we entered the room! There was evidence marking numbers everywhere and suspect sheets. The storyline was fun and creative allowing us to play a role in this magical realm while investigate popular fairytale characters. The neon lights added a fantasy-cosmic look to the set design. There was a good amount of props used throughout the game to further enhance the experience. The utilization of props to tell the stories of each fairytale character played right into the narrative. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK Towards the end, we managed to solve something out of order which prevented us from getting the full ending effect. Because of this, the gamemasters didn't know that we finished and we were confused as well. (3/11/2021 Update from the company: This issue has been fixed) A few clue pieces were hard to see and needed to be updated. (3/11/2021 Update from the company: This issue has been fixed) We appreciated the added props to enhance the narrative, but this room felt like it had a bit more than normal. A lot of the clues could've been utilized to make cool puzzles but ended up being either a red herring or strictly for décor. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? Disney-themed games are always popular and light-hearted. But when you add a little mystery "whodunnit" objective to the mix, it opens the door for detective/ crime-solving fans as well. This room is great for a variety of players whether friends and family or even just a date night out. How often do you get to play detective in a mystical fairytale where the fate of their realm lies on your shoulders? 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 Mission Escape Rooms for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #BrandonChow #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #Detective #MissionEscapeRooms #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Annapolis, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of EscapeTime Escape Rooms 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Secret Society 📅 DATE PLAYED: February 27,, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 8/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $29.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes 📖 THE STORY You and your team have been sent by the government to investigate Dr. Mad's Laboratory. Upon his research into the mind, he developed a serum that resulted in his own insanity. He has orchestrated a sinister game for you to retrieve the serum safe guarded by a bomb. Can you locate the serum and escape in time before it's too late? Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE The set design for "Dr. Mad's Laboratory" definitely had a mad scientist vibe to it. From the neon colors & black lights to the stainless steel tables, we felt like we entered onto the set of CSI. There was a good amount of searching and puzzles to solve in this room so do not waste any time. Most of the puzzles correlated with the storyline and the props were used creatively. There was a good mixture of intellectual and physical puzzles inside of this room. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK Because this room is designed to give off a "crazy mad scientist" look, it had mostly neon lights inside of a dark lit room. We understand the importance of setting the tone and not ruining the experience. However, it would've been helpful to discover something to provide more lighting at some point especially since there's a lot of searching involved and the required usage of a tool to examine really small items. This was more of an unnecessary obstacle as opposed to a puzzling challenge. Another concern regarding the neon & black lights is that some puzzles involving colors was a bit difficult to determine due to the alteration. We had a hard time confirming if something was red or orange and dark blue or purple. Some outside knowledge was needed for one of the puzzles. Although there was some referencing available in the room, it wasn't accurate enough to make the connection. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? This room had a good mixture of traditional, technical, and physical puzzles. Because there's a good amount of searching inside of this room, we recommend a group of 3-4 players. This way, everyone has something that they can do to contribute. You will also need a lot of patience and good eyesight for this room. It's going to be quite difficult for the GM to hint one of the puzzles due to it's design so this could be your determining factor on if you'll survive the mad scientist or be trapped in his lab forever... 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 EscapeTime Escape Rooms for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #BrandonChow #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #EscapeTime #Thriller #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Annapolis, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of EscapeTime Escape Rooms 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Secret Society 📅 DATE PLAYED: February 27,, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 8/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $29.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes 📖 THE STORY The year is 1776, and there's talks of a secret society organizing a plan to take over the world. There's an initiation requirement. In order for you and your group to join, you must solve all of their puzzles! Do you have what it takes? Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE For the most part, the set design had a secret society ritualistic ambience which made us feel like we stepped foot onto the set of "The Skulls". As soon as you enter, you are presented with a spacious dimly-lit room draped with dark red walls and gold accents. From the flickering candles on the chandelier to the wall fixtures all around the room, we were prepared to test our wits! The storyline was unique in a sense that our mission wasn't to stop something or someone, but to prove ourselves worthy enough to be apart of it. In doing so, the objective was clear and most of the puzzles went along great with the game. Some of the things that you needed to find were cleverly hidden and required a unique way of solving them in order to unlock the next task. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK As mentioned before, "The Secret Society" is mainly played in a dim-lit room w/ flickering candles in the chandelier above. Additional lighting options would've helped get through a lot of the puzzles. We understand that this game takes place in the year 1776, but usable props could've easily been added like candles and lanterns. There's a fine line between props for set décor and red herrings. If you have props that are able to be lifted and examined with clearly no use for it that's fine. But when you purposely have props with writings on them which can be misleading based on other puzzles you have in the room, those are red herrings. This took away from the actual puzzles in the room and wasted precious time from the players from what they really came to do - solve actual puzzles. There were a couple of puzzles that we were struggling on and it was quite obvious on camera. When finally asking for a hint, our game master told us a hint that was for puzzles we've already solved. Not only that, it was marked as a "hint used" for us. Whether you're a competitive player or not, it's frustrating that we had to ask about something only to confirm that it's already been solved. Also, a nudge in the right direction would be helpful unless the player's specifically requested "not" to be nudged. One of the items didn't work and the gamemaster had to come in and give us what was inside. In doing so, we thought that was all that was inside since it was handed to us by her and we missed another item that was still inside the object. This hindered our progress of moving forward with the game and no nudging hints were given after we still continued to search the room for items. There's a tech item in the room that felt out of place for the year 1776. There should be another way of inputting passwords to go along the theme of the room. It was also a bit hard to use considered it's limited functionalities and how we had to reference it numerous times for certain "inputs" and "outputs". 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? There is definitely a lot of secrecy in this room that you will feel the need to research in order to prove yourself. If you enjoy digging into the history of secret societies and finding out the various ties between them, you might just have what it takes for them to make you their next member! Photos above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers *** We regret to inform this game is no longer available for booking but check out other games on their website*** (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 EscapeTime Escape Rooms for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #BrandonChow #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #EscapeTime #Mystery #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Severna Park, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of EscapeTime Escape Rooms Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: GHOST SHIP 📅 DATE PLAYED: February 27,, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Pirate 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $29.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes 📖 THE STORY It's 1703, you and your fellow shipmates have been enlisted by Captain Van Der Decken to embark on a journey to find the cursed Flying Dutchman! As you venture off into the depths of the sea, your mission is to lift the curse by finding the contract and freeing the souls aboard that ship! Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE "GHOST SHIP" is one of EscapeTime's newer games at their Severna Park location. We've played so many pirate-themed escape rooms that sometimes the storyline seems a bit repetitive. This one, however, had a unique objective which provided more of a quest-type of adventure! Onboard a ship en route to find a cursed ghost ship to free the souls sounds like an epic tale that we got to feel apart of. The set décor is what you would expect from a pirate ship. We enjoyed the music that went along with the theme and the deck even made creaking noises. They also did a good job with building a few clever spaces for hidden items. All of the puzzle challenges in this game correlated w/ the storyline and helped navigate you to reach your goal. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK Although, the setting is onboard a pirate ship under the night sky, there could've been more options for light since the majority of the game was in a dimly-lit atmosphere. Candle sticks and lanterns would've sufficed for searching and analyzing items that we've found. We didn't get too much a "ghost" vibe with this game. There was a few skulls as props but perhaps a bit more sound effect could help with the eeriness. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? Out of the 3 games that we played from EscapeTime Escape Rooms, this was our favorite. Pirate-themed games are always fun but that's not the reason why. It's because overall, everything made sense to us and there was a consistent game flow! The storyline went with the decor and the decor went with the puzzles. 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 EscapeTime Escape Rooms for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #BrandonChow #IRLEscapeRooms #EscapeRooms #EscapeTime #Piratess #Supernatural #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Frederick, Maryland, USA Photo above is property of Surelocked In Escape Games Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Tyrannosolveus Rex 📅 DATE PLAYED: November 8, 2021 🎬 GENRE: Adventure 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 6/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: Up to 8 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $32.00/ pp ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes 📖 THE STORY There's been a break-in at the Research Station and someone has stolen a nest's worth of dinosaur eggs!! You and your team need to search and recover them before the mother returns and discovers them missing!! Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE There's nothing more exciting (and frightening) than to know that there's a mother T-Rex lurking in the jungle nearby. Especially, when your mission is to return her stolen eggs before she finds out! The storyline for "Tyrannosolveus Rex" is more mission objective-based as opposed to a typical escape. It definitely has a Jurassic Park vibe to it. The game master Chris made us feel like we were about to enter into a jungle adventure! Don't believe us? Check out the above YouTube video and hear his entertaining intro yourself. The set design was fun and definitely interactive for kids and adults. It felt like a excavation site where you can examine dinosaur bones in the sand, read about historical rocks and more! Most of the puzzles were created based on the surroundings and what you would typically find in that setting. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK Counting and searching puzzles were used a few times in this room and felt a bit repetitive. It's quite difficult to confirm which number is incorrect when there's a good amount of searching involved with various items. So take a hint if you have to. One of the mechanisms for a maze was a bit difficult to maneuver (The owner was made aware of the issue and plans to fix it). It also required a team member to be in a enclosed space for sometime. This room also requires some "crawling" which at times could be quite tiresome as you'll need to go back and forth and there's no way to bypass it. It might be advantageous to bring kids with you! 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? When you're greeted by your game master in full on character mode, it always enhances the experience. Setting the tone for any escape room game is always important as it allows the players to prepare themselves for what they're about to walk into. "Tyrannosolveus Rex" starts off with an intro from your game master/ tour guide where you'll be fully debriefed on why you've been brought in. When visiting Surelocked In Escape Games, prepare yourself for a show and not just escape rooms! *Please note, the difficulty level is customizable where Surelocked In offers a kid-friendly version of "Tyrannosolveus Rex" called "Dinosolveus". Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO There is street parking available (pay meter with app). After certain times, the street parking could be free so do check the signs. Lobby area with seating. Elevator access. Lockers available. * NOTE: There is some crawling and squeezing into tight spaces involved. Dark room for the beginning parts of the game. 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 Surelocked In Escape Games for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #BrandonChow #IRLescaperoom #EscapeRooms #Adventure #Dinosuars #JurassicPark #SurelockedInEscapeGames #Maryland #USA

LOCATION: Marietta, Georgia, USA Photo above is property of Project: Escape Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Planet Express 📅 DATE PLAYED: January 22, 2022 🎬 GENRE: Sci-Fi 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 7/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-8 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $28.99/ pp (Min. 3 ppl) ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes [54:09] 📖 THE STORY Sometime in the near future, an alien spaceship is shot down to earth. You are a part of a government agency that performed the act. Your team is sent to investigate and recover anything of use onboard this mysterious craft. Shortly after boarding, you find out that this unknown craft was here to prevent a disaster approaching earth. It is up to your team in sixty minutes to find and retrieve the information needed to prevent the earth’s destruction. Can you do it? 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE The puzzle design in this game was solid. Each puzzle was logically intuitive and very rarely did our team get stuck trying to figure out the next task in the room. There are a lot of puzzles in this room as well, your team needs to work together and efficiently in order to escape in time. The set and scenery was a lot of fun to look at! It gives a good illusion that your team is on an alien ship with all of the lights and buttons scattered throughout the main room. Starting your team in the storage room with no power to the ship is an excellent way to start the narrative of a crashed ship. Searching through this room really felt like a true hide and go seek game for information. There are certain “objects” that your crew will be looking for and Project: Escape has found some very clever and fair places to hide them in the room. This room you MUST pay attention to the details. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK Aside from the introduction video, the storyline of the game loses itself in the puzzles. The actions your group will take are a lot of fun but don’t support the overall story. Be warned then that this is a room for puzzlers rather than those looking to be immersed in a narrative. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? "Planet Express" is a fun nod to science fiction and the pop culture that it has brought about. There are many references to major films and shows scattered throughout the room that bring a fun nod to the genre. There is a wonderful variety of both physical and mental puzzles in this game, and with the room having a large amount of them as well as being solved in a nonlinear fashion, it is sure to delight each individual on your team. Having a portion in the game where someone needs to be the “finder” of hidden objects creates a dynamic during the room that some escape rooms can lack. For example, in a normal escape room it can be standard for a person or two to “stand” over the shoulders of the main puzzle solver. In Planet Express, they solve this problem so that no one person has to be an observer if they don’t want to. Teamwork and intelligence are needed to successfully escape Planet Express. This is one of the more difficult rooms that I have come across while exploring this hobby. With more people the game would take a bit more stress off the team but still be aware that there is a lot to do. Project: Escape hint system states that you have five hints to use, do not be afraid to use the generous amount provided. Our team had a wonderful time playing Planet Express and would recommend anyone who is looking for a puzzling experience to check out this excellent room in Atlanta! ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO Free parking, one person must crawl, party room available, scavenger hunt inside venue. 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 Project: Escape for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MikeSchnurr #IRLescaperoom #EscapeRooms #ProjectEscape #SciFi #Adventure #USA #Georgia #PlanetExpress

LOCATION: Marietta, Georgia, USA Photo above is property of Project: Escape Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: Nautilus 📅 DATE PLAYED: January 22, 2022 🎬 GENRE: Adventure 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 10/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-10 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 75 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $33.99/ pp (Min. 3 ppl) ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: No 📖 THE STORY Stuck 20,000 Leagues below the sea, The Nautilus is being attacked by a terrifying sea creature who has just penetrated the hull. You and your team got separated trying to fix critical components of the ship when everything went dark. Now, half of you are in the captain's quarters while the other half is stuck in engineering. It is up to you to restore power back to The Nautilus, reunite with your other crew members, make it to the bridge and try to steer the ship away from the creature wreaking havoc before imminent drowning in approximately 75 minutes. Good luck submariners, you will need it! 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE The dark dreary engine room filled with machines and mechanisms directly opposes the captain's lavish headquarters that the teams will start their adventure in. They don’t quite know what secrets lie in each room but you must get together to complete the adventure. It is a wonderful idea straying from the typical split start and communication is KEY in order to meet back together. Each room is decorated in such a way that it would be pulled out of a deep dark ocean movie. With plenty of little details and larger props (such as an old diving suit) our team had no trouble immersing ourselves into the world of The Nautilus. The puzzles in this game, aside from the initial one, are very physically based. There is a lot of running back and forth between rooms and searching needed to finish the game. Interactivity with props is a must and the more you play around with the items in the game, the more your team will find out. There is also a very clever use of a technology that I have seen using one connection point previously, in The Nautilus, there are six points to connect. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK The props in this room, while immersed with the scenic design, felt like it needs some TLC. There were a couple issues during play where our team wasn’t quite sure if it was the correct solution due to the quality of the pieces involved. One prop in particular; our team had to use more than two finger strength to get it open and we lost significant time. One puzzle my teammate could not properly obtain the code to the correct solution. Using his wits, he was able to figure out each message individually but it took significantly more time than it needed to. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? One quick note before finishing up my thoughts. Our team played this room at the end of January where the length was sixty minutes. Due to the difficulty of this room, the owners have lengthened the time to seventy five minutes at the beginning of February 2022. My thoughts below are from the perspective of a sixty minute game but adding the extra fifteen minutes will allow more groups to complete the challenge that is The Nautilus. "Nautilus" is the hardest room that I have encountered while enjoying this hobby for years now and the best part about playing this room...we loved nearly every second. Puzzles are front and center in this experience, spending about a sixth of our time trying to reach each other was an intriguing portion of the game and when more players would be involved they can spend their time searching around the room looking for objects or clues or details. It is a game about optimizing time and resources. There are a large amount of puzzles, a medium amount of long puzzles, and a short amount of time. Identify each player's strengths and weaknesses and adjust quickly. Most of the riddles are able to be solved non-linearly; spread out and conquer. The set design was really fun and just as detailed as it needed to be to give the illusion we were on a submarine on the bottom of the ocean where the titular vessel was described by Verne himself. Our team failed with two players and I do not recommend playing with such a small number (although with an extra fifteen minutes we most likely would have gotten out. It would have been close though) four players would be a good minimum to this game. Gives each person a puzzle buddy to bounce ideas and assist in communication puzzles throughout. This is a game meant for the escape and puzzle enthusiast, if this is one of your first escape rooms, choose a simpler game offered by Project: Escape. For all those looking for a challenge, make your way to The Nautilus and see if you can defeat the beast and escape with your lives. ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO Free parking, one person must crawl, party room available, scavenger hunt inside venue. 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 Project: Escape for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MikeSchnurr #IRLescaperoom #EscapeRooms #ProjectEscape #Adventure #TheNautilus #20000Leagues #USA #Georgia

LOCATION: Marietta, Georgia, USA Photo above is property of Project: Escape Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 📝  ETR DECODER 🔑 GAME: The Will 📅 DATE PLAYED: January 22, 2022 🎬 GENRE: Mystery 🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 2 ppl): 9/10 👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 2-6 ppl 🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 75 Mins. 💰 PRICE: $33.99/ pp (Min. 3 ppl) ☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private 🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: Yes [59:58] 📖 THE STORY Shortly after your team has solved the mystery of who killed William Waterfeller, you are on a train ride to Paris. In his will, it stated that he has hidden numerous artifacts aboard the very train car that you are traveling in. If the artifacts are not found in 75 minutes, when the train arrives in Paris, the entire train is to be donated to the Louvre. Can you prove yourself to the late Waterfeller and obtain the items hidden upon this train. Doing so might just lead your team to an even larger fortune in the future. 🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE The set design was very well done in making an eccentric collector’s estate prominent in the small quaint train car. With how small a train car can be, it does a fun job at hiding plenty of secrets for your team to discover while “en route”. The variety and difficulty for the puzzles in this game was geared towards the puzzle veteran and their design felt like a puzzle hunt. This is where you solve an initial portion of the puzzle but there is still more work to be done. All of the information needed was in the room provided and no outside knowledge was required. 🧩 MISSED THE MARK The puzzles were not connected in a way that flowed or gelled with the storyline. The story lends itself to being a hook narrative but the puzzles that supported the game felt as if they were puzzles for puzzles sake; which in a game to test your wits may be all your group needs to have a fun time. There were also portions during the game where our team had to take a minute to examine items and our surroundings. We had to try to come up with a path to solve the next puzzle that was not quite obvious. The length of the puzzles balance between the line of being enjoyable and being tedious. This game doesn’t have very many puzzles but the ones they do have take time to solve. Unfortunately this can lead to fatigue and lack of interest in solving. 🏹 TAKE A SHOT? This game was played January 2022. As of February 2022, Project: Escape has lengthened the game to 75-minutes. The thoughts that follow are based on a sixty minute game. Lengthening the game fifteen minutes will give smaller groups or groups with not as much puzzling experience a better chance to fully experience "The Will". The Will is an extremely polarizing room. When our team of two participated, one of us loved the room and the other was quite underwhelmed. Project: Escape does a wonderful job setting the scene and presenting the theming in a very immersive way. Each piece and prop felt like part of Williams collections and that made it fun to explore and search. There are only a handful of puzzles but of the mysteries needed to be solved, expect to take a longer time than one would typically encounter while in an escape room. One puzzle alone took twenty minutes to crack the code, part of it was the dexterity involved while another issue was not knowing exactly what the end solution was. This occurred in other portions of the game as well, not having a clear objective is what hinders The Will the most. Cryptograms, crosswords, decoding, searching and deduction are all examples of puzzles to expect in this game. It is built for the team who are looking for a mental challenge. There are some physical riddles in the game, the mental puzzles though; far outweigh the tasks presented to your team. The flow between each mystery can be difficult but finishing the job ahead is sure to give your team a rush of adrenaline and a sense of accomplishment when playing "The Will". ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO Free parking, party room available, scavenger hunt inside venue. 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 Project: Escape for comping our tickets for this game. Although complimentary admission was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever. #MikeSchnurr #IRLescaperoom #EscapeRooms #ProjectEscape #Mystery #TheWill #USA #Georgia