Hard – Escape Room City: New York

January 23, 2019January 24, 2019

The Mission

Location: Exit Escape Room NYC; 246 West 38th Street 7th Floor
New York, NY 10018

Date completed: 2018 (2 players)

Creativity: 8; Difficulty: 7.5; Atmosphere: 8.5; Fun: 8

Requirements: 2-8 players

About: It has been revealed that there is a double agent in the international intelligence agency IIA. You and your team were selected to take on a top priority mission and expose the double agent. In order to complete your mission you will need to follow a trail of clues. Attention to detail and team work will help you along the way. The mission is a thrilling escape game that will put your detective skills to test.

Full review: 3 different, unique rooms that were creative and fun to figure out. The first room is an office where you need to figure out who the criminal is and where they fled to. The second room mimics that of an airplane and you get to sit and go for a “ride” to where the criminal fled. This was one of the more unique rooms we’ve experienced in the city, as the seats even vibrate to make lift off feel authentic. The third room involves figuring out where in the city the criminal is located and when. You then have to shoot them with a sniper gun. The storyline is clear throughout the experience and is a Whodunnit. Recommended for different types of puzzles, uniqueness, and challenge.

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019

Nuclear Annihilation

Location: Escape Room Madness; 38 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001

Date completed: 2018 (2 players)

Creativity: 4; Difficulty: 8; Atmosphere: 4; Fun: 4

Requirements: 2-12 players

About: A terrorist attack has been carried out on a NYC Power Plant trapping your team of engineers inside and cutting off all means of communication to the outside world. Can you neutralize the threat and save millions of innocent lives?

Full review: Fun? Eh. Challenging? Yes. Recommended? No. There are 30 puzzles in this room, so it will be helpful to have a medium to large group. Many of the puzzles rely on other puzzles though, meaning some group members may be standing there doing nothing as they wait for their team members to complete a puzzle. It was basically just doing non-stop logical work for an hour with no real story line. It was definitely a challenge seeing how far we could get with just the two of us, which we ended up getting pretty far, but we were ultimately disappointed that it was 30 puzzles and locks and nothing else.

January 22, 2019January 23, 2019

Prohibition Pandemonium

Location: Escape Entertainment; 39 West 32nd Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001

Date completed: December 2018 (2 players)

Creativity: 5; Difficulty: 7; Atmosphere: 6; Fun: 5

Requirements: 2-10 players

About: You’re in a Roaring Twenties speakeasy and the cops are banging on the front door. Do you have what it takes to find the secret back exit and escape the long arm of the law?

Full review: This room relies heavily on five number or letter combination locks, which became exhausting. The set of the room was probably our favorite part of the experience, as the music and walls really set the tone. There is a variety of different classic escape room components, such as multiple rooms, finding hidden items, and solving different tasks such as a puzzle, decoder, and searching on pictures for clues.