Update 6/29/21: If you enjoy The Omega Room, we hope you’ll check out our interview with Omescape co-founder Sarah Zhang on The Reality Escape Pod.
Location: San Francisco, California
Date played: August, 2014
Team size: 3-6; we recommend 3-5
Price: $28 per ticket
The Plot
“Professor Stanley, known for his theory of time travel, disappeared inside his own office three days ago. His students say he was about to publish new findings on multiple time dimensions. As his closest friend, you’ve decided to find out the truth of Prof. Stanley’s mysterious disappearance. Pay attention to any clues related to time, otherwise the same thing could happen to you…”
Ambiance
The room starts off on the right foot. A fiction is explained with a short video on an iPad. While it isn’t the most compelling story in the world, it’s enough to get you going; the room takes care of the rest.
The room is beautifully designed. There’s a character to it; a sense that it is real. The background music is quietly eerie without being distracting. There’s a gravity to everything, but it’s never foreboding. As the game unfolds, that gravity grows into a palpable feeling of adventure.
Sturdy Room
All of this is facilitated by a remarkably sturdy room. In addition to being well-designed, the room is well-built enough that the puzzle masters just tells you the ground rules, and then leaves you in the room on your own.
They don’t have, and don’t need a referee hovering over you, chastising you for touching things that ought-not be touched.
And everything just works.
Strong Puzzles
Each and every puzzle is fun to solve. They are all derived of objects that are in the room, and with rare exception, those objects feel like they are supposed to be there for reasons that extend beyond “we put it there.”
Too Linear
One of the less-than-stellar aspects of the room is that it is very linear. There are approximately six major gate puzzles which prevent a team from doing anything if the gate isn’t cleared.
Since all of the puzzles are fun, this is ok. However if you get truly stuck on one of these, you’re dead in the water.
A Few Weak Props
Among the props that are immediately findable in the room is a bookshelf full of books. They are hilariously fake book-like cardboard boxes, and the detract from the otherwise high quality feel of the room.
4 – 8 People?
We did this room soundly with four people. It’s big enough in terms of square footage for eight people to fit comfortably, but there aren’t enough puzzles to occupy eight smart people.
The fact that the puzzle is so linear makes it difficult to keep more the three or four people fully occupied at a time.
I would recommend doing this with three to six people (six is pushing it).
The Struggle is Fun
This isn’t the most challenging room, but it has enough struggle to it. It’s clever, fun, and sturdy.
I would highly recommend this as a room for first timers.
Book your hour with OMESCAPE, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
