Room Escape Artist

Update 7/4/23: If you enjoy 5 Wits we hope you’ll check out our interview with CEO Matthew DuPlessie on The Reality Escape Pod.

An enhanced playground experience.

Location: Syracuse, New York

Date played: May 15, 2015

Team size: 2-15; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 30 minutes

Price: $17.99 per ticket for one adventure, discounted if you play multiple adventures

Plot

Espionage

You are the team that has been tasked with disarming a missile to save the world. A kid-friendly agent personality leads you through a series of puzzles culminating in this task. Espionage is the most physically involved of the games that 5 Wits offers in Syracuse. Players feel that they are infiltrating high command.

Puzzle difficulty

The puzzles in Espionage are less cerebral than those in their other game, Tomb. They are significantly less intellectually challenging than those in traditional room escape games.

The challenge derives from their physicality. Crawl precisely; hit the buttons quickly. They rely on nimble teamwork.

The experience

The game feels like you’re infiltrating an enemy base. As with the Tomb, it’s kind of nuts. The look, the feel, and the sounds are all on-point.

For a more about the 5 Wits experience, design and production value, see our aforementioned review of Tomb.

The environment

There is an intensity to the environment in Espionage that pushes the game forward. The scale and variety in the game are  impressive. The setting greatly elevates the puzzles.

Still, Espionage has a playground feel that is unlikely to intimidate a child. In fact, I imagine children will want to loop through these puzzles again and again… I know that I would have.

Like a playground, it is infinitely re-playable for children (less so for adults).

Should I play 5Wits Syracuse’s Espionage?

If you were a playground kid, you’ll love how 5 Wits integrates that rush into the escape room experience.

If you have kids and want to incorporate mentally stimulating games into a physically interactive environment, this room is a must.

If you have trouble with mobility, this isn’t the game for you. But you could still accompany children or friends to experience it from the sidelines. At the very least, you’ll have quite a sight to watch.

If you’re an escape game designer looking to create more physically involved puzzles or understand the possible scale of environment, you should play. 5 Wits sets the bar incredibly high.

If you’re focused more on the intellectual puzzle aspect of games, this isn’t the game for you. However, I recommend you try one of their other games just to experience the production value. If you are in the area, you should play, just for comparison.

You don’t go to 5 Wits to test your mind, and you especially don’t play Espionage for that reason. But there are other reasons to play this game.

No need to book in advance, just head over to 5 Wits Syracuse and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Images via 5 Wits Syracuse