Room Escape Artist

We played and reviewed 152 room escapes in 2016.

These 13 rooms are the games that we wish we could play again.

There is no such thing as the perfect escape room, but these are the ones that still make us smile long after we escaped.

That isn’t to say the 139 other games we played were bad; many of them were great too.

In the end we considered 20 games for the award and these 13 rose to the top.

Rules

1. 1. We only considered games that we both personally played in 2016.

1. 1. We both had to agree to award the room the Golden Lock-In. (We did not consider either The Basement or Palace Games because only one of us visited these companies.)

1. 1. We established no arbitrary minimum or maximum number of rooms that could appear on the list.

1. A company could only win once for the year.

2016 Golden Lock-In Winners

Listed chronologically in the order in which we played them.

Escape the 1980s

Steel Owl Room Adventures – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The bubblegum pop of escape games, Escape the 1980s felt like a living museum. It was brimming with joy, nostalgia, and VHS tapes.

Senator Payne

60 Out Escape Rooms – Los Angeles, California

With a killer ending that remains one of our favorite escape room moments, Senator Payne felt like living an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In Memoriam

The Enigma Room – Sydney, Australia

The only tender escape room we’ve ever come across, In Memoriam was full of feels and femininity in this largely masculine genre.

The Vanishing Act

Locurio – Seattle, Washington

Intrigue, magic, and superb puzzles: Locurio’s homegrown yet polished mystery started simple and escalated to a dramatic conclusion.

Firefighter Rescue

Escape From The 6 – Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Created by an actual firefighter, Firefighter Rescue managed to entertain, haze, and teach us a thing or two in this massive two-story adventure.

Crossroads

Escape Games Canada – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Beautifully designed and constructed, Escape Games Canada’s foreboding technological marvel was a psychological thriller with choice and consequence.

The Alchemist

Insomnia Escape  – Washington, DC

This mystical heist elegantly wove puzzles throughout an intricate environment without losing the thread of gameplay. Clever technology and game design showed us a memorable adventure.

The Experiment

Escape Games NYC – New York, New York

Far more than a blank white room, The Experiment hid all manner of cleverness in its seemingly simple design.

Mystery of the Magician’s Study

Boxaroo – Boston, Massachusetts

Tricksy and theatrical, Boxaroo adapted stage magic principles to toy with our senses as we solved their mystery.

Shelter R

Brooklyn Escape Room – Brooklyn, New York

This video game-inspired, post-apocalyptic adventure was light on puzzles, but heavy on atmosphere and badass moments.

The Hex Room

Cross Roads Escape Games – Anaheim, California

The Hex Room cast six players as different horror film archetypes. Cross Roads innovatively blurred the line between team and solo gameplay by adding a heavily individualized element.

Krampus

Countdown – Los Angeles, California

Countdown married elements of horror with escape room-style puzzling to create something that will satisfy both thrill-seekers and adventure puzzlers.

Gangster’s Gamble

Team vs Time – Berlin, Connecticut

It wasn’t just the room that felt like it was lifted from 1952; the experience that Team vs Time built around the game truly sold the drama.

Congratulations to the 2016 Golden Lock-In Winners!