Room Escape Artist

No light is better than low light. Who knew?

Location: Saugus, MA

Date played: April 9, 2017

Team size: up to 8; we recommend 3-5

Duration: 30 minutes

Price: $20 per ticket

Story & setting

Captured by a madman and locked away in complete darkness, we had 30 minutes to escape his trap.

The “you’re playing this game in the dark” pitch wasn’t an exaggeration. It was pitch black. The only illumination that we could see was an ever-so-faint emergency exit sign above the door and the LEDs around the gamemaster’s camera.

The Hole was entirely designed around playing in darkness. The puzzles were solvable via touch only. While there were zero jump scares, there were a few things that felt a bit icky.

Although the room escape was a little unnerving, it was exceptionally safe. There were no tripping hazards; it had ample padding along the floors and walls.

Puzzles

The Hole was an adventure through the darkness, not a puzzle game.

While there was plenty to keep our team busy, there was only one interaction that I would call a puzzle.

Standouts

The Hole was a wholly different escape room. It forced us to explore, communicate, and interact in new ways.

It was fair and it was safe.

Opening locks in the dark was strangely satisfying.

Shortcomings

There was only one true puzzle in The Hole. I wished there’d been even one more.

One early challenge greatly overstayed its welcome.

Elements of this exploration were a little more icky than they needed to be. Note that it wasn’t scary or dirty, just a bit gross.

Should I play Wicked Escapes’ The Hole?

If you’re interested in a different sort of challenge, I highly recommend The Hole.

Bring the right team. Everyone needs to be calm and communicative in darkness. You should also be comfortable with each other because you will touch, bump, and awkwardly interact.

If you’re looking to solve intricate puzzles, The Hole won’t be for you.

If you’d rather embark on a story-driven adventure, this room escape won’t be for you. The story is just a setup for the dark escape.

And, of course, if you want to gaze upon a beautiful set, this won’t be your game; there is literally nothing to see.

Beginners can absolutely attempt The Hole, but I’d recommend that they play at least one other game first, just to get a handle on how escape rooms work.

Experienced players should dive in, so long as they aren’t repelled by the darkness, ick-factor, or minimal focus on puzzling.

The Hole takes room escapes somewhere else. It’s a different type of challenge. The puzzle is in exploring, navigating, communicating, and putting all of that together. We really enjoyed it.

Book your half-hour with Wicked Escapes’ The Hole, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Wicked Escapes comped our tickets for this game.