Room Escape Artist

Girl’s Room is one of the best escape rooms around Amsterdam, Netherlands. Here are our recommendations for other great escape rooms in the Amsterdam area.

At the time of the review, Mama Bazooka was known as Escape Room Nederland.

Brace yourself for this one…

Location: Bunschoten-Spakenburg, The Netherlands

Date played: May 8, 2017

Team size: 4-6; we recommend 4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: from €119 per team depending upon size

Story & setting

Not for the faint of heart, Girl’s Room was a magnificent horror / thriller escape room. Aesthetically, the set was nearly flawless in a dark, twisted, and dirty sort of way.

You should probably just watch the video:

Puzzles

The puzzles in Girl’s Room were tech-driven and tied to the narrative (sometimes directly, other times in more abstract ways).

There was plenty to puzzle through. It felt like the game delighted in initially making things seem tantalizingly attainable, only to throw a wrench into the gameplay with evil twists in the puzzle mechanics.

Standouts

Girl’s Room contained some of the most memorable moments that I’ve had in a room escape.

The set. The level of detail in Girl’s Room was insane. There was a gigantic set piece in the middle of this game that really didn’t need to be there at all, but they put it there and integrated it into the experience. It was amazing.

The tech was well embedded and used to powerful effect.

The story, horror, and thriller elements were incredibly well executed. When the game wanted us on edge, we were on edge.

Escape Room Netherlands’ lobby was awesome.

Shortcomings

Some of the jump scares were really effective, but as Girl’s Room progressed, many of the late-game scares felt annoying and unnecessary. (Find more information on jump scares in room escapes).

I think that the final puzzle may have been a little buggy. It was still solvable, but it got tedious.

The hinting wasn’t tailored to a team’s specific experience. This was a major issue for Lisa’s team (who played after my team). When they were stuck on an early puzzle that maybe should have had more clear cluing, the hints only delivered information they already knew, apparently unaware of the team’s actual misinterpretation of the puzzle. For Lisa’s team, this soured what was an otherwise brilliant room escape.

Should I play Escape Room Netherlands’ Girl’s Room?

Girl’s Room was exceptional. It was frightening, well built and brilliantly designed. It still managed to include a strong puzzling component.

It’s not an escape room for people who struggle with mobility or are averse to horror.

I also do not recommend that brand new escape room players take on Girl’s Room. It’s a profoundly special game, but it is also intense and difficult. So many of the things that make it incredible will be completely lost on a newbie.

Located about 50km outside of Amsterdam, Escape Room Netherlands is challenging to get to. If you’re seeking a truly special thrill, however, it is absolutely worth the trip.

Book your hour with Escape Room Netherlands’ Girl’s Room, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Escape Room Netherlands provided media discounted tickets for this game.