Bootstrapping!
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date Played: August 18, 2018
Team size: 2-12; we recommend 4-6
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $198 for teams of 2-6 players, $33 for each additional player after 6
Ticketing: Private
REA Reaction
Startup Escape was a labor of love that wonderfully captured Bay Area startup culture and packed a ton of puzzle-play.
From the look of the office, to the prop selection, to the hint system, to the jokes, Startup Escape just felt right.
The opening and closing of this escape room could have benefitted from a little more intrigue, but the overwhelming majority of this game offered great puzzle branches.
If you have any connection to or understanding of the startup world, I think you’ll find delight in Startup Escape. Play it for the humor and the puzzles.
If you’re in San Francisco, consider this a strong recommendation for this delightful representation of a traditional escape room.
Who is this for?
- Story seekers
- Puzzle lovers
- Techies (or people who know enough about Bay Area culture to laugh at it)
- Best for players with at least some experience
- Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle
Why play?
- It lampoons startup culture
- Puzzle variety
- Gadgets-turned-puzzles
Story
Our group of founders had worked our way from our garage to a new open office in the Bay Area. We had taken our seed funding and needed to get our product to market as quickly as possible. Time was ticking; with every passing second, our valuation was dropping.
Setting
Startup Escape was primarily staged in a bright Silicon Valley open office. Each workstation had a different assortment of techy gadgets.
Startup Escape nailed the aesthetic and vibe.
Hints were delivered via Slack.
Gameplay
Startup Escape was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.
Core gameplay revolved around searching, making connections, dexterity, teamwork, and puzzling.
Analysis
+ Startup Escape told the story of our new company attempting to make it big in Silicon Valley. It accurately poked fun at startup culture.
– The opening moments of Startup Escape were a bit underwhelming. They told a clever story, but didn’t have the heart that the rest of the game had.
+ The hint system was Slack… and it was personalized. This was perfect.
+ Our game clock was our company’s valuation. The longer it took us to get to market, the lower our valuation would be.
+ Startup Escape followed multiple distinct puzzle paths that all converged in the end. These were clearly delineated and flowed logically.
– There was a moment of bottleneck before the puzzle paths diverged. Additional clue structure would likely help teams avoid spinning their wheels at this juncture.
– Startup Escape lacked a final boss puzzle. The culmination of the different puzzle paths felt anticlimactic despite the dramatic final interaction.
+ We used a variety of tech to solve the puzzles. We enjoyed playing with these various gadgets in order to solve puzzles.
– Some of the tech in the escape room was too worn. We struggled to make it work well enough to solve the puzzle at hand.
+ The puzzles were well-integrated, humorous, largely teamwork-focused, and fun.
+ Startup Escape landed the look and feel of a startup perfectly. From the desks to the toys, it was dead-on.
Tips for Visiting
- There is street parking.
- We recommend Mikkeller for food/drinks.
Book your hour with Startup Escape, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
Disclosure: Startup Escape provided media discounted tickets for this game.
