Room Escape Artist

At the time of the review, The Escape Ventures was called Escape Goat.

Put on your tinfoil hat

Location: Winter Garden, FL

Date Played: November 16, 2023

Team Size: 2-8; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $34 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: One person will need to crawl

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Escape Goat is a company that has been around for a long time (by escape room standards). Area 51 has been available since the day Escape Goat opened their doors. That’s seven and a half years as of this review, which is basically forever in escape room years. How did this older room stand up to the test of time?

Area 51 was a game that felt its age and offered new-feeling experiences. The setting had its charms – set design that built intrigue, copious references to sci-fi works, both popular and esoteric – while it also had many of the trappings of a typical office setting. There was a desk to rifle through, a tall standing cabinet, a lab coat hanging up; many of the standard items we expect to see.

But some of the newness and additions were signs that Escape Goat is still iterating on Area 51 even after all these years. New props and interactions made this escape room play somewhat differently from what I am told it looked like when it debuted. And with good results, both for gameplay and business. Reinvesting in an existing game and making improvements is a less resource-intensive way for a company to stay up to date.

Escape Goat is a solid company in an increasingly competitive Orlando-area market. Area 51 did a lot of things right, but it wasn’t their most engaging game or their most interesting storyline. Unless this theme speaks to you, I recommend The Quest or Operation Treehouse more strongly. If you’re in the area it’s worth stopping by to see what Escape Goat has to offer.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Conspiracy theorists
• Sci-fi fans
• Any experience level
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• Fun and interesting reveals
• A blend of modernity with old-school trappings

Story

It was our first day on the job at Area 51. As anyone might expect, things didn’t go exactly as planned.

Setting

Area 51 took place in a combination office/ laboratory that was well dressed with sci-fi references.

Gameplay

Area 51 was a standard escape room of medium difficulty with puzzles that focused on parallel puzzling and making connections.

Analysis

➕ Area 51 had very high puzzle density; there was always something for us to be doing.

➖ Lock mapping wasn’t always perfect. Many locks were positionally or thematically related to the solution, but there were a few locks that required the same input type that forced us to search for the correct lock.

➕ One new tech item in particular enlarged our expectations for the room, and the surprising payoff did nothing to diminish them.

➖ Some areas of the room felt underutilized.

➕ Our team built up a level of anticipation over two particular set pieces and reveals that made this room very memorable.

Tips For Visiting

• Parking: There is a parking lot.

Book your hour with Escape Goat’s Area 51, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.