Room Escape Artist

The Boring Office is one of the best games in Massachusetts. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms in Massachusetts.

Not just another day at the office

Location:  Salem, Massachusetts

Date Played: March 10, 2024

Team size: 3-8; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $37 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  1 player will need slight agility

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Boring Office was anything but. Rather, it was a wildly creative escape room. It knowingly took the common trope of a mediocre office that has so often been an escape room company’s first game, and did something magical with it.

Stained Hourglass Escapes pushed themselves to create a fantastical world, which is more challenging than an office. There were opportunities for further refinement in the build. That said, they pulled off the setting. Furthermore, they nailed all the basics. The gameplay worked.

For the most part, the gameplay was more task-based than puzzle-based. The puzzle was usually in figuring out the interactions. This made The Boring Office especially approachable for all experience levels.

The Boring Office fits nicely in the already strong Massachusetts escape room market. Stained Hourglass Escapes has won us over and we can’t wait to see what they make next.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Any experience level

Why play?

• The unexpected plot twists
• Innovative interfaces
• To have your own role to play… but also be very much part of a team

Story

Today would be our first days as interns at this office. We were absolutely sure it would be a boring day in a plain, gray office. We were positive nothing unusual or fantastical would take place. We might have been wrong.

Setting

We entered our new work environment: an ordinary office with gray walls, a cubicle desk, and almost no decor. It was exceedingly plain. But what you see in these photos is clearly not that. 🤔

Gameplay

Stained Hourglass Escapes’ The Boring Office was a standard escape room with a lower level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around observing, making connections, interacting with the environment, collaborating, and light puzzle solving.

Analysis

➕ The opening scene was unusual and memorable… for its stark look and atypical interface design.

➕ The Boring Office surprised us with well-concealed secret door. When coupled with stellar misdirection, this enhanced a magical reveal.

➕ From the opening moments, teamwork was essential to our success in The Boring Office. This set the tone for the experience. However, we also each had our own roles to play. The game would force even the most reluctant player to engage with its whimsical world, handing each player a moment to shine, but never requiring anyone to step outside their comfort zone in terms of performing puzzles, tasks, or challenges. This all felt exceptionally well balanced.

➕ The Boring Office had a whimsical, quirky sense of humor that we really enjoyed. It had characters whose playful personalities elevated the escape game. This made for a natural, in-world hint system that was engaging to interact with.

➕ The deliberately contrasting set design worked really well for this theme and story. It was fun to traverse between the worlds of the gamespace.

➖ There was opportunity to level up their scenic design. While the handmade aesthetic worked for this theme, and the build out accomplished its goals in adventure and story, Stained Hourglass Escapes could improve the fit and finish of the build.

➕ Stained Hourglass Escapes used effects well, without overdoing it.

➕ The Boring Office shined in its interaction design. These were varied – in pacing and interface – and figuring out what the game wanted us to do was rewarding.

➖ We would have appreciated speaker phone to engage more of the team in thematic clue structure.

➕ Stained Hourglass Escapes reused mechanics from earlier in the game in new ways later on. We were delighted to encounter this, as we felt a sense of mastery, and thus the puzzle of the interaction changed.

➖ We wish we’d understood one central character more fully. Once explained, we could see the cluing, but during gameplay it wasn’t readily apparent to us. It was so clever, but perhaps too clever, or maybe just too subtle.

Tips For Visiting

• There is metered parking onsite with limited spaces, two garages within a few blocks, and ample street parking in between. Metered parking is free after 6pm.
• Note that Salem gets very busy in October. During October, traffic is high, streets may be closed, and parking is extremely limited.
• We recommend the cookies from Goodnight Fatty.

Book your hour with Stained Hourglass Escapes’ The Boring Office, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Stained Hourglass Escapes comped our tickets for this game.