Room Escape Artist

Cryptid Grove is one of the best games in the Metro DC area. Here are our other recommendations for great escape rooms around Washington DC.

Enter through the gift shop

Location: Herndon, VA

Date Played: June 7, 2024

Team Size: 2-10; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $44 per player for 2 players to $32 per player for 5+ players

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Cryptid Grove paid homage to the TV show Gravity Falls, sending us on an adventure to retrieve our pilfered karaoke machine from a quirky cartoon world teeming with mysterious creatures.

I must confess that prior to experiencing Cryptid Grove, I’d never seen Gravity Falls. Even lacking that context, Cryptid Grove was delightful, filled with humor, charm, and countless carefully crafted bits and bobs.

The creators’ love for the source material came through so strongly that shortly after playing, I couldn’t help but watch the first episode of Gravity Falls…. and then all of the first season… and then all of the second season. I don’t know how I’d never discovered this show before, but I’m obsessed. It’s zany, nerdy, and relatable. The show is also deeply steeped in mysteries and ciphers, enough to make for a recently published puzzle book that Michael Anderson discussed on ARGNet.

I love when escape room designers use the medium to showcase their interests and passions. Across many of Escape Room Herndon’s experiences, including Cryptid Grove and 2022 Golden Lock Award Winner 8-Bit Escape, this approach to creative inspiration seems to be their strong suit.

Cryptid Grove had a strong sense of place regardless of whether players understood its references. Yes, items like a diving helmet or ancient stone tablets felt random, but fortunately, that was also precisely the aesthetic being alluded to.

Escape Room Herndon’s enthusiasm is contagious. With an eclectic array of themes and some excellent puzzling, their games are well worth a visit if you’re in the area. Cryptid Grove marks the start of their expansion into a second location called Raven’s Nest, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Fans of Gravity Falls
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Quirky, creative puzzling
• A compelling cartoonish world
• …is that bigfoot?!

Story

In pursuit of a strange creature who’d stolen our most prized possession, the trail led to the front door of a mysterious shack in the woods. We entered to find ourself in a gift shop selling a rather odd selection of merchandise.

Setting

Cryptid Grove took place in an eclectic gift shop. The walls were decorated to look like a cartoonish wood grain, and there was an abundance of cryptid-themed knickknacks.

Gameplay

Escape Room Herndon’s Cryptid Grove was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around solving puzzles, making connections, and searching.

Analysis

➕ Cryptid Grove fully committed to its theming. For existing fans of and newcomers to Gravity Falls alike, this quirky souvenir shop was filled with puzzles and props that clearly belonged in the world.

➕ The aesthetic editing was tight, striking a fine balance between cartoon and realism.

➕ The gameplay of Cryptid Grove was varied and creative. We especially enjoyed a magical interpretation of a children’s toy and a creative riff on a common escape room puzzle mechanic.

➕ Cryptid Grove left plenty to the imagination when it came to the portrayal of a plethora of intriguing creatures. We learned about their supposed appearance and culture through some wonderful original illustrations and artifacts, yet we left the shop still with plenty of mysteries to consider.

➖ A few too many props were labeled as being “not part of the game” or “just for fun” — which was not especially fun and lightly broke the immersion. While I appreciated this attempt to include bonus cool props while avoiding red herrings, I questioned whether more of these items could have just been integrated into the gameplay.

➕/➖ An exciting transition alluded to one of the biggest secrets of Gravity Falls without actually spoiling anything from the show whatsoever, taking the story of Cryptid Grove in an original direction. We laughed aplenty upon experiencing a new perspective, though this perspective could have been applied a bit more consistently.

➖ A final moment lacked sufficient context or stakes for us to make a meaningful decision.

Tips For Visiting

• Cryptid Grove is located at Escape Room Herndon’s “Raven’s Nest” location, just a few doors down from their original location in the same shopping center.
• There is a large parking lot.

Book your hour with Escape Room Herndon’s Cryptid Grove, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Room Herndon provided a complimentary game.