Room Escape Artist

Camping calamity

Location:  Wharton, New Jersey

Date Played: November 26, 2024

Team size: up to 8; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 90 minutes

Price: $49 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  There are a few steps within the game.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

With their ninth escape room (yes, really!) in their Wharton, New Jersey, location, 13th Hour Escape Rooms continues to build upon their reputation as an escape room destination, known for their fantastic sets, engaging actors, and high quality puzzles. The Campground earns high marks in all of these areas… plus it added one of the best escape room sound tracks I’ve ever spent 90 minutes dancing to, while solving puzzles, of course.

We had to keep focused because The Campground packed a lot of puzzles. Smaller teams, beware: there was a lot to solve and this game is designed to be solved in parallel. (And yes, I am speaking to you, players who always play in duos and have no problem… you’ll have problems.) The puzzles were plentiful and engaging. They utilized the full set (which wasn’t small!) and were largely tactile in nature. Completing this game was challenging, but every moment was really fun.

13th Hour Escape Rooms is aiming for epic adventures. With the elongated game clock, expansive and gorgeous set, and amusing actor interactions, they are doing just that. This game didn’t have a wow moment on the level of their previous game, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but it did have multiple grand reveals. It also had a story arc. The next frontier for this company is less mission-focused, and more active storytelling through gameplay.

We are huge fans of 13th Hour Escape Rooms. They might be out of the way for just about everyone (as they are about an hour west of New York City) but they are worth the trek. After all, you can spend a full day here. They have more excellent games than you’ll have time for. They’ve learned from each experience they’ve built, and our favorites are their more recent ones: The Grand Parlor, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and The Campground. However, their earlier suite of games chronicling The Hayden Family Farm is also quite fun. Choose the themes that speak to you most.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Best for players with at least some experience
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• So many fun puzzles
• An expansive and detailed set

Story

Our friend had gone missing at Whispering Oaks State Forest. We’d come to this campground to search for them.

Setting

We started our search in the ranger’s office. With basic furniture, photos, brochures, and tools, it was cozy, but pretty standard. However, our search continued out into the woods, where this state park came to life. A roaring campfire greeted us. Around it, we found a full-sized cabin, a snack shack, and a garage. The set felt rustic. It was well constructed and full of detail.

Gameplay

13th Hour Escape Room’s The Campground was a standard escape room with a high level of difficulty.

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

The gameplay was non-linear, and many of the challenges required communication and collaboration. While the individual puzzles were not exceptionally challenging, they were numerous, and some had many layers.

Analysis

➕ The Campground opened with 13th Hour Escape Room’s signature personalization, which continued into the first act. While they can’t personalize for absolutely every team, they really try. We found the personalization added extra charm to the gameplay.

➕ The staging escalated. Following a smaller, more mundane opening act, the reveal of the large, intricate state park was especially exciting. It felt like we were outdoors, at a cabin in the woods. We especially loved the in-world game clock.

➖ While the major set reveals were fun, The Campground didn’t have a wow moment on the level of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

➕ The Campground was the strongest set of puzzles we’ve seen from 13th Hour Escape Room. They were well-clued, integrated into the set and props, and flowed well. Gameplay never stalled. 13th Hour innovated on their signature “listing” style. They leaned into layering and communication. They used the full landscape of the game as a design surface, and as a result the puzzles felt expansive.

➕ The tactile props elevated the act of inputting solutions and fostered further collaboration. Whether a teammate was articulating a solution, or inputting it, every component of the solve was fun.

➕ The soundtrack might have been my favorite part of The Campground. We were dancing the entire time. I exclaimed “I love this song” so many times in this 90 minutes.

➖ There was a lot of information to keep track of and we used the boogie board a lot. We would have preferred to write less, but then we would have been shouting over the soundtrack. This all felt deliberately designed, but was frustrating nonetheless.

➕ Narratively, the late game reveal was telegraphed, but the execution still bit us, in a good way, and upped the intensity of the last act.

➖ The opportunity for 13th Hour Escape Room is in storytelling through gameplay. The Campground had outstanding tactile and thematic puzzles. It also had a story. However, the player interactions themselves didn’t deliver the story beats, or develop characters. We solved puzzles, and completed tasks to create more gameplay.

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• We like the nearby Townsquare Diner.
• The Campground is not scary. It is not a horror game. However, the theme might not be appropriate for some kids.

Book your hour with 13th Hour Escape Room’s The Campground, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: 13th Hour Escape Room comped our tickets for this game.