Room Escape Artist

This is your Get Along game

Location: Played in Washington, D.C. (but offered at various conventions around the US)

Date Played: April 5, 2025

Team Size: 2-4; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 25 minutes

Price:  $20 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: None

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Co-Operatives offers split-team escape games at various conventions around the country, as well as at their brick-and-mortar location in Boston, MA. In fact, REA Contributor Andrew Reynolds tried to play their games at PAX Unplugged in 2024, but he couldn’t get a booking! Co-Operatives brought five different games to AwesomeCon (an annual pop culture convention in Washington, D.C.), where I played Sword in the Wall and Elixir Mixer, in a team of 2. They were similar enough in structure that I will cover them together in this review. 

The heart of both games was the focus on communication between the two sides, in order to solve the puzzles. We were experienced escape room players and enjoyed being forced to flex our communication skills. Ironically, being experienced in puzzles was what led us to overthink the game in some cases, and slowed ourselves down! Both games had nice little victory moments at the end.

Who is this for?

• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level
• Any team interested in challenging their communication skills

Why play?

• If you’re already attending the convention, it’s easy to sign up and play!
• A low-friction opportunity to introduce your convention-attending friends to escape rooms
• Fun puzzles with a charming and well-executed concept
• Puzzles that felt equally distributed between the two sides

Story

While the games were similar in structure, they had different premises:

Sword in the Wall was a play on the Arthurian legend, where only the worthy would be able to pull the sword out of the stone wall.

Elixir Mixer involved an alchemist who had disappeared, leaving behind instructions for creating the Elixir of Life.

Setting

Co-Operatives was located in the convention center as part of AwesomeCon. They were set up in the gaming hall, which was still large, but much quieter (important for communication!) than the main convention floor. Each game consisted of a freestanding two-sided puzzle wall set up in a curtained booth.

Both the games were each decorated appropriately to their story, with props that fit the setting, but otherwise, had similar staging.

The team was split up and sent to separate sides, with a window through which they could speak, or pass items. Each side of the wall had different puzzle elements painted on or built into it.

Gameplay

Sword in the Wall and Elixir Mixer were conventional escape games, except for the split team concept. The puzzles themselves were not complex, but the communication barrier increased the overall difficulty to a moderate level. Figuring out what, and how, to communicate verbally was challenging.

Hint cards for each individual puzzle were available on a nearby table.

Analysis

➕ Since we were already at the convention, it was convenient to stop in and play the games. They were each only 25 minutes long, so it was easy to do as an impulse activity.

➕/➖ The sets and props were low-tech and unpretentious, but nicely themed and clearly built to last multiple convention stagings.

➕ These games offered a unique opportunity to focus on communication over other puzzling skills.

➕/➖ The puzzles were simple, but were neither boring nor tedious, and should be fun for most players.

➕ The puzzle flow was properly designed to rely equally on both sides and distribute the experience equitably.

❓ The environment was relaxed and low-pressure. We started and stopped the timer ourselves. Hints were freely available. There was no gamemaster watching us through a camera. It was fun and chill. There was a leaderboard that one could aim for though!

Tips For Visiting

We played Co-Operatives at AwesomeCon, but future players will likely be playing it at a different convention, so no specific visiting tips are covered. A convention badge will probably be needed to access the games at that event.

Co-Operatives also has a brick-and-mortar location in Boston, MA, which offers the same games, but is not covered in this review. It is in Quincy Market, which is a popular tourist attraction, so if I have not played the rest of their games at other conventions by the next time I am in Boston, I would probably pay them a visit!

Book your game with Co-Operatives, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.