Huddys Escape - ChronoWhiskey [Review]

A Turducken of Themes

Location: Gainesville, Florida

Date Played: September 20, 2025

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-3

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $35 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: N/A

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Speakeasies, time travel, steampunk, and trains. We’ve experienced each of those themes on their own many times, but ChronoWhiskey was our first foray into ALL of those themes at once. Surprisingly, it worked! As we had time to reflect, the theming was a little less outrageous when we considered steampunk as the hub of the seemingly disparate array. We wouldn’t bat an eye at seeing steampunk and any one of the other themes mashed together in an escape room, but Huddys Escape was bold enough drop them all in a blender and see what came out.

When we stepped into the train car, the set provided visual touchstones for three of the four themes, while the soundtrack and mission briefing layered in the time travel aspect. With minimal effort, we accepted the wacky kaleidoscope of themes and quickly started working to stop the mysterious Bartender from creating a time anomaly.

The corner of a wood-paneled VIP lounge with a small wooden shelf containing glowing bottles in front of a curtained window

The puzzles also fit into the aesthetics of the escape room. We appreciated how the props and puzzle interactions suited the themes. Additionally, ChronoWhiskey included visual and audio confirmations as rewards for each puzzle solve, which were exceptionally helpful during some of the more non-linear aspects of the game and built the tension into the finale.

Although we liked the variety of puzzles in ChronoWhiskey and for the most part the puzzle flow was good, we got distracted by ghost puzzles in a few instances, which made certain moments of the escape room feel choppy. We noted this same issue in Jacobs Nightmare. There were props and inputs that, if removed, would have made ChronoWhiskey flow better.

ChronoWhiskey was a fun experience that pushed the boundaries of theme mashups. We would recommend taking the time to play ChronoWhiskey if you find yourself in Gainesville, FL.

Who is this for?

Scenery snobs
Steampunk/ Train/ Time Travel/ Speakeasy fans
Best for players with at least some experience

Why play?

To experience the multitude of strangely cohesive themes
The attention to detail throughout the set
Unusual interactions

Story

As agents of the Collector, we were sent to stop the Bartender from creating a time anomaly which would tear apart our timeline and wreak havoc on time and space. We stepped through a portal and were transported to the Bartender’s traveling speakeasy, but the Bartender was gone, having holed himself up in the local outpost. Time was ticking and we had about an hour to get into the outpost ourselves, recover a powerful relic, and mend the damage that had already been done.

A room in green light. On a small table is a pirate skull and bust. A sign on the wall says "trading post."

Setting

As we stepped into the Bartender’s bar car, the plush booth, analog clocks, and vintage suitcases combined with the neon signs, industrial piping, and glowing liquor bottles immediately resonated with a steampunk vibe. All we needed were some top hats and welder’s goggles and we would fit right in. Outside the windows, we could make out a concrete shack decorated with graffiti and fortified with metal girders. The harsh landscape visible outside the train car evoked a more dystopian futuristic aesthetic and amplified the time travel theme. The pulsing soundscape followed us through the rooms and heralded our showdown with the Bartender as we worked to mend time.

The corner of a wood-paneled room with a wall-mounted light above a curtained window and a big metal clock on the wall above a smaller clock.

Gameplay

Huddys Escape’s ChronoWhiskey was an in-person escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Gameplay revolved around a variety of puzzles including logic, sensory, and visual connection. There was a limited amount of searching. The puzzle flow was mostly linear with some parallel puzzling available in the second half of the escape room.

Analysis

➕ Surprisingly, ChronoWhiskey blended time travel, steampunk, speakeasy, and train themes into a unique and fun space filled with interesting puzzles and a tangible atmosphere. The set and soundscape of the gamespaces reinforced and wove together the different themes in a satisfying manner.

➕/➖ The tech worked great throughout the escape room, but the gamemaster had to provide a lot of caveats and instructions before we entered the escape room to make sure our experience went smoothly.

➖ We ran into ghost puzzles multiple times during the escape room. Some puzzles had clearly either been amended or removed, which caused some props to be unnecessary and led to red herrings.

➕ The visual effects of several props added depth to several puzzles, and we especially enjoyed catching glimpses of the Bartender as we progressed toward the conclusion of ChronoWhiskey.

➖ We struggled to find the input for one puzzle which was compounded by vague cluing, and we had a hard time reading two other pieces of information due to distance and lighting, respectively.