Room Escape Artist

Our March reviews covered Matthew’s recent trip to Japan, Tammy’s highlights for southern California, and a lot of Orlando area reviews ahead of our upcoming (sold out) Escape Immerse Explore Orlando Tour in April.

We also highlight a number of opportunities to support community projects below.

Black Light Dinner Party!

Back in January we hosted an elaborate black light dinner party and to April 1st, we turned that insanity into a cookbook. Get your Black Light Dinner Party Cookbook today by making a donation to World Central Kitchen.

A lot of love went into this project. We hope you enjoy!

Reviews

🔒 Golden Lock Winners

A Challenge from the Crafting Genius, SCRAP (Tokyo, Japan) – This game demonstrated that ingenious puzzles with basically no set can be amazingly memorable. (Reaction by Matthew Stein)

Cornstalkers: Lost In The Maize, The Escape Ventures (Orlando, Florida) – Cornstalkers is a horror game and it is The Escape Ventures most ambitious build to date – a huge step up in atmospheric immersion. (Review by Lisa Spira)

Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow, Doldrick’s Escape Room (Kissimmee, Florida) – Galactic Beef: The Cosmic Adventures of Star Cow was the funniest escape room we’ve ever played. (Review by David Spira)

Escape Rooms

Flynn’s Arcade, Brain Games (San Pedro, California) – Flynn’s Arcade wasn’t so much an escape room inspired by Tron, as it was a love letter to the movie. (Review by Tammy McLeod)

For Queen & Country, Studio Escape (Osaka, Japan) – This game is an exhilarating spy thriller honouring the creators’ British backgrounds.” (Reaction by Matthew Stein)

Haunted Harbor, The Escape Ventures Winter Garden (Winter Garden, Florida) – We had a wonderful time experiencing the spooky spectacle of Haunted Harbor. (Review by Kurtis Rohlf)

Madame LeClaire and the Seance of Death, Studio Escape (Osaka, Japan) – This game featured an elegant approach to an escape room murder mystery. (Reaction by Matthew Stein)

Limited Run

The Hunter Exam: Battle of Wits 2026, SCRAP (City of Industry, California) – The Hunter Exam: Battle of Wits 2026 honored SCRAP’s signature style ballroom escape game while confidently trying something new. Runs until April 19, 2026. (Review by Tammy McLeod)

Podcast

PG’s Playhouse 40: Groundhog Day ft. Good Morning from Hell – Chris Demarais and Blaine Gibson, of the Good Morning from Hell podcast join us for some devilishly fun puzzles themed on Groundhog Day.

Also, David guest appeared as Jigsaw on their show, Good Morning from Hell, in the episode Jigsaw Wants To Play A Game.

Recommendation Guides

Update this month:

• Orlando, Florida
• Massachusetts
• Daily Puzzle Games

Community Information

Applications Open: 2026 Black Immersive Creators Grant – The Black Immersive Creators Grant is now accepting applications for 2026. If you’re a black immersive artist, apply today! (By Lisa Spira)

Helping friends Sarah & Sharan who are going through hell – If you have the means, please consider supporting Sarah and Sharan, long time escape room community members in need of support. Read the details or just click here to donate. Also, an auction opened yesterday, where you can bid on incredible prizes and all proceeds go directly to Sarah’s treatment. (By David Spira)

Commentary

Playing Escape Rooms: Local vs Travel – We explore how being a local escape room player differs from being a traveling escape room player. We are both. (By David Spira)