Category: Escape Challenge

This is a drill.

Location: Delft, The Netherlands

Date Played: May 12, 2018

Team size: 3-7; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: €109 – €119 per group

Ticketing: Private

REA Reaction

The Dentist was Escape Challenge’s first game and one of the first escape rooms in the Netherlands. The Dentist may not be on the same level as the other three games from Escape Challenge, but it was still a strong puzzle-driven game with a well-designed set. If you book knowing that this game represents the early roots of escape rooms in the Netherlands, it’s especially impressive.

If you’re in Delft playing The Freakshow already, tack on The Dentist.

Who is this for?

• Horror fans
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Any experience level
• Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

• The opening moments
• High-end, old-school escape room gameplay
• A good variety of puzzles
• Wide open, but detailed set design
• Good lighting and sound

Story

The Dentist was one of the earliest escape rooms in The Netherlands and had a standard plot: We were locked in the office of a murderous dentist. We needed to escape before he returned and we suffered a horrible fate at his skilled hands.

Setting

The Dentist was set in a bloodied white oral surgery room filled with steel furniture and centered around an imposing (and comfortable) dentist’s chair. There wasn’t a lot to look at, but those props they had were detailed.

Gameplay

Escape Challenge’s The Dentist was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching and puzzling.

Analysis

+ Escape Challenge opened The Dentist with a smart and strangely humorous sequence.

+ The Dentist was a puzzle-focused escape room.

+ We especially enjoyed employing dentist tools to solve a puzzle.

– At any given point, we had access to multiple locks with the same digit structure. Any given solution could go in any number of places about the room. We spent quite a bit of time trying combinations.

+ Escape Challenge clearly clued reuse. We liked this repurposing of discarded items.

– Escape Challenge tried something different with a lighting change. We loved many facets of this puzzle sequence, but they didn’t quite nail the cluing.

-/+ The gamespace felt a bit too open and empty, but the sparse decor made it that much more dramatic.

+ We appreciated how one in-game clue called back to our experience in the waiting room. It gave The Dentist just a bit more story and added emotion.

– The final sequence fell flat. The reveal felt under-designed and the interaction felt under-clued. It didn’t stand up to the intensity or puzzle caliber of the rest of The Dentist.

Tips for Visiting

• Drive 1 hour from Amsterdam city center.
• There is a parking garage across the street.
• All players must be able to crouch.
• Escape Challenge has two different facilities: one in Zoetermeer, the other in Delft.

Book your hour with Escape Challenge’s The Dentist, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Challenge comped our tickets for this game.

Enter sandman.

Location: Zoetermeer, The Netherlands

Date Played: May 12, 2018

Team size: 4-6; we recommend 4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: €119 – €129 per group

Ticketing: Private

REA Reaction

The Orphanage was dark, with horror overtones. With this newest game, Escape Challenge delivered yet another style of gameplay: The Orphanage had us visiting and revisiting different areas of this abandoned home for girls, letting us get our bearings and then upending any sense of comfort.

The lights, sounds, and impeccable detail from floor to ceiling underscore how carefully this experience was crafted.

If you’re anywhere near Zoetermeer, The Orphanage is a must-play.

Who is this for?

• Horror fans
• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Wonderful interaction design
• Brilliant sound and lighting
• Impeccably detailed sets
• Collaborative puzzling
• Frightening moments that are scary even if you see them coming

Story

We entered a long-abandoned girl’s orphanage in search of adventure. As the door closed and the lights flickered, we realized that something was wrong with this place. With our entrance blocked, the only way out was through the orphanage.

Setting

The Orphanage was grim with frightening moments. Escape Challenge built an incredible and immersive environment filled with carefully designed lighting cues. From floor to ceiling, they designed every detail of this set. They even weathered the strike plates and other door hardware.

Each and every space within The Orphanage felt lived in, and had clear purpose. It made the set feel real. 

Gameplay

Escape Challenge’s The Orphanage was a standard escape room with a high level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, building connections, overcoming fear, and puzzling.

Analysis

+ The intensity of The Orphanage began as soon as we approached the door of Escape Challenge. It set the stage for the experience.

+ Escape Challenge teased the scale of the set in The Orphanage. From the opening moments, we could tell it was expansive, but not quite how expansive. Escape Challenge controlled our movement through it, introducing us to different spaces on their terms.

+ The Orphanage surprised us. After we’d become comfortable with a space, they upended that comfort once again.

+ We loved The Orphanage‘s brilliant take on a childhood game.

– One prop interaction needed additional clueing. We were too gentle with it, and in doing so, erased some of our time.

+ The Orphanage included a variety of challenging puzzles that were fun to solve. We especially liked one dexterity challenge.

– The final segment delivered dramatic intensity, but chaotic puzzling. It didn’t really fit with the deliberately designed puzzle flow of the The Orphanage. Furthermore, the final solve didn’t bring any closure to the story. The concluding scene didn’t match the experience.

Observation: The children in this orphanage had names. Their names came into play multiple times, as we solved various puzzles. These were some of my favorite puzzles. I didn’t realize how challenging it would be to solve these puzzles around Dutch names, which I didn’t recognize and couldn’t easily pronounce. It’s not something I’d ever considered before, and as a name nerd, I was intrigued by this additional challenge. Luckily our Dutch-speaking teammates made this much easier.

Tips for Visiting

• Drive about 1 hour from central Amsterdam.
• Escape Challenge has two different facilities: one in Zoetermeer, the other in Delft.

Book your hour with Escape Challenge’s The Orphanage, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Challenge comped our tickets for this game.

Step on up. Come one, come all. This is a show that you won’t want to miss.

Location: Delft, The Netherlands

Date Played: May 12, 2018

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: €119 – €129 per group

Ticketing: Private

REA Reaction

The Freakshow was an intense and physical journey through a twisted circus. Escape Challenge created yet another special game that wound us through a wide variety of sets and scenes as we sought our freedom.

This fast-paced game was not for the faint of heart or body, as it required a bit of balance and dexterity that exceeded the typical demands of an escape game.

There was so much to love in The Freakshow; if you’re anywhere near Delft, please do yourself a favor and play this game.

Who is this for?

• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• People without mobility difficulties
• Players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Beautiful and heavily varied sets.
• Physical puzzles and challenges
• Tons of memorable moments

Story

We had been abducted by the carnies. They would force us to perform in their circus freakshow if we couldn’t escape before their next show ended.

Setting

Freakshow looked great. It took us through multiple set changes. Each new location established a fresh look and new challenges. It was heavily detailed and remarkably immersive with quite a few memorable settings.

Gameplay

Escape Challenge’s The Freakshow was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, making connections, physical activity, and puzzling.

Analysis

+ The Freakshow opened dramatically.

+ Escape Challenge expertly built tension with sound and light.

+ As we made our escape, we traversed multiple different sets, each different from the previous ones. These sets captured many different circus aesthetics.

– The Freakshow felt unbalanced. We moved quickly through large spaces and spent a long time in smaller ones. While this may have been because some puzzles played more to our strengths than others, we wished our time had been allocated differently.

+ We enjoyed many of the cerebral challenges in The Freakshow. They were mostly thematic and a ton of fun.

+ The physical challenges in The Freakshow added another dimension of challenge. These were exciting. They also involved the entire group.

+/- We felt torn about one late-game segment. It was interesting and appropriately zany… but I’ve rarely wanted to get past a puzzle and a space as much as I did with that one.

– The Freakshow ended abruptly. We were in this crazy, high intensity challenge, in a ridiculous setting. All of the elements for a climax were present… and then we won. And we looked at each other wondering if that was it. The escape felt incomplete. It needed a conclusive reaction from the set, ideally something that punctuated an escape.

Tips for Visiting

• Drive 1 hour from Amsterdam city center.
• There is a parking garage across the street.
• All players must be at least somewhat agile and able to go up and down stairs. Talk to Escape Challenge if you have balance issues.
• There is a segment with flashing lights that might not be suitable for all players.
• Do not wear nice shoes or clothing.
• Escape Challenge has two different facilities: one in Zoetermeer, the other in Delft. This escape room is in Delft.

Book your hour with Escape Challenge’s The Freakshow, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Challenge comped our tickets for this game.

Be careful crossing the threshold.

Location: Zoetermeer, The Netherlands

Date Played: May 12, 2018

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: €119 – €129 per group

Ticketing: Private

REA Reaction

The Honeymoon Hotel took us through our own frightening story arc in a tale inspired by the famed serial killer H.H. Holmes. Escape Challenge’s attention to detail was dumbfounding. Every centimeter of their massive set was carefully designed. We didn’t love the final puzzle, but damn near everything else was incredible.

If you’re anywhere near Escape Challenge, it’s worth going out of your way to play The Honeymoon Hotel.

Who is this for?

• Horror fans
• Adventure seekers
• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Scenery snobs
• Players with at least some experience

Why play?

• Intense gameplay and storytelling
• Surprising twists
• Smart puzzles
• Beautiful set & interaction design

Story

Inspired by the story of 19th century Chicago serial killer H.H. Holmes, Honeymoon Hotel took us on a journey through the hunting ground of a murderer who married his victims before killing them.

Setting

Escape Challenge are world class set and interaction designers. Honeymoon Hotel was as detailed and immersive as it was intense. Light and sound led us through this escape room, surprising and startling us all along the way. 

Each new space we entered was clearly part of the hotel, but every room had its own character and purpose.

Gameplay

Escape Challenge’s The Honeymoon Hotel was a standard escape room with a high level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, making connections, overcoming fear, and puzzling.

Analysis

+ The intensity of The Honeymoon Hotel began as soon as we approached the door of Escape Challenge. It set the stage for the experience.

+ The sets of The Honeymoon Hotel felt lived in. The decor felt homey and comfortable… but not too comfortable.

+ Escape Challenge used lighting and sound to guide us through the experience… and to build suspense as we traversed a new space. Movement was brilliantly orchestrated.

+ The early puzzles felt approachable. As the escape room progressed, the challenge increased along with the severity of the decor. The two worked in tandem to ramp up the intensity of the experience.

+ The Honeymoon Hotel surprised us. It would present us with something familiar, and then use this in an unexpected way.

– One puzzle relied too heavily on color perception, which varies significantly among individuals.

– The final puzzle didn’t live up to the rest of the experience. It didn’t capture the drama or intensity of the previous scene. It didn’t match the aesthetic of the gamespace. It was also too small to engage the entire team.

+ Escape Challenge’s set design was impeccable; they left no detail untouched. Even as we exited the space, they added closure through a pointed choice of lighting.

+ The Honeymoon Hotel captured the spirit of H.H. Holmes. It didn’t follow any one of his many gruesome escapades. Instead, it took players on a journey inspired by these harrowing experiences. Players don’t need to know the source material to appreciate the plot of The Honeymoon Hotel, but if you’re familiar with H.H. Holmes, your imagination will make these scenes that much more intense.

Tips for Visiting

• Drive about 1 hour from central Amsterdam.
• Escape Challenge has two different facilities: one in Zoetermeer, the other in Delft. This experience is at the Zoetermeer location.

Book your hour with Escape Challenge’s The Honeymoon Hotel, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Escape Challenge comped our tickets for this game.