Category: Escape the Room

We all live in a puzzle submarine.

Location: New York, NY

Date played: March 27, 2017

Team size: 2-8; we recommend 4-6

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28 per ticket

Story & setting

While exploring a deserted island with our friends we happened upon an old diesel submarine. We climbed aboard the boat and found ourselves locked in and descending. We had an hour’s worth of oxygen left to figure out how to surface the sub and save ourselves.

The set looked fantastic. The entirely custom construction blew away older Escape The Room NYC sets. The shape of the room, the doors, and the manner in which they made us feel like there was a world outside of the room was superb.

Puzzles

Even with the impressive set, the puzzling remained front and center.

The early puzzling consisted of fairly standard but well-executed escape room-style puzzles. With the late game puzzles, we moved through a story-driven adventure.

The puzzles kept most of our large team engaged at any given point throughout the room escape.

Submarine focused more on exploration and discovery than on scavenging through the set.

Standouts

The set was exceptional. When I had some downtime in the middle of the game while my teammates puzzled, I wandered around taking it all in. There were tons of dials, buttons, and gauges that were merely part of the set. While upon an initial glance I had internally freaked out because it seemed that the scenery overload could lead to confusion, it was actually easy to tell the important controls from the unimportant ones.

The puzzling was good fun. The solutions felt rewarding. We could witness the results of our progress as we moved through the room escape.

There were some great puzzles, expertly crafted to require the involvement of multiple players.

One recurring task was both compelling and kind of annoying; it was deliberate and it worked well in spite of its repetitious nature.

While trapped in the Submarine we actually felt like there was an exterior world. Brilliant.

Shortcomings

We experienced a major technical malfunction: many of the excellent puzzles lacked feedback. We solved at least two of them purely by lucky timing. In this tech-driven adventure, feedback is crucial and should be checked with every reset.

Much of the second half of Submarine followed a narrative arc where the puzzle solutions furthered the story… except for one puzzle that shifted back to non-narrative “escape room logic.” Had this puzzle been in an escape room without a narrative, or even appeared before the story had kicked in, it would have been fine. In this case, it felt out of place and strangely disappointing.

That same puzzle centered on a prop that felt cheap and out of place in the otherwise gorgeous set. There was one other prop that felt like it had been carried over from an older escape room and didn’t belong in this artfully designed and constructed world.

There was some 3D modeling that could have looked a bit more compelling, especially in comparison to the set’s beauty.

Should I play Escape The Room NYC’s Submarine?

Submarine introduced the next level of set and puzzle design from New York City’s first escape room company.

After our most recent experiences at Escape the Room NYC, we had started to count them out. They might have been first, but newer players had surpassed them. With Submarine, Escape the Room NYC is back in the picture and we welcome this return to form.

If you enjoy puzzles, teamwork, adventure, and how these can come together to serve a purpose, in a craft so unlike a room in the Manhattan building you entered from the street, I recommend Submarine.

This will be a challenging escape room for newer players, but it is well designed and conquerable at all experience levels.

Bring a full team, I wouldn’t recommend taking this plunge with strangers.

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

Full disclosure: Escape The Room NYC provided media discounted tickets for this game.

A reminder that the 1980s is over-romanticized

Location: New York, New York

Date played: June 3, 2016

Team size: 10; we recommend 5-7

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $28 per ticket

Story & setting

The Rec Room perfectly embodied its 1980’s aesthetic. We had played The Apartment in this same space about a year ago, but Escape the Room NYC completely rebuilt the space to capture a new vibe. Even the walls and the lighting were on theme.

Despite impeccable theming, The Rec Room didn’t tell a story. We simply needed to escape this room, and with it, escape the 1980’s. There was potential for a narrative, but Escape The Room NYC didn’t bother to attempt a story.

Puzzles

These puzzles required expert scavenging. We had to carefully search every aspect of the room in order to dive into the more mentally challenging aspects of The Rec Room.

Escape the Room NYC built The Rec Room’s puzzles around some fun 1980’s props and gadgets. Some of these functioned as expected. Others were simply vehicles for different types of interactions. We enjoyed this variety in design.

Additionally, the puzzles provided challenges for all types of players.

Standouts

The theming in The Rec Room was spot on and we loved the props. We really felt like we spent an hour playing in a 1980’s rec room. In fact, I couldn’t resist the urge to dance to the soundtrack.

The staff at Escape the Room NYC was top notch. Our game master was energetic and engaged.

Shortcomings

Escape the Room NYC sells 10 tickets to this game, but this was really, at most, a six-player experience. The space was small and at any given time, there weren’t enough puzzles to engage our entire team. This overcrowding severely diminished our game experience.

The Rec Room incorporated technological mechanisms: solutions triggered other things to happen. Because of the overcrowding and the resulting chaos, we never knew what action caused what reaction from our environment. This made it impossible to know whether we had correctly solved various puzzles.

There was one order-preservation puzzle. With so many people and the required heavy scavenging, this was bound to be problematic. We needed a clue or we never would have thought to return props to their original locations. This was infuriatingly lame.

There was one task that took forever to complete largely because the interface was terrible (and also far too modern for a 1980s game).

Should I play Escape the Room NYC’s The Rec Room?

Escape the Room NYC was the first company to open in New York and the first company that David and I each visited. We loved their early games and expect better from them.

The Rec Room had too many people crammed in its tiny space, and the game felt dated (and not in 1980s nostalgic sort of way).

While this new game incorporated more technological mechanics than those early games, its overarching design was that of 2014. The industry has progressed, but this game was left behind. It tried to keep too many people occupied by relying on heavy scavenging, a mainstay of early US games.

Stuffing 10 people into The Rec Room felt like a cash grab.

The Rec Room enables players to spend an hour in a well-designed, enjoyably-themed environment. It wasn’t a bad game, but we’ve seen some excellent work come from Escape The Room and The Rec Room did not feel like a step in the right direction.

New York City is one the most competitive markets in the US. This game cannot stand up to the polish, innovation, technology, or narrative that others provide. The Rec Room was good enough, but given the drawbacks, we recommend that if you have limited time in New York City, you spend your money elsewhere.

Book your hour with Escape the Room New York’s The Rec Room, and tell them that The Room Escape Artist sent you.

[Image via uglyhousephotos.com]

A new reviewer tackles an old favorite.

Location: New York, New York

Date played: January 10, 2016

Team size: 2-6; we recommend 3-5

Price: $30 per ticket

Guest review! Intro by David Spira

Jessica Felleman is a writer and an integral part of Team Room Escape Artist. She accompanies us on most of our NYC games and is one hell of a clutch player.

When she was looking for a game to take her friends and family to, Lisa and I were thrilled to hear that she had chosen Escape The Room NYC’s The Home. We played The Home before we began writing reviews and we have never back-filled. So here’s Jessica’s review:

Theme & story

Themed as a “Victorian mystery,” the room definitely felt like we’d been dropped into a Dickens’ story, so props to props, but beyond that we didn’t receive any accompanying information as to why we were locked in, or whose house it was, or if there was a specific mystery to our situation.

The Home seemed very straightforward, but it also escalated in a few exciting and unexpected ways.

While it didn’t really have a story, it did convey a sense of adventure.

It was all very mysterious, which made getting started on the puzzles a little halted. On the story end, I would’ve liked a little more substance.

Approachable

“I feel so accomplished!”

Said by my newbie cousin, who helped out at key points. He expressed exactly what it is about room escapes that gets so addicting! The Home provided the perfect stepping stone for that experience.

The puzzles were well thought out and accessible to everyone.

We definitely said “cool!” a handful of times. We appreciated that while there were basic “find the digits” locks, there were also some surprising and interestingly designed puzzles that changed up the experience so we never felt bored.

Friendly & honest staff

Our puzzle master, Megan, was great and friendly, as were the front desk staff, who kindly reminded us that when they said “the coat rack is just a coat rack” that’s exactly what they meant.

I can attest to the fact that the coat rack did not at all help us escape, except to keep our coats off our bodies and out of the way.

Bottlenecking

At the beginning of the game we all had things to do as we turned the room over. However, within 15 minutes there were only one or two puzzles to work through at a time, which continued though the game and caused everyone to feel a bit useless for long chunks of time until we made it out.

Should I play Escape the Room NYC’s The Home?

The Home had puzzles for new and experienced players and the flow was easy enough for the newbs to follow along and participate. (My cousins are already looking to do another room!). The game felt like an adventure. It was not the most complex design, but everything worked, and it was fun.

If you’re looking for an introductory room to bring your friends to, The Home fits the bill.

If you’re looking for an escape room that conveys a story, or are an experienced group of people looking for a tough challenge, The Home may not be for you.

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

Be still my beating heart… This is a 12 person room escape that can actually fit 12 people.

Location: New York, New York

Date played: April 26, 2015

Team size: up to 12; we recommend 8-12

Price: $28 per ticket

Plot

“The Theater is for up to 12 players. You and your fellow theater goers are trapped in a theater. You have one hour to escape or it’s curtains for everyone.”

12 people!

The website says, “The Theater is for up to 12 players.” We brought 12 adults. We all fit in the room with tons of space to spare. We all had fun.

This never ever happens, and I was totally ready to write about how “12 person rooms shouldn’t be a thing.” The Theater pulls it off because it’s big (huge by Manhattan standards). It’s actually a theater.

It’s a theater!

The theater actually is a theater. Before the space was converted into an escape game, there were theatery things happening in the same space.

This means that there is theater rigging and auditorium seating.

When I read the description, I was expecting a “backstage” setting with tons of props and costumes.

The setting makes the game. It’s dramatically different from any other escape game I’ve played. Never underestimate the power of a unique environment.

Image via Escape the Room NYC (Facebook)

Too many 4 digit combo locks

The Theater isn’t perfect.

It has a ton of combination locks, and almost all of them were 4 numerical digits.

Why is this a problem?

Every time you think you have a solution, you have to try it in half a dozen locks. This gets tedious, and you really have to be on top of your game to make sure that you don’t miss a lock.

Locks are great. Lots of locks is fine. A wide variety in combination length, as well as letter, and directional locks help break up the patterns, and creates a situation where the players know which lock a solution belongs to. It seems small, but this makes the room considerably more player-friendly.

Bad lock

One disk in one lock was set incorrectly. For example:

The clues lead us to the number “1234” but the lock accidentally required “2234.”

We burned at least five minutes on that before asking for our a hint. Our game master told us to try “1234” and it didn’t work. We only figured it out because one of our teammates started futzing with the first disk, and accidentally opened the thing.

Bad setups are deeply frustrating, and what makes this even more agitating is that we have had a bad setup three out of six times that we’ve played with Escape the Room NYC.

As a reviewer, this puts me in a tough position because while I think they have some of the most creative and fun games I’ve ever encountered, they have consistent quality control issues that are inexcusable.

Bad setups are never ok. You only get to play these games once; they should be set up correctly.

Bad Lock Response

We reached out to Escape the Room NYC for a comment about quality control. Designer and Co-founder Victor Blake agrees that bad set ups are never ok. He explained the lengths he goes to to ensure correct set ups and high quality game experiences at all his locations. He works hard at it, but sometimes things break and his staff are human.

Our consistent experience with bad locks is not reflective of the total percentage of set up mistakes at Escape the Room; he keeps track. We have to chalk this up to dumb luck.

Victor offered us a refund and free tickets to our next room. He does this for any team that experiences a quality control issue that impacts their experience. We enjoyed the Theater too much to accept the refund, but we accepted the free game; he doesn’t want to treat us differently than he would any other team.

Exceptional Staff

That staff at Escape the Room NYC continue to impress us. They are energetic, engaging, and passionate about the game and the players’ experiences.

Best walkthroughs in the business

Escape the Room NYC has the best post-game walkthroughs in the business. It may seem like a small detail, but it matters.

Walkthroughs are especially important when you’ve just played a 12 person game, as there is no way for each player to keep track of everything that happened.

Should I play Escape the Room NYC’s Theater?

I love escape games that riff off of local culture and history, and there few things as New York as the theater.

The room is awesome. The game is both fun and challenging (the escape rate is approximately 20%).

I wouldn’t recommend this game for a team of first timers because it’s so different from most rooms that it’s more fun to play after having experienced some more typical escapes.

You can bring a team of 12 people to this game. I think 8-10 is probably ideal, but you’re still going to be able to have a good time with 12.

Escape the Room NYC needs to get a handle on quality control because bad setups keep tainting an otherwise exceptional experience.

Book your hour with Escape the Room NYC’s Theater, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Location: New York, New York

Date played: November 23, 2014

Team size: up to 8; we recommend 6-8

Price: $28 per ticket

Plot

“You’ve been selected for a top secret mission. You must complete your assignment in one hour or you are relieved of duty.”

Theme

It’s all sorts of James Bond-y, and I mean the room hits you in the face with James Bond, right down to a photo of Sean Connery, and jokes about Moneypenny.

The theme is well-executed, and runs throughout the game. It’s exciting.

That being said, the volume of Bond references got a bit hokey.

Variety & Physical Interactivity

What stands out in this room is the variety of things there are to do. Many of the puzzles involve unique challenges. I won’t give any hints… The downside as a reviewer is that so many of the puzzle elements in this game are so critical that I can’t write about any of them without giving something away.

What I will say is that there is a visual perception changing element that I have been waiting to see someone implement in a room. The moment I saw it, I was giddy.

There are key and combo locks, but they are spread throughout the game, and you aren’t spending 60 minutes shouting numbers at people who hack away at locks.

The experience is physically interactive in a way that is exciting.

Clues for the Cluemaster

As nifty as this game is, it is held back by the volume of clues that the puzzlemaster feeds into the room via a monitor.

Often times we had already figured out what the clue was pointing us towards, or if we had another moment, we would have figured it out.

In one instance, one of our people solved something just as the clue telling us what to do came in. She was happy that she solved the puzzle, but the clue stole her thunder.

I prefer it when the team has a finite amount of clues available to them, and the team must trigger the delivery of a clue. It turns clues into a limited resource that must be used wisely. Getting a clue is a decision, not something that happens to you.

From a game design standpoint, if the puzzlemaster has to give every team a clue, then the clue should be baked into the game itself. Let the players discover their way through the game; it’s way more fun than being lead.

Setup Quality Control

The one truly bad part of this game was that during the setup, the puzzlemaster put the wrong lock onto a chest. We had the answer very early on, but couldn’t get the lock off because we never were going to be able to.

Eventually the puzzlemaster silently entered the room and took the lock off for us with no explanation.

This cost us somewhere in the realm of five minutes, and a lot of lost momentum. I probably wouldn’t mention this, however the last time I played a game with Escape the Room NYC they left a lock off of a chest.

I love the folks at Escape the Room NYC, I think they make awesome games, and they are incredibly nice people… But they need to get their quality control locked down. You only get to play these games once; they should be setup correctly.

The Bottom-line

Incorrect locks and a regular stream of clues notwithstanding, this game is a ton of fun.

What I love about Escape the Room NYC games is the sense of adventure that they inspire. This is a deeply creative, and fun game, and one of the best ones that I have experienced in New York City.

Go play it.

Escape the Room NYC – The Agency, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.