Red Door Escape Room – Fort Worth – Fair Game [Review]

by Sarah Mendez, posted in Dallas, Red Door Escape Room, Reviews

The circus is in town!

Location: Fort Worth, TX

Date Played: March 29, 2022

Team Size: 2-6; we recommend 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $30.95 – $37.95, depending on the number of players

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Fair Game brilliantly captured the essence of circuses with its bright colors, caricatured set pieces, and realistic activities. The room focused on all the right details to bring a circus to life. The set begged us to frolic and play while delivering everything it promised; we got to play with every prop the way we hoped we would. Delight abounded from start to finish.

Porte Rouge carnival ticket booth.

Even though the soul of this room was alive and well, there were a few aspects that felt well-worn from use. Red Door Escape Room had recently freshened some parts of the room; we hope this continues for more set pieces so that they can fully reflect the vivacity of the experience.

The combination of a moderately low difficulty level and a rewardingly interactive environment make this room especially appropriate for anyone visiting Dallas with family or as a mixed-experience group.

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Steal and Escape – The Neighbor [Review]

by Matthew Stein, posted in Reviews, San Diego, Steal and Escape

I’m watching you… 👀

Location: San Diego, CA

Date Played: March 6, 2022

Team Size: 3-6; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $36 per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration: some narrow passageways

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

Steal and Escape showcased their build skills and technical chops through every surface of The Neighbor. It was a delight seeing the work ethic and creativity demonstrated in Steal and Escape’s owner Jason Richard’s 2020 RECON talk put into practice in this room to great effect.

The Neighbor contained one of my all-time favorite tech moments of any escape room I’ve played. It was subtle in such an insidiously sneaky way… and it had me viewing my real-world surroundings a bit differently for weeks after playing.

Throughout The Neighbor, the puzzles and set design were consistently stellar, though with a noticeable increase in puzzle-narrative integration as the game progressed. We also appreciated a well-designed home AI system that served as an in-world delivery mechanism for both story and hints.

The front door to a house, above it are storm clouds.

If you are choosing amongst Steal and Escape’s rooms, you can’t go wrong — they are all strong standouts within the San Diego escape room scene. The Neighbor included even more memorable moments and was generally more sequential, while The Lost Expedition was a consistently innovative and smoothly honed experience that had a split-team start and parallel puzzling. We also got a peek into The Missing Season, which opened shortly after our visit, and the set looked gorgeous.

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Cross Roads Escape Games – The Trust Experiment [Review]

by Lisa Spira, posted in Anaheim, Closed Game, Cross Roads Escape Games, Orange County, Reviews

Formerly known as “Psych Ward”

Location: Anaheim, CA

Date Played: March 6, 2022

Team size: 5-8; we recommend 5-8

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $38 per player

Ticketing: Private

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

REA Reaction

The Trust Experiment was a personal victory for me. This game was made for the Davids and Peih-Gees of the world (and go at it, they did!). I would have preferred a backseat role. But luck was not on my side (or maybe it was) because I drew the role I was afraid to draw and even though I lost, I felt like I’d won.

The Trust Experiment wasn’t an escape room. It was a social deduction game with puzzles as a game mechanic. The good guys wanted all the points… and the bad guys wanted to steal those points. If we solved a lot of puzzles we would win (or steal) a lot of points.

Cross Roads Escape Games’ exceptional onboarding gave me confidence. Our orderly (gamemaster) gave me opportunity (and added exceptional character to the game!) And my husband and his podcast co-host diverted attention… most of the time. So I played the game. I took some risks. And I had a lot of fun.

Two patients in a small padded room, viewed through a hole in the door.

The Trust Experiment blended puzzle gameplay with social deduction. It was unusual, and it worked brilliantly. If this sounds like your thing, bring the right group of friends (and the group matters a lot), and check this out while you can. Sadly, it is closing soon. We haven’t played anything else quite like it.

Who is this for?

  • Social deduction game fans
  • Story seekers
  • Puzzle lovers
  • Scenery snobs
  • Any experience level
  • Players who don’t need to be a part of every puzzle

Why play?

  • An interesting take on Werewolf/ Mafia-style social deduction games
  • A very cool set
  • A fantastic actor

Story

Dr. Griffin put our cohort of patients into a psychological experiment. Under observation, were were made to solve puzzles, complete tasks, and determine whom we could trust among us, while some secretly tried to undermine the group.

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Nomis Piy – Missing [Hivemind Review]

by REA Hivemind, posted in Book, Hivemind, Products

Missing is a puzzle book created by Nomis Piy in Singapore.

Nomis Piy Missing Escape puzzle book cover and demo interior pages printed in a colorful, cartoonish style.

Format

Style of Play:

  • Puzzle book

Who is it For?

  • Puzzle lovers
  • Best for players with at least some experience

Required Equipment: computer with internet connection, pen and paper

You need an internet connection to check your answers. A pen is necessary to record your answers on the answer sheet. Paper is helpful for notes, but not necessary.

Recommended Team Size: 1-2

Play Time: There’s no clock. Expect 4-6 hours of play, perhaps more.

Price: S$25 (roughly 18.41 USD) plus shipping from Singapore

Booking: purchase and play at your leisure

Description

This is a puzzle book with a light story and lots of puzzles. As you solve each puzzle, you input the answer online. If correct, you get instructions to fill in the answer sheet in the front of the book. Sometimes you get information you will need for a subsequent puzzle. If incorrect, nothing happens. You need to use different parts of the book in unique ways to solve the puzzles. One section is sealed and only available when you’ve reached that section.

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