Juliette B

*Note this is a review of Vanishing Act at this venue, not USS McKoy*

We had a great time in this room - it was wonderfully hosted, they really involved the kids in the story (8 and 11) and we enjoyed the puzzles. Will look forward to seeing what this venue come up with next! 

We had such a good time playing this room - the hosting was spot on (and extremely funny) and had us involved from the start. The kids absolutely loved it. Lots of different puzzles to work on. I like how there should be a potential to replay it based on how it is set up. 

Absolutely top class room with wonderful owners. Wonderful set. Absolutely nothing not to like - fantastic experience through and through. 

5 Wits does not describe itself as an escape room but it has various experiences (in Buffalo, "Tomb" "Deep Space" and "Drago's Castle") which are heavily escape room aligned. They are shorter experiences (30 minutes) and involve various challenges and puzzles through a series of rooms. Good fun to do with older kids but wouldn't say it is worth going out of your way to play them as enthusiasts. Sets are very well done, and they set things up in a very clever way so that you largely reset the puzzles for the next group coming through as you go along. 

This room was great - lots to do, excellent set design, unusual theme and enjoyed the hosting. Played with kids (11 and 8) and less fun for them compared to the other game we played there - puzzles definitely more suited to adults in terms of difficulty. Definitely recommended if you are in the area. 

Excellent set design on this pirate ghost themed game. Well hosted. Played with 2 kids (11 and 8) who were able to solve or help solve all the puzzles. A bit out of the way from Toronto but definitely worth playing if you are in the area. 

This game is absolutely hilarious. NSFW as the goal is to break into a secret BDSM room in a coffee shop so probably best as a couple or good friends. First part of the game features the GM as a live actor playing a bored barista (done excellently, not part of the "sexy" part of the game later). Given the theme, puzzles were harder than I expected for a slightly jokey room - it was a lot of fun. 

Huge world in a mall of "challenges" featuring 40+ rooms, scavenger hunts and "arenas" where you compete against another player. You buy time, and then use your wristband to enter the individual rooms which last 1-4 minutes. You then earn stars or puzzle pieces which you can use to change your avatar, get physical items e.g. food at the venue. 

Largely physical based games (e.g. the floor is lava, walk a plank, climbing) but some mental/puzzle and skill games also. This is what the Crystal Maze should be. In 4 hours, we tried if not completed, all the rooms and played several of the arena games. The food/drink on offer was also excellent (far better than expected). Be prepared to get (mildly!) bruised playing some games and some upper body strength required for some of the physical games. 

Played during term time during the day, but imagine at weekends/evenings it would be extremely busy with teenagers - so ideally plan the timing of your visit to avoid so you don't need to wait for rooms to be available. Possible to visit without a car (we were in Boston, and took the commuter rail to Natick and then got an Uber easily). 

This game is brilliant. Wonderful set design, an unexpected wow moment, some very cool puzzles as you move through the sub. 

Played as a public room with 7 people and would have preferred a slightly smaller group as ended up missing out on a couple of puzzles - but agree 4+ is preferable for this room in terms of getting it finished.  

You (and your gang) assemble to steal a diamond, sat within a local art gallery. This is an incredibly well themed game in terms of flow - you really move from hideout to feeling that you are genuinely breaking in, stopping the alarm etc. Lots of puzzles in the main body of the game based around the art works which are well thought out and original. 

The venue offers mostly private games but some public room options - we opted to play in a public booking as this game is recommended 4 people plus. They will allow you to play as fewer if you pay for 4 spots - however, there is a lot to do with reasonable difficulty, and actually I think we had a better experience despite playing with a group of strangers. 

Really fun room. Starts with you looking to earn some Girl Scout badges in an automotive shop but you discover a shadow Girl Scout society while you do, undertaking some nefarious behaviour (second half they class as horror, no live actors and would describe as mildly creepy only). Plenty of puzzles with some unusual and quite cool props. 

Red Fox describe themselves as using adaptive difficulty for their rooms so a good place as an enthusiast to play, and we really enjoyed all 3 of their games and would recommend. 

You decide to join a clinical trial and...safe to say, maybe this wasn't your best decision.

 Slightly easier than the other 2 games we played at Trapology, but still excellent fun and a couple of amusing personalised touches which we enjoyed. Funny and satisfying ending, which Trapology seem to be very good at as experienced this in all their games. 

My favourite of all the games we played in Boston. Your goal is to break into the Furter National Bank and steal the Golden Weenie. Fantastic use of space, some excellent puzzles, fun hint system and a little bit of variable difficulty available in terms of finishing the game. Funny ending. Thought the set design was excellent and fit the context well - there is a LOT of crawling, but if you are a small group and have old knees, they will let you go between the rooms using the corridor instead :) our first time on a leaderboard as well which was very satisfying. 

Very entertaining room based on finding some stolen art for which you have been framed, with puzzles appropriately themed around the other artwork. Suggests 4+ but found it ok as a 2 (finished exactly on the 60:00 mark). Amusing start from the GM. 

Fun magic-theme based room. Oldest game at this company so fairly traditional ER, but had a couple of puzzles I had not come across before that were very enjoyable. High quality company and worth a visit if in the area. 

Beautiful game with a creative use of a small space. Game has an immersive narrative throughout, and a really lovely hint system which you have the option of looking at or not. Recommended (better as a small group due to size; if playing as a 2 they will need to enter the room briefly to make one puzzle work but does not detract) 

Played in beta with a 10 y/o and 7 y/o in tow. Set design looks fantastic. A fair few puzzles to work through - largely physical challenges rather than thinky - great room to take kids to on that basis. Needs 4 for one puzzle but would not matter for the rest of the game. A couple of puzzles not quite working in beta but I am sure they will be sorted out soon. 

Beautiful sets/props and nice use of tech. Enjoyed the start to the game thoroughly, found a little tricky to get our flow going at the start but started to come together after that. The only thing I would change is the ending, as the game ends rather suddenly rather than having a sense of achieved something - took us a little by surprise. Great owners/enthusiasts and enjoyed the chat about the tech and the business. 

Absolutely fantastic use of a small space - brilliant game, and so many original features. This is a brilliant game, truly immersive. 

This was great fun - keeps you very busy as a pair, we did not manage to complete all the puzzles although we were not far off. Engaged host who gave us a good tour of the bits we had missed at the end. Recommended. 

Fun room - definitely aimed at family/beginner end of the market, but we had a good time as a pair. 

I can see why people rate this as a great room - beautiful set, lots of puzzles and nice flow. Unfortunately we had a GM who was very disinterested - had a problem with one of the pieces of tech not opening close to the end. Couldn't have cared less that we were having a problem, and came into the room exactly as the time ended to shoo us out without wanting to answer any questions about the game. A shame not to finish as essentially scuppered by the tech fail and only a minute or so off. Ended up feeling rather disappointed by the experience which was gutting as under other circumstances I think we would really have enjoyed this. Overall, the venue is fantastic so I think we were just unlucky with the hosting on this occasion. 

Some fantastic props in this game. Struggled to know where to start but when we got going, found it flowed well and a good amount of puzzles to do. Great host made for a fun experience overall. 

Fun cluedo style game that makes good use of the 90s in terms of decor, props and music. Nice host and we had a good time. 

Not an escape room, and not really that puzzly, but definitely an experience. Enjoyed both the summer and Halloween runs so am very much looking forward to seeing where they take it next! 

Very original, great play through and many exciting moments. 

I am poor at searching to the extent the GM had to come in and help us, the fact she maintained her character throughout this was impressive. The whole thing is really very clever and the venue and all games are a must do in my book. 

Absolutely loved the hosting and humour in this game. Perhaps the least logical in some ways but most fun of the three Hounds games. Had the embarrassing moment where you break a puzzle, and the GM fully ribs you for it. 100% recommend. 

Cannot recommend Hounds enough - hilarious hosting, beautiful set and a wonderful playthrough. All 3 games are fantastic - this was probably my least favourite theme but had some of the best moments. If you can find a way to go, you should. 

Gave a good rating overall, as I can understand why other people have enjoyed this game so much. Tricky, as if asked whether I had fun during the actual game, I would say no. This is massively disappointing because it has a lot of really cool (and unusual) stuff going on and I fully appreciate the originality. There is a lot to do and 90m length which is a definite plus in my book. 

We had a combination of factors which was unlucky for us (we loved both the other current games at this venue and really like both owners and their vision for the company - this review is not meant to put you off going there, as would still absolutely recommend).

Experience was partly down to us, as failed to clearly communicate what we wanted in terms of hosting prior to the game but had also made the assumption that the person taking us to the room was the host (had GMd us on previous trip very well) - but in fact it was someone else. 

The positives: props have been so carefully chosen and well placed. I thought there were some excellent puzzle ideas and the theming is strong throughout. It is puzzle heavy and deserving of its 90m length. It has some elements that you are unlikely to have come across elsewhere. 

The negatives: the overall environment. As the game is within a hangar, the ceiling is open to the game next door. We happened to be playing next to an extremely loud, excited but ultimately very confused group of teenage girls needing a lot of GM help over the walkie talkie. There is almost no soundtrack within the game itself, so this became our soundtrack. The game is also pretty dark - probably ok unless you have rubbish short-sighted old eyes like we do. Unfortunately with the noise/eyesight/clue system combo, you can't have a two way dialogue after starting the game, leading to some frustrating interactions and miscommunications. Again, I think resolvable and would have chalked up to bad day or being off form, but GM at the end clearly did not want to chat or go over anything, so left feeling a bit disappointed and deflated. Might consider trying again when they open the fourth room as suspect under different circumstances we would have enjoyed it a lot more. 

Had GREAT fun playing this game. Clue Cracker are great at getting you into the mood from the outset and keeping it going. Excellent hosting. Small footprint but they get a lot out of it - some genuine adrenaline going by the end! 

Another temple, another cursed statue... 

Game plays with a very silly sense of humour and takes you through a nice progression. Plenty of puzzles to do throughout. Fine timewise as a 2 in terms of completion, but might be better as 3+ due to a split experience which falls into the nothing to do vs something to do category until the activity is completed (not hard but would be much quicker with 2 of you - and had some unfortunate confusion due to a non-reset padlock; however GM managed this well). Well hosted and thought it was an excellent game overall.