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Team size: 2 Time taken: 2.5hrs Outcome: Successful escape!
value for moneyoriginalclever

Solve our Shirts is so incredibly creative! In addition to the shirt and other physical objects you get in the mail, you integrate with an online interface, which guides you through the story, lets you check your answers, and offers hints if needed. We had a blast and were very impressed by how much puzzling and discovery they managed to embed in the shirt alone. All of the other items and documents were super fun as well. We were fortunate enough to get the deluxe version, which adds a few extra puzzles and some cool items! And now Dave has a sweet escape shirt to wear.

Team size: 2 Time taken: 2.5hrs Outcome: Successful escape!
value for moneyoriginalclever
The Lost Temple from CU Adventures is still one of our favorite play-at-home escape rooms! It's a combo of print-and-play and an online component (fully contained; no Googling needed), but they also have an option to have them mail you a copy if you don't have a printer (or if you want a deluxe version). They do a great job of setting the ambience for this creepy archaeology-themed game, the online interface works super well, and there are a variety of fun and clever puzzles. Starting at just $10 per team for upwards of 2 hours of play, it's a steal! (They say 1-2 hrs...I guess we're slow!)
We had an awesome time working on the Curious Elevator of Mr. Hincks. There is a huge variety of items (mostly paper-based) and puzzle types in this box, as you work your way through 9 different floors of the building. If you're like us and value puzzles over story, you will love all the a-ha moments and one really cool component unlike anything we've seen before... Most of the puzzles were not super difficult, and it was all family-friendly, making it a great set to play with the 11-year-old. However, we definitely would have loved the humor, whimsy, and surprises even if we had just played as adults. It probably took us about 2 1/2 hours altogether, spread over two nights. It also comes with a free "refill" for the one thing that you MUST "destroy/alter" during play, so you can pass it on to a friend when you're done. At $37, we felt that this was good value for the quality and volume of components, smooth online interface (you will need internet access), and sheer joy of puzzling. Highly recommended!

This would be a great room for a family or for those looking for an entry-level experience. This is an audio-led room, with supporting visuals, including some really cute details. The GM did a good job of injecting some humor as well. There isn't really much of an overarching narrative or story behind why you're trapped. The puzzles will not be too challenging for enthusiasts, and we finished fairly quickly, but we still definitely had a lot of fun. Definitely something that would have been good to play with the kids!

I adored this room. The set is gorgeous and whimsical. I can't overstate that part enough. The avatar is completely in her witch character and very entertaining. The puzzles were generally good (one we particularly liked and one that didn't seem like all the parts were really necessary). It includes well-produced, cute videos along the way, which were fun, and a satisfying ending. Family friendly. My favorite remote experience thus far (of ~20)! 

This was our first audio-led adventure (aside from Escape This Podcast), but we had a lot of fun and were definitely challenged on this 2-hour game! There were a lot of challenging puzzles, and I even learned a new cipher. It's audio-led, with a lot of links to various documents/images to work through. It was definitely a fun and cute theme, and Scott did a great job of helping lead us through. It doesn't have the same immersive feeling of a remote avatar room, but it has the advantage of letting different people in the group easily work on different puzzles at once, if desired. If you love puzzles and are up for a longer game, highly recommended!

This is a super quirky, silly, kid-friendly theme, with both recorded and live actors. It takes full advantage of the online nature via lots of online interactions, and it assigns each of 4 connections a unique role, ensuring that everyone has something to do! We played with 4 couples, which worked pretty well, though occasionally led to a lot of people speaking at once...We definitely had a fun time, though the end came suddenly and felt a bit underwhelming to me. The tasks felt more like exercises in teamwork and communication than puzzle-solving. So definitely not the classic "escape room" experience, but definitely a fun time if you're looking for something different (or a team-building activity). 

As the first remote avatar room that we did, this set the bar pretty high. My favorite aspect was the interactive nature of the inventory system! Mayor Rob was fun, and the story and set were both quite cute and well done. A nice variety of puzzles, and family-friendly. We had some issues with the initial booking, but Rob provided great customer service to resolve the issue and was also very responsive to some minor suggestions we made after the game. A great experience overall.

The set design is outstanding, and it's a very cute, family-friendly theme. There's a good number and variety of puzzles. Our avatar was generally good, but does not play any kind of character (a dwarf would be so fun!) which does pull a little from the immersion. There was also one puzzle that we were stuck on for a bit due to missing something that seems like it would be obvious in person, and the avatar might have facilitated that. The inventory system worked smoothly. Improbable Escapes is close enough that we might be able to make it there in person someday, and I can imagine their rooms could be even better IRL. However, if you're unlikely to make it there yourself, the room is definitely worth playing remotely!

If you like immersive horror with crazy sets, action, and multiple characters, this is for you!  Although there are puzzles and an escape-room goal, those play second fiddle to the theatrics. Not being a huge horror fan myself, and as someone who really loves puzzles, this wasn't my favorite, but it was still an excellent experience, and I can see why it's rated highly.

Definitely a fun play! Simple home set-up, but great integration with online components. You Escape also has an intriguing concept of a Patreon subscription with new games periodically coming out. It's good value if you have a good sized team. For 1-2 players, the price point struggles a bit more against some other options. Nonetheless, creative and entertaining!