We played the first
Unlock! Escape Adventures
game, "The Formula", which is a card-based escape room game where all of the objects and puzzles are represented in cards, and a mobile application handles timing, hints, and codes. The cards didn't make it feel any less like an escape room, which was surprising, but we had racked up about twelve minutes' worth of penalties for trying wild things that we may or may not have tried in a real escape room. Oh, well. It was a bit jarring for me going from the ten-minute tutorial that actually took two to the full 60-minute game that, uh, was not. I could have managed my expectations better, I guess. I'd try it again. That said, if anyone wants to swap for this volume, then I have it with all of the cards in good condition!Other escape room adventures:
At Kingsmeet, a bunch of us went to Improbable Escapes, and they split us into two competing teams. The other team won, but it was my first escape room and it was a cool experience. After we were done, we asked what the strangest experience was, and apparently someone had spilled vinegar all over themselves while figuring out a puzzle? That's something you shouldn't do in an escape room.
At Calimeet, a bunch of us went to Limitless Escape Games, and their gimmick was unlimited hints. I didn't do much! We did get out, though, thanks to other people being cleverer. We'd spent several minutes trying to force a key out of a locked box with a window until the person giving the hints yelled at us to STOP! The same question as above was asked, and apparently someone had climbed over the wall to get into the second part of the game rather than try to solve the puzzles to get there. Don't climb walls.
Shortly before moving, I went to the Exit Game, since I had a code for a free visit from chatting with the owner at an escape room meetup. Their unique deal was their heavy emphasis on technology, and the room I did was designed to be similar to working with GLaDOS to get out. I was with a bunch of strangers who knew each other, but we were able to solve the game with enough time to try hard mode. Hard mode involved splitting the team into the two halves of the escape room, with one half at the console and the other half on the other side of the wall pressing buttons to control the console. Yelling at each other did not work. I don't know about everyone else, but I thought it was neat.