Escape Artist (Concord, NC) – Yin and Yang (Review)

Location: Concord, NC

Players: 2-6 (We recommend 2-4)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 Minutes

Thing about my ‘scape room it don’t matter if it’s black or white.

Theme:

Escape Artist provides very little information about Yin and Yang on their website, only to say this:

Yin and Yang. Black and White. The fact is that opposing forces actually compliment each other.

Only together will you be able to escape this room.

Are you ready?

And honestly, though there isn’t really a story, it works. Yin and Yang is a pure puzzle room in the best way.

First Impressions:

Going in unsure what to expect from this mysterious room was exciting! I kind of enjoyed being kept in the dark as to what the room would entail, and an efficient and well designed puzzle room was exactly what we needed after the disastrous Mine Trap.

High Points:

Yin and Yang is a smaller room, and unlike many escape rooms we visit, the maximum amount of players is capped low to ensure there is space to move around. Speaking of the room, the set design is perfect for the theme, with a black and white checkered floor, walls, and ceiling that contains just the slightest smidge of color on a couple locks and the timer. In fact, this room harkens back to the classic online escape rooms of yesterday with its simple theme and streamlined puzzling. Your goal is simply to work your way through all the challenges within the room and stop the countdown that has been locked away, just out of reach! Escape Artist really delivers the best in classic escape room design with this room, and the game flow works very well from spot to spot. A semi-non-linear adventure, Yin and Yang challenges you to keep track of each puzzle, allowing you to solve in tandem with your teammates and obtain new codes and items for future and current puzzles all at once. Everything is important within the game, and there is a lot to open up, revealing ever more mysteries! Puzzles themselves are very intuitive, and with a some logic and a little searching, there are several great moments of revelation to be found.

Monochrome Puzzling Adventure Awaits!

Low Points:

Lock variety is low, and though most items hint at what will solve them, there are a few that do not, leading to the need to exercise a lot of trial and error when unlocking new steps. Though the non-linearity allows for great tandem solving, keeping everyone involved, some items are not gated, making it easy to obtain late game codes early, so a lot can get lost in the shuffle. As with most rooms, though, staying organized can mitigate this problem a lot. A couple of the props within the room could be finicky at times, and one prop in particular had obviously been jostled a little too much and needed repair. Otherwise, the room itself was on point.

Verdict:

Yin and Yang is one of those rare rooms that prove that a simple, more streamlined, and genuinely classic game can still provide an awesome experience! I loved the nostalgia provided by the early days inspired game design, and the efficient set design really helped this one shine more than it honestly had any right to! I recommend giving it a go should you be looking for a pure puzzling adventure. You can get lost in the balance of the Yin and Yang here!

8/10 (Excellent)

Full Disclosure: Escape Artist provided discounted tickets for our team.