Location: Cameron, NC

Players:  2-6 (We recommend 3-4)

Price: $25 per person or $100 for a private room

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

“Did you have any luck with the bomb?”

“Yeah, it didn’t go off.”

Theme:

You’ve been called to a nearby construction site to deal with a crisis, namely, a bomb that has been planted on the premises! As a veteran bomb disposal unit, this seems like a routine mission, until you find that the location has been secured with… puzzles? You have 60 minutes until the bomb goes off, taking you with it!

First Impressions:

The aesthetic of the room, while it did not set an immediate mood like Cabin in the Woods, was interesting and eye-catching. Another fun soundtrack played when we were brought into the room, and it set a fast paced tone, spurring us to action!

High Points:

Though it was the most linear of Great Escape Cameron’s rooms, we always knew what to work on, and the flow felt smooth. We enjoyed the tactile props and the feedback that most puzzles gave us, and one puzzle in particular was very creative and gave us a great ah-ha moment. The bomb itself was convincing, and had been designed by someone who had experience in this area, which was a great touch. Tech was integrated well, and triggered some surprises that focused our team on cooperation to overcome. Throughout the experience, the room opened up more and more, giving us more to work with, and continually leading us to new puzzles.

Low Points:

Several puzzles felt strange and out of place for the theme, one in particular we collected pieces for as we went definitely seemed strange for a bomb diffusal room. This puzzle also had 4 “correct” answers, but only one would trigger a solution, though a small amount of adjustment would correct this. One puzzle solution was easily brute forceable, and the logic to attain the solution was a bit of a leap, so we found ourselves bruting it to get to the next part. The room felt a lot sparser than Great Escape’s other offerings. The themeing of the room alternated between Construction Site and Survival Bunker, which didn’t always make total sense to us. Due to the linearity, there were some definite bottlenecks that made it difficult for all 4 of our players to participate.

Verdict:

Bomb squad was a good room that had several minor hiccups along the way. I definitely think with a bit more iteration and story based themeing, it could deliver a more cohesive experience, but it is still a lot of fun to play! It is definitely a good introduction to beginners, as escape room logic and tactile puzzles are put on full display. I do recommend giving it a try, and look forward to Great Escape Cameron’s next adventures! Book your diffusal experience here!

Full Disclosure: The Great Escape Cameron provided us with media discounted tickets 

7/10 (Good)