Tag: Time’s Up Escape Room

Time’s Up Escape Rooms – Room 555 (Review)

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Location: Cary, NC

Players: 2-6 (We recommend 2-4)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!

Theme:

Your most recent vacation has brought you to the Jonesboro Grand Hotel, a home away from home with all the most modern amenities! Amongst all the glitz and glamour there also hides a dark secret, Room 555. Hotel management has stressed that no guest is to enter this mysterious room, but won’t explain why! Your group of friends decide to find out what’s up with the seemingly banal room and have just broken in when the door slams shut behind you and locks tight! With seemingly no way out, you explore your surroundings to attempt to escape before you become part of the mystery yourself!

First Impressions:

During our previous trips to Time’s Up for The Millionaire Murder Escape and The Bank Vault Escape we were left somewhat underwhelmed with the experience. We’d heard, however, that after relocating and developing some new rooms, Time’s Up had created much better experiences. We were glad to hear it since the staff and owner seemed to really want to create top notch adventures, and it just so happened that I had a few free tickets lying around for a risk free look at one of their newest games! The new space is well laid out and includes a photo booth for after game pictures. After an enthusiastic greeting from Time’s Up’s owner and her staff we were ready to begin our game!

High Points:

After entering the room, it was obvious that a lot of care had been taken to make the set really immersive! The hotel room was excellently laid out with spooky dressings and several accouterments one would expect to see in an abandoned old room. The lighting was just dim enough to set the mood while still allowing for everyone to see properly.  There was indeed a black light but it was luckily not abused, and a quick sweep allowed us to find the clues we needed to in a non-frustrating manner. The room was set up in such a way as to provide a linear game flow but still entertain the whole group, keeping us puzzling for a full round of enigmas. Some late game surprises were simple yet extremely well hidden and kept our group of seasoned veterans on our toes! It’s always an awesome experience when a room is able to keep a secret or two hidden from us until the exact right moment.

Though there were several basic locks around the room, there were quite a few technological interactions that we really enjoyed. Tech was seamlessly integrated into the room and furthered the story with small clues and bits of info that added to the experience well. The escape itself felt climactic and we enjoyed talking to the staff afterwards about our experience and their newest room, The Jungle!

Low Points:

The opening rules rundown is fairly long, and could use some tightening, as it was really hard for me to stay focused on it instead of beginning to wander around the room. At one point we needed a clue, but due to a freak technical problem the camera had unfortunately gone out in our room. This led to the Game Master entering, breaking the immersion somewhat, and since she wasn’t able to see where we were in the game it took her a little more time than usual to formulate a hint for us. This was handled as well as possible for the situation however, and wasn’t that big a deal. One particular puzzle involves a pretty large leap of logic and though we were able to figure it out quickly, the connective tissue is very light and could benefit from some bolstering to keep it from feeling so random. Some of the props within the room still have price marks or barcodes stuck to them, which feel highly off theme within this rundown old hotel room.

Verdict:

We’re really excited to see that Time’s Up have upped their game, puzzle and technology wise, and thought that Room 555 was a lot of fun. We’re glad to see that their determination to improve has paid off and can’t wait to see what’s in store with their new Jungle room. You can check in to Room 555 here!

7/10 (Good)

Time’s Up Escape Rooms – Millionaire Murder Escape (Review)

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Location: Cary, NC

Players: 4-12 (We recommend 5-6)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Ikea Millionaire

Theme:

The millionaire Fredderick Trummel has been murdered, and you have been called to his home for the reading of his will. Upon entering his dining room, however, you are locked in and there’s no executor to be found. A note from Fredderick informs you that you’ve been tricked and implicated in federal crimes against the late millionaire! Figure out who the murderer is, and escape Fredderick’s home before he exacts justice against you from beyond the grave.

First Impressions:

Time’s Up delivered a larger room for their Millionaire Murder experience, but it was mostly empty when we walked in. It was, however, definitely too small for a group of 12 puzzlers, I would venture 8 would be the coziest you’d want to get in here, and that’s pushing it. A large centerpiece was competently decorated, if not mind blowing, but there were only a few other pieces that stood out, but they didn’t quite give off the decadent feel a millionaire’s dining room should. Prices written in sharpie on the backs of most items gave away the inexpensive nature of the room. Our Gamemaster was upbeat and friendly however, and seemed eager to please.

High Points:

Though this was a very low tech experience, there were a few fun surprises and original puzzles at the beginning of the experience. The initial few puzzles were well clued and worked smoothly, and the story set up was interesting.

Low Points:

As we progressed through the puzzles, though, the adventure degraded as the flow and technical issues began to break down the immersion. Mid to late game puzzles weren’t very well clued, and many props we found didn’t fit the theme, as they did not seem like the property of a millionaire. One such piece had been busted a few times, and simply not replaced, which was odd since this supposedly belonged to  someone for whom money was no object. There was also a red herring item that was oddly well hidden, which wasted a fair bit of our time. One lock was opened via the wrong key, due to the looseness of the lock and cheap nature of the item itself, and we were told to replace the item inside and lock it back, which irked us. Some later puzzles were not clued, and as a result, ended up in fruitless searches of an already sparse room. Overall, the experience started strong, but faltered quite a bit as time went on, ending with a whimper.

Verdict:

The Millionaire Murder Escape was full of missed opportunities. While there were interesting ideas and puzzles, the execution was subpar as so much more could’ve been done with the space. The owner seemed receptive to feedback, and genuinely seemed to want to improve the experience, but as is, it’s a difficult recommendation to make. You can book your escape from The Millionaires Murder here!

4/10 (Subpar)

 

Time’s Up Escape Rooms – The Bank Vault (Review)

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Location: Cary, NC

Players: 2-8 (We recommend 4-5, details below)

Price: $25 per person

Time to Escape: 60 minutes

Time’s Up’s most difficult room delivers a polarizing first generation challenge.

Theme:

You and your team are new employees at the bank, but your first day is ruined when you are robbed and thrown into the bank vault by your assailants. You’ve got 60 minutes to get out before the airtight vault runs out of air, but you haven’t been trained on how to unlock the vault from inside! Luckily, your manager, (who fortunately must’ve been playing golf that day,) has left a series of clues inside to help you escape.

First Impressions:

Walking into the vault didn’t really impress, as it seemed like a sterile bank lobby, coupled with an employee locker room, obviously, theming was not the strong suit of this room. Luckily, there were clues to find and many many locks to solve, (which could be good or bad, depending,) along with what looked like a massive metapuzzle on the wall, which, though low budget, struck me as a pretty cool, and lovingly crafted, design. It was a fairly small room, and with 5 players, it was cozy. Any more than that would’ve been claustrophobic.

High Points:

I wasn’t wrong about the metapuzzle. It easily brought together many parts of the room, and was a satisfying conclusion to the escape, though groups that didn’t pay enough attention would be out of luck. The puzzles were enjoyable to solve, and were all properly clued, allowing just enough of a hint to solve as a team. Most all of the props were fun to manipulate and play with, and led to some interesting perspective puzzles at times.

Low Points:

I enjoyed the puzzling for the most part, however some puzzles required a bit of outside of the box thinking that may not come naturally to those that are used to playing other rooms under the standard rules. The overall decor of the room was banal, so the main draw here were the puzzles, which I found to be interesting, but was nothing too mind blowing. There were a couple instances of solving the lock instead of solving the puzzle, which was a frustrating experience, and there was one lock we bypassed altogether, as we were totally unsure as to whether it had a solution or not.

Verdict:

Overall, I think newer groups will enjoy this room much more than enthusiasts, but I also don’t think it would be a great room to begin your escaping career with. Having spoken with other fans, it seems that you’ll either love this one or hate it, and though I had fun with the room, I can definitely see where others won’t be impressed. If you want a deep story or an immersive theme, you won’t find it here, but for an hour of puzzle solving, it might fit the bill. Time’s Up’s owners, however, really do put a lot of effort in, and care about their product, which shows in their interactions with players and upbeat customer service. Book your escape from the Bank Vault here!

5/10 (Mediocre)