The Great Escape Room – Providence Rhode Island

It seemed appropriate to end the night of celebrations with an escape room. This one I don’t think I have been to but it’s hard to say. They’re starting to blur into each other. None the less BF had his heart set on Poker Night at the President’s Bunker which was an apocalyptic scenario in which we had to disarm the nukes before they went off. This one was hard… we had three players that night and only beat the clock by six minutes and some change. I did appreciate how there wasn’t really any 1,2,3 kind of steps with the puzzles, several of them could be worked on at once which allowed me time to wander and poke at things. I was told I could take photos, as long as they weren’t solutions, but ehhhh, why ruin the mystery? Besides this picture of the outside of their establishment with a cameo appearance by the skeleton of Andy Warhol seems fun enough!

Inside the waiting area was all decorated for Halloween with nice dim neon lighting and a few skulls about. The hostess was bubbly and fun and talked to us for quite a bit before we settled in. I was happy to be allowed to take my purse in with me. Always gives me anxiety to leave anything in a locker or hook!

Poker Night in the President’s Bunker was a two-room scenario with fittingly underwhelming decor (some maps, a poster of all the presidents, a little poker table, and a mini bar.) I can’t really blame the escape room for this. It was supposed to be set in the White House annnnnd having been to the White House it is indeed boring as shit. Not much they could do there…

I solved one of the first puzzles which was an actual puzzle-puzzle and provided vital observations to solve the last puzzle. The rest BF and BFF worked on, which was fine by me. My brain still struggles with this particular kind of pattern recognition (as well as working the locks!) That being said I was surprised I wasn’t the only one having a tough go of it. We had to ask for a hint three or four times (usually we try not to ask for any.) But hey we still got it, and it still counts!

Would I suggest this escape room? I would to people who are already good at escape rooms. I don’t know about their other choices, but this particular room was on the challenging side and probably not a great introduction to escape rooms if you’re a newbie. However, if you’re a veteran by all means this one was a good one!

October 8, 2024 0

Escape the Mystery Room – Attleboro Massachusetts

It was another adventure with kids this time around – tweens who wanted to try an escape room. Sadly this was a Tuesday and apparently its an unspoken rule that escape rooms are generally closed on Tuesdays… but we eventually found one that was both open and not in Providence (because the construction down there on the 95 is INSANE right now.)

It was Escape the Mystery Room at the mall in Attleboro Massachusetts which had quite a few options to be honest. The girls however were only into the most morbid – zombie apocolypse! Weeeee!

It was quite fitting as the rest of the mall already looked like a zombie apocolypse took place with 2/3rds of the shops boarded over and empty, only three options still functioning in the food court – Thai, Caribbean jerk, and Charlie’s sandwiches. First time I’ve ever seen goat on the menu. If you’re so daring. I was not. Neither was anyone else.

But back to the games! There were a number of rooms each with their own theme but they were deffinately a singular room. Ours was a supply closet, er, laboratory. Some Halloween wallpaper of zombies hung on the wall to complete the effect. The story was we needed to find all the components of a vaccine to save ourselves from imminent doom and surviving that we had the bonus option of sending out the vaccine information to the rest of the world saving the rest of humanity. Hurrah!

And so we were given an hour to solve the puzzles and told to pull the emergency switch to unlock the room only if someone was actively dying of some non zombie related situation. Fun.

Maybe I’m just jaded from going to other better escape but this one was… lacking. Not just in decore as it really did look like a supply closet but also in puzzles. All of them were just trying to solve a puzzle to find a code for another lock. It lacked variation and was worded oddly. We had to ask for help three times which is unusual even with the kids. With 12 minutes on the clock both children were struggling hard to keep interest. My greatest contribution was pointing to the wall and muttering, “Look a periodic table.” Crucial that.

I sat back and kept the child actively sitting the rest out a bit of company. I did not believe we’d solve this but they did with less than 5 minutes on the clock and then really hit it out of the park by solving the bonus with a bunch of words one of the kids was writing down basically as busy work. Had no idea it was actually part of a puzzle. Hilariously, we accidentally yelled at the MC to buzz off so the bonus could be solved. “No one really goes for the bonus.” He lamented.

We not only survived the zombie apocolypse but saved the world with just 2 and a half minutes on the clock! Woo! And then we took a team photo – the children felt I was the one who should don the smelly rubber zombie mask as they chose a wallpaper for the green screen behind us. It was cute. They also had a riddle of the day – what two things can you never eat for breakfast. The girls felt like the answer was dog poop and ice cream but I’m pretty sure it was lunch and dinner.

As underwhelming as the actual room was this place did have a lovely rewards program giving generous discounts on future visits to anyone who solved the rooms, bonus if they got the bonuses as well. It was pretty sweet. We may be back. Who knows, maybe we just picked the wrong room.

*Photos for this entry have been made by AI because although I have the artistic skill I don’t have the time or desire to render my own zombies for an entry only three people are likely to read. Sorry. I asked for zombie children and a zombie in a playground.

Bonus: zombie in a supply closet! Ahhhhh!!

April 5, 2024 0

Newport Escape Room – Newport RI

It’s been a while since I tried a new escape room and this one’s brand spanking new. It’s small, currently with only two rooms – one with an ancient Egyptian mummy theme and the other about DaVinci. The following will contain no spoilers but will be a review of the experience.

I think this may have been my favorite escape room so far partially because I was blown away by the ambiance of the place. I was told it used to be a hookah bar, which might explain the elaborate wallpaper but I was taken aback with the luscious purple walls and glammed up tin ceiling, with a Victorian looking couch and chandelier in the waiting area. It just had so much personality!

And if the decor wasn’t enough to wow the genuine warmth and passion of the staff was palpable. We ended up doing the Egyptian themed room and it was… a challenge, as it should be, but quite fun! And the ambiance did not let up! Though the room was somewhat spartan at first the decorations that did exist were so well done. Someone clearly put a lot of love into these props and background. They were perfect. So much so that I wonder what the DaVinci room looks like!

We were able to figure out all the puzzles although we did get a little hung up at the end. That’s OK, we still made it. I really enjoyed this place and this was one of only a few rooms I actually felt useful. Most of these I go to as the group wants me to feel included but I have no idea what I’m doing. This time I felt a little less lost so that was nice!

Anyway, if you’re in the area and games, puzzles, and escape rooms are up your ally definitely check it out!

June 17, 2023 0

Time Zones Escape Rooms – Lincoln RI

I didn’t really expect to be going to the Time Zone on this particular day but while in Rome (or rather Lincoln RI…) It’s one of those places this country mouse finds bizarre and slightly intimidating. Why? Well, I’m just not used to indoor go-kart tracks, all the blinky lights and loud noises of an arcade, or really anything else in this sort of venue. Smidge overstimulating. That being said I managed. My only real regret is buying the fish and chips at the cafeteria. Don’t do that. I thought fish would be easier on my already pissed off stomach but alas… What they served me was some sort of batter fried fish jerky that went down with a crunch.

The escape rooms were fun though. They reminded me a lot of the Boda Borg that I went to several years ago. Instead of one theme that brought you through one experience it was a set of twenty-five rooms, each with totally different mini puzzles and quests that only took a few minutes each if that. I really enjoyed the physical ones that asked participants to throw balls, or pucks, or line up metal rods and pass each other a ball with them. I’m not athletic at all but these simple tasks I had a much better chance of actually figuring out than anything involving math or abstract thinking. I’m godawful at those…

ANYWAY – it was a fun way to spend an hour or two. I only managed to take photos of the arcade from above as I ate lunch and nothing of the actual escape rooms as I relinquished my belongings to the locker before going in.

April 25, 2022 0

Surelocked Escape Games – Fredrick Maryland

The following contains no spoilers!

And now for one of those new things that has been wrapped into my life because of others. Since we were in a totally different part of the country the idea came up to check out an escape room. This one we just found walking by! As we entered we were warmly welcomed and told there was two openings – one for a saloon game and one for a T-rex game. With a three person team I was given the deciding vote. I went for the dinosaurs. I mean… I’d seen all sorts of escape games in old timey settings but dinosaurs?? I know I’m well into my thirties but come on… dinosaurs are awesome.

ANYWAY. Our game masters seemed happy with our choice and told us if we succeeded that we’d be in for a big surprise at the end. Sounds good to me! The basic gist of the game was that we had to find the T-rexes missing eggs and return them to the nest by going through a series of puzzles. This we did – in the dark because that’s where we started and we never figured out the puzzle that turned the damn lights on. So we’re special. We know that.

This was doubly amusing when at one point I decided to solve one of the puzzles by myself while the others were busy. I knew when I started it that it was meant for two people to be doing at once but fuck that. I was going for the introvert award. Hilariously it did take me a good ten or fifteen minutes but I totally was able to finagle it all by my lonesome. Look! I’m useful! This is new.

We all solved the puzzle and there was indeed a big surprise at the end that scared the bejesus out of all of us, even me, and that’s saying something! Anyway, here’s our winning photo and me as usual looking very… drunk… because I have to blink at exactly the wrong moment every goddamn time. SIIIGH.

November 15, 2021 0

Lock & Clue Escape Rooms – Pawtucket RI

**This blog entry does not contain any spoilers or hints. Just a review!

We have been doing a lot of escape rooms lately but none of them captured my attention quite like the one we went to at Lock & Clue. First of all it was in an old mill which gave it that historic charm I can’t help but adore. In addition to that it was very well set up. We ended up doing The Cellar 2: Saul’s Revenge. We chose this particular room because it was serial killer/horror oriented and that seemed appropriate since it’s October. We weren’t disappointed! The room was decked with all the necessities – a blood smeared floor, bloody handprints on the wall, a meat grinder, a gut bucket, you name it. If you’re morbid this room will surely make your blackened little heart dance with glee.

When I say it was well put together I mean this room came with it’s own story (that actually seemed like a full story and not some sort of weird piece of a scenario.) Obviously the decoration was on point and the props… were pretty gruesome at times. There was even a real gold tooth smattered in there somewhere.

I found myself getting into this room a lot more than the others I had visited because it seemed more involved which peaked my curiosity. And it was also ALL OVER THE PLACE. We basically opened up multiple rooms (in the same scenario) at once and were working on them all simultaneously. The sheer chaos of that was appealing to me.

We had four in our party that day – two well practiced puzzle solvers, an escape room virgin, and me who I fully admit normally does poorly at these sort of things. Even so it took all our unique skills and perspectives to solve the thing – all of us had a contribution! Even me! We were told it was one of the two advanced rooms and that they rarely saw a party as small as ours solve it in time but we did! With a few minutes to spare we escaped the escape room.

It was really lovely – a more intense experience than I was accustomed to and it was cheaper than most of the other escape rooms in Rhode Island to boot!

October 18, 2021 0

Riddle Room Escape Rooms Warwick Rhode Island

Why not finish a very busy birthday of apple picking, cider drinking, and shopping with an escape room? It seemed perfect for such a random day.

This would be the second escape room I have been to – the first being Boda Borg in Malden MA. And as such I still didn’t really know what to expect. I hear these places can vary a lot. This one was clearly very homemade but I think that just made it adorable.

We had three people in our party and chose the hardest room they had on offer. It was all video game inspired and very 90’s kitsch, totally lovable. Most of the puzzles were ways to figure out the combinations of locks which would give you a clue to find another puzzle. This was way more intellectual than the other room I went to but I kind of liked that. I didn’t take any photos – didn’t want to spoil anything – but I will say it was all charming as hell. The only thing I didn’t like was the second room which was lit with green led lights and gave me an instant migraine I’d carry on my shoulders until the next day. I hate that but it’s just one of the realities of my life.

In any event I am happy to say we solved the puzzle in record time for a three person team – although it was just a smidge too long to be given the honor of a place on the winners board. They did take our photo… and as you can see by it none of us were particularly prepared for it. We didn’t even have a team name – had to come up with one on the fly.

May be an image of 3 people, beard, people standing and indoor

October 3, 2021 0

Boda Borg “Escape Room” – Malden MA

Katherine had a friend who lived in Malden and they wanted to try something called an escape room and invited me to come along. They had tried to rope in a few more individuals but when this fell through the three of us went to a Swedish themed escape room nearby, Boda Borg. The idea was that with Katherine being a Swedish citizen this might be quite fun. I had never heard of an escape room and quite frankly probably never would have if I hadn’t been invited to one. My brother asked me the night before to explain my plans but not knowing what an escape room was I faltered in this. He asked what happened if I didn’t solve the puzzles in the escape room. I told him I could only assume we all would get locked in and die.

First we made our way into the city, found parking where I wouldn’t be towed (3 blocks away and a twenty minute detour of winding streets) and then we met Katherine’s friend who lived in this super sweet little one room apartment that I likened to a tiny house – just in the city! She was a very bright and friendly individual who seemed excited to bring us both along. We decided we should eat first and headed to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant. I wish I remember the name of it but I don’t. It was amazing though – especially for my first taste of Vietnamese cuisine.

From here it was a short walk to this “escape room.” We walked in and the first thing we noticed was a rack of T-shirts that read something like, “Participated in Boda Borg!” I asked if those T-shirts were for people who couldn’t solve the puzzles. Perhaps. This place had a very weird atmosphere – instead of inspiring a competitive spirit it seemed to just encourage people to keep trying. Sorta like an adult participation sticker… This was made all the stranger by the fifty page waiver we had to sign with emergency contacts and everything else. I guess that was for people who tried to eat the puzzle pieces…? I wondered what I got myself into.

We were led into the main corridor and here there were all sorts of closed doors, some with flashing lights, some with solid. We were told the ones with solid lights were ready to be solved, were shown a plate on the wall which told us which theme each room was, and was told that if we solved the puzzle in one room we’d be able to open into the next and when we solved that room we could put a stamp on our card – a souvenir for passing the test. The first room read, “Coach.” OK… we walked in and it was a tiny room that only contained a scoreboard on the wall and some sort of giant contraption in the middle that reminded me of one of those Match the Shape games you give toddlers. At the bottom there were two heavy rubber balls. It took us three or four attempts to solve it (as it was timed and kept beeping us out) before we realized we were supposed to shove our arms in the holes, grab the heavy rubber balls and heft it over a big triangle in the middle to the other side -three times. None of us were athletic or coordinated enough for this and failed… miserably. Over and over. We all decided that we were thankful we were here with friends because it was still fun that way. Had this been one of those bullshit “team building” exercises employed on a company outing we’d all be brandishing shivs by now.

We tried some other rooms. Some were really easy, most were not, and one was covered in spit from the rambunctious children who were clearly dropped here in lieu of a babysitter. We told the guy at the counter, “Uhm, someone hawked a loogie on one of the panels in the Light and Darkness room…” the poor guy there just said, “Ewe” while giving this defeated expression of, “Again?! What is wrong with these kids?!” I immediately felt bad for him.

My favorite room was just called Farm. It involved sitting on eggs (ha! ha!) climbing in animal crates, guessing animal noises, and eventually crawling out of a big outhouse prop… I enjoyed the physicality and humor. Katherine and friend were less than thrilled about the physicality aspect of it, I guess having been to a number of these before this was unusual. “Usually it’s more cerebral! Less killing of knees!” Other rooms were titled things like Rats, Pirates, Quiz Show, Light and Darkness, and Step Up. We spent a number of hours here just going to random rooms. This reminded me a little bit of the Doctor Who episode with the Minotaur who lived in a 1980’s hotel that had a different phobia in every room….

Still I must say the few hours I spent here was a lot of fun! I definitely do it again with the right people. Most of the rooms seemed to be set up for three people which was perfect. We left all a bit more physically pooped out than anyone wanted to admit… I walked back to the apartment and said my good byes before finding my way back to the car. It has been an awesome few days filled with all sorts of interesting people and adventures and I knew I’d already miss it all on the ride back… listening to Beatles music instead of the Gypsy Punk and New Orleans Funk CD’s Katherine had brought with her. (It’s always nice to share psychotically diverse music isn’t it?) By now the migraine I had been pretending wasn’t there all day was beginning to hurt too much to ignore. An hour from home I began to get dizzy and nauseous and I was happy to finally collapse in my bed when I arrived. I knew I’d pay for ignoring the migraine the next day and I did dearly… only thing I accomplished all day was the two blog entries I wrote here before sleeping the day and night away (but even so everything I did was totally worth a little punishment!) I was blessed this morning with no pain except muscle soreness as I went back to my usual life. I feel like my life is bringing me to such new experiances and joys, different positive peoples and places, that it can only get better and better. Historically speaking I’ve been very limited in what I could accomplish because of anxiety and lack of belief in myself but now… now I am only limited by health and finances and I continue to work on both hoping someday I can enjoy life to its fullest. For the first time ever I have this warm and hopeful feeling I will get there… and I will joyfully bring the rest of you along for the journey.

If you are enjoying Catching Marbles please consider adding a dollar or two to my limited gas money fund so I can continue going on adventures and sharing them with you! Thank you!

August 24, 2017 1