Boxaroo (Writer’s Secret) Escape Room – Boston Massachusetts

**One super vague partial spoiler in this review**

It’d been a while since we had gone to an escape room and this one in Boston had some glowing reviews. Though I admit I loathe driving (and parking!) in Boston I was content to try this escape room partially because we got there via train which was… so much easier.

Anyway! Due to our quick arrival, we were early and had time to mull about in the sleet and rain for a bit, peering in the window before sauntering off to fill our bellies and come back. The waiting room in this place had big windows facing the street and they had several high tables with various puzzles to play with while we waited. The staff was quite frankly adorable, enthusiastic about working here, and very friendly. When our time came up we were escorted to the elevators and given directions how to get where we needed to go.

We had chosen the Writer’s Secret room which can take up to 75 minutes with 3-5 players. The website describes it as “immersive and adaptive.” On this day we had three players, as a fourth was home with a bad back. Getting old sure is fun…

We were told we could take photos, I chose not to as this was a particularly whimsical room and I didn’t want to ruin the magic. The premise was we needed to help an author come up with ideas for her next book by examining clues in the room which turned out to be a hallway and three rooms besides. Obviously, we started in the hallway at the writing desk and I actually understood the puzzle! That never happens. I’m actually quite bad at puzzles and a bit of a dead weight in these exercises. I will note however one of the best features of this room was the lack of math. I can really get behind that.

It didn’t take long for my companions to find the other puzzles and start working on them as I followed quietly behind. The first room had a marine theme to it and was kinda cute. At one point I was told the shell was whispering secrets. When I asked what the hell that meant he just repeated his sentence as if it wasn’t complete Gibberish. This meant nothing to me. It meant nothing to the other player either. And that’s why this puzzle probably took the longest.

The three rooms were an ocean room, a weird fairy nook, and a smelting room. There was only one combination lock, the rest of the puzzles resulted in actions that’d give you the next step to a different puzzle. It was indeed very immersive with a lot of thuds and bangs coming from other rooms when we solved something! I particularly enjoyed the smelting furnace which took a “gold” brick and returned a key. I just found that cute.

This may have been my favorite escape room to date, if not definitely in the top three. I loved the whimsy, the lack of math and numbered locks (which I feel other rooms rely way too much on,) and just how very Rube Goldberg-y this whole set up felt. We solved the room with more than twenty minutes to spare but did have to ask for two hints. Begrudgingly.

March 9, 2026 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