Our Escape Adventure Part 16: All Good Things Must Come To An End!

Greetings from St. Augustine, FL! After eight months on the road, 46 states and 282 escape rooms, we have made it back to the Sunshine State!

States Visited This Leg: Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida

Final Trip Statistics

Total Number of Days On The Road: 246

Total Number of States We Played Escape Rooms In: 46 (All states except Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota and South Dakota)

Canadian Provinces We Played Escape Rooms In: 2 (British Columbia and Ontario)

Total Miles Traveled: 30,662 (49,346 Kilometers)

Total Escape Rooms Played: 282

Of those (just our opinions!)

• 16 of them were POOR
• 50 were MEH
• 172 we LIKED
• 44 we LOVED

Everyone keeps asking us what we will do next. That’s a great question and, honestly, we are not completely sure yet. When we left Florida in March, we decided that we may not want to live in Florida, so everywhere we stayed we looked at it as a possible place to relocate to when we finished the trip. 

We’ve decided that we really like North Carolina and it is still close enough to Florida to visit family regularly, so we‘re thinking about moving there in January. There are lots of moving parts to this though, Tina has to find a job and we have to sell our RV, so it’s not a sure thing yet. There are also some job opportunities in Florida that Tina is looking into, too. 

Also, we would eventually like to open up another escape room (of course!). We saw so many amazing rooms on this trip and it has gotten our creative juices flowing. We have so many ideas! Whether we will actually be able to design and build our ideas to match the visions in our minds is another question entirely, but we are going to try!

We have to give a shout out to the amazing escape room owners, designers and game masters that made this trip so wonderful. There are some next level things happening in the industry, and we are so lucky to have been able to play so many incredible games. Our next and final article will be a breakdown of our favorite games from our trip, but first, here’s our summary of the final leg of our escape adventure.

RV Life

We started our final leg in Pennsylvania and from there traveled south into Virginia. One of Tina’s best friends, Julie, lives outside Washington D.C with her family, so we stayed at a campground near them for 5 days.

Besides having dinner with their family, Tina spent time with Julie and her daughter at a local fall festival. Tina also spent the night at their home while Curt enjoyed a night on his own in the RV. Except for the one night in San Diego that Tina spent with her friend Erin and then this night with Julie, we have been together 24/7 for the last 8 months! Traveling together in an RV for months at a time will truly test your relationship and we are happy to say that we love each other even more now. Tina is pretty sure Curt curled up in a corner and cried the whole time Tina was at Julie’s. In truth, Curt got a pizza, played some video games, watched a movie . . .  and missed Tina.

While in Virginia, we also traveled to Maryland to play some escape rooms and go to the Markoff’s Haunted Forest attraction. This one was even better than the Bate’s Motel Haunt and Hayride we told you about in our last update. This one has a haunted forest walk that was really amazing. If you are in Dickerson, MD during Halloween season, we recommend checking it out!

Next, we traveled further south to Ashland, VA. Here we met up with fellow enthusiasts Josh and Megan. Josh messaged Curt on Facebook when he heard about our trip and had been recommending their favorite rooms to us while we were traveling. It was great to meet up in person and have breakfast with them. They are our kind of people. Hopefully, we can all play some rooms together soon.

We left Virginia and traveled through West Virginia into Tennessee.  We made sure to stay one night in West Virginia and play an escape room, so that we could get the sticker for our map, though. 

While in Tennessee, we visited the Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg and we were lucky enough to be there in time to catch the end of the prime fall color season. We also went to the Pirate’s Dinner Show in Pigeon Forge and had a swashbuckling good time. Of course, we also did several escape rooms!

From Tennessee we traveled into North Carolina and stayed in four different areas of the state: Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington. Of the four, Raleigh was our favorite and is where we would like to move to eventually. Other than playing escape rooms, we spent most of our time in North Carolina sightseeing and scoping out areas we might like to live.

From North Carolina we continued south through South Carolina and Georgia for a few days and then back into Florida. We didn’t spend too long in South Carolina and Georgia, since we had done an escape room trip to Atlanta, GA and Greenville, SC last winter. 

Now that we are in Florida for several weeks, it’s time to get all the repairs made to the 5th wheel. Remember the situation with the leaking roof? We’re getting a new roof in January and the bedroom floor also has a soft spot that needs to be fixed. Then, it will probably be time to sell it. It’s bittersweet, because it was our home for our big adventure, but we are both ready to have a bit more room and closet space (especially Tina!).

Escape Rooms

Encrypted Escape Room (West Reading, PA)

• Biker’s Revenge-This one-room game had some fun elements. The set design was very good. It felt like a small biker bar, and was very dimly lit. We understand that’s how actual bars are, but customers aren’t usually doing puzzles and reading clues in bars. Most of the puzzles were multi-step and challenging without being ridiculous. We appreciated that.
• Viking Raid-We really enjoyed this room. We liked it even more than Biker's Revenge. It’s easier than Biker’s Revenge, but still had some challenging puzzles and the flow was better. The set design and ambiance are fantastic. We appreciate the soundtracks of the games at Encrypted, too.

The Art of Escape (Pine Grove, PA)

• Escape the 80’s-This game is fine for first time players, especially those who love the 80s. The main thing we were not thrilled with was that the room description said you have to go through a mall and various stores to figure out how to get back to the future. This would imply that the game is multi-room. The “mall” is all in one small room and each wall represents one or two "stores.” Not the theme we would have chosen for that small space. A few puzzles were more about searching than solving. But again, this is a fine room as an intro to escape rooms for first time players.

Cyber Raccoon Escape Room (Falls Church, VA)

• Train Robbery-The set was great. The game is challenging, especially for a team of two. We wish the flow was better; as we were often wondering what we should do next. But, overall, we enjoyed the experience and the ending was really cool.

Escape Room Herndon - Ravenchase (Herndon, VA)

• Maritime Mutiny-This is a pirate-themed game and is one of the better pirate rooms we’ve done. If you finish with at least 10 or 15 minutes on the clock, which we did, you get the opportunity to play the bonus puzzles with your remaining time. There were five of them. We got to the last one, which was very hard. After learning the solution, we never would have figured it out. This was our favorite game at this location. Unfortunately, this room is being retired soon. 
• 8-bit Escape-Oh, the nostalgia. This game is full of early 80s callbacks. The flow and puzzles are okay. There were a couple of puzzles that were very unique, and we appreciated that. We’ve played a handful of 80s games, and this is arguably one of the better ones. In this game if you finish with a lot of time left, you get to try their bonus puzzle. We completed it and were awarded a golden dwarf to take home. We think it's Happy of the Seven Dwarves. A very odd, but cool surprise.
• The Graverobber’s Dilemma-This is a creepy room. While we like creepy rooms, we know they will usually be dimly lit. For some reason, many places do not provide flashlights for these rooms in order to maintain the ambiance. They don’t understand that for older players, that means we probably can’t see writing for some puzzles or the numbers on locks to open them. We now bring our own keychain flashlights so we don’t have to use our phones, and we needed the lights in this room. An overall good game with some fun puzzles, but there were a few times we had trouble reading some small lettering, even with our little flashlights.

Clue IQ (Frederick, MD)

• Excalibur-This is, of course, a medieval game. We played a similar room in California, and we liked that one, too. This game has a good set, good puzzles and good ambiance. Unfortunately, we could easily hear the people in the lobby and that was distracting. So, we’d like to see better soundproofing, but that’s really our only gripe.
• Crane Manor-This Sleepy Hollow themed game has you in the home of Ichabod Crane. We really enjoyed this game. The final room could use a bit more signposting to improve the game flow, but, overall, we really enjoyed the puzzles and ambiance.

Hidden Gems Escape Room (Mechanicsville, VA)

• Elixir Inc-This is a research lab themed game. One of the owners used to work in a lab and wanted to make this game feel like an authentic lab. The problem is that a lab is a sterile environment, and the bright white empty walls made it feel that way. Great for a lab, but not so much for an escape room game. At least, not for us. We can appreciate why the set design is what it is, but we like more of a fun or whimsical atmosphere.  As for the gameplay, at times we weren’t sure what to do next, so signposting could be better. All that said, we still enjoyed the game, and the owners were great.
• Sleepy Hollow-We had a lot of fun with this game. We definitely liked it more than Elixir. We enjoyed the ambiance, puzzles, set design, etc. You could tell there was a lot of passion put into this one.

Colonial Escape Room (Williamsburg, VA)

• The Chesapeake Bay Butcher-This game was fantastic. The set design, game flow and puzzles were all very good. There are so many little things they do that make this game exceptional, from leading you to where you need to go using lighting, to moving the story along in a variety of ways, and there are scares, of course, which weren’t over the top, but did get us a few times. We also appreciated the (limited) live actor part of this game.  Apparently, they have tweaked the game over time to improve it and we think they have it perfectly dialed in at this point.

Room Escape Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA)

• Time Siege – The Battle of Yorktown-We like time travel games. Since we’ve played some really good ones, our bar is probably set a bit high. The set-up of this one was clever, and the theme was perfect for historical Williamsburg. We would have liked to see better set design and a bit more immersion, but we did enjoy it overall.
• The Wizard’s Pub-We’re always surprised at the liberties escape room businesses take with Harry Potter IP. Curt tried to get permission to use the IP for a summer camp and he knows it is nearly impossible. And, even if you could get the IP rights for something like an escape room, few would be able to afford it. Being Harry Potter fans, though, we are fine with playing rooms that use the theme. This game, of course, has an HP theme. The set was fun, the puzzles were fun, and the decorations and references make it feel familiar for HP fans. We had a lot of fun with this game.

Gnome and Raven – Ravenchase (Richmond, VA)

• Magic Lamp-This room has a great set and very good puzzles. It’s the first genie in a bottle-themed game we have played and we really enjoyed it.
• Wizard’s Castle-Finally, a wizard room that is not Harry Potter themed. We had fun with this room, too. While there were some puzzles that could use some tweaking and some signposting and flow issues with this game, we enjoyed it a bit more than Magic Lamp (but both are very good). Jasper, the manager, was kind enough to gift us a golden gnome and a golden magic lamp after we gave her one of our "ducking awesome" pins. Curt was very excited.

Escape Room RVA – RAVENCHASE (Richmond, VA)

• Shadow of Cthulhu-A decent game. The set design is very good in the first room, but gets progressively less immersive. The ending is a bit silly, but a lot of fun.
• Algernon’s Shop of Magical Goods-This game had a lot of similarities in design with Cthulhu. The game itself is okay. We really liked the set design in the first room. The end is a bit silly and out of place. But overall, we liked the game.

Escape-A-Torium (Fayetteville, WV)

• The Secret Bunker-As we’ve mentioned in previous reviews, you have to be a little forgiving of small town escape rooms. This one is no exception. It was okay in every way. We did get our West Virginia sticker for the map from playing it though! 

Escape Game Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

• Room 13: The Clinical Trials This was one of the worst experiences we’ve had at an escape room business. To be fair, our GM was brand new. We were the first game he had run on his own and the training manager didn’t get there until after we had started. 

While the game itself was okay, there were lots of issues.

1. There were 5 reset mistakes (puzzles already done, locks open, etc.)

2. There were three times when we had solved a puzzle correctly, but the outcome didn’t trigger and, in each instance, the GM and his training manager let us struggle until we finally asked for help. That took a lot of our time and was very frustrating for us. If you, as the GM, are paying attention and see that the players have the correct solution but are not either inputting it the right way or the input is not triggering, you let them know right away. 

3. The music for the first half is a short continuous loop of elevator music that becomes very annoying after about 15 minutes. The second half is eerie music that was also annoying and turned up way too loud. When the GM or the manager would come on the intercom to help us, we could barely hear them even though we asked them to speak up.

After the game, they knew we were not happy with how things went. The manager gave us some excuses and never offered any sort of compensation such as a free room that day, or even a discounted room. Looking at their bookings online afterward, they were not busy. We paid for an experience that they did not deliver, and at nearly $50 per person, that is not okay.

As for the game itself, it was fine. However, there are red herrings, and the ending is very anticlimactic. Also, on their website there should be a trigger warning that there are disturbing pictures of severed body parts and at least one person will need to watch a video of actual open-heart surgery. 

Gatlin’s Escape Games (Gatlinburg, TN)

So, this place has some good ratings and reviews. The problem is, this is one of the few companies that are still running public rooms, meaning that if you don’t pay for all the spots, which would be very expensive for two players, then you may have to play with strangers. A couple of ways to avoid this is to book the earliest time slot (which usually works) or to go and wait until the last minute to book the game if nobody else has.

• Master’s of Magic-With this game, we were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves. This was a fantastic game. We made sure to book the first time slot on a weekday to lessen the chances of playing with others. Thankfully, it worked. The gameplay and puzzles were really good, until the last puzzle (it was more like a task that bruised Tina’s arms). Other than that, we really enjoyed this room. 
• Big Maw Bertha’s Moonshine Hill Hootenanny-This was a really fun game. Unfortunately, since all of Gatlin’s Escape Games rooms are public, we had to play with another group of four who hadn’t played escape games before. That didn’t stop them from taking over the game . . . well, until they would get stuck (which happened a lot). Then we would jump in and give them some help. Ugh, we despise public rooms, but Curt really wanted to check this game out (Tina had already played it). Unfortunately, the public room aspect turned what would have been a “like” into a “meh” for this game.

Breakout Games (Gatlinburg, TN)

Breakout is a franchise that gets a lot of hate from enthusiasts for not having very good games. The one game that most people seem to enjoy, though, is Clue. While Tina had pretty much written off Breakout based on what other enthusiasts have said about the company’s rooms, we took the chance on playing this one.

• Clue-This game was . . .  fine. We liked the set design and the kitchen “puzzles,” but the rest of the game was just okay. We felt this was more of a task-based game with a few puzzles sprinkled in. We think this will be the only Breakout game we play.

Black Mountain Escape (Black Mountain, NC)

• Vanishing Act -From the intro to the finish, this was an absolute delight of a game. The owner, Jon, ran the game in character as a magician’s apprentice, and he did a great job. That live-actor interaction is what makes this game so great. It was all such a wonderful experience . . . the GM interactions, the set design, the puzzles, the game flow, the whimsical nature, and the surprises. There were a couple of puzzles we didn’t care for, but there were so many little Wow! Moments in this game, and most came from the occasional interaction with the GM. This was a memorable experience.
• Out of Time-The set design is great, better than Vanishing Act. The puzzles overall were really good. There were some really cool tech pieces that we hadn’t seen before and that elevates this game. While we enjoyed Vanishing Act more, this room is well worth playing.

Fox-N-Otter Adventure Escapes (Ashville, NC)

• Geno’s Getaway-This was an interesting game. The big draw is that they have an actual car in the room, a Mini Cooper. That was pretty neat. There were puzzles that certainly felt out of theme, but we can look past that if we are enjoying the overall game, which we did. Signposting and game flow could be improved. We needed help a couple of times on what to do next. Players also find keys, props, and clues much earlier than you can use them. This seems to be the trend with Fox-n-Otter games. While that increases the difficulty, it’s not our favorite type of gameplay. Side note: the soundtrack was really good. 
• Fantastic Forest-This was our least favorite Fox-n-Otter game that we played, even though we love whimsical rooms. The first room was good, but after that, there was sparse décor and it felt a little sterile. Some of the puzzles were fun but could use improved signposting on a few of them. This is not to say that Fantastic Forest is not a good game, it is, especially for families. It just wasn’t our favorite.

Fox-N-Otter Adventure Escapes (Henderson, NC)

• Bayou Boathouse-This was our favorite game from this company. It’s also their newest. In this game, they veer away from their typical design rule of giving you props, keys and clues way before you can actually use them. In this game, you find something (like a key) and you can usually use it right away. We like that. This game also has a very good set design, puzzle flow, and it was just fun. We loved the ending, too.

Key To Escape  (Statesville, NC)

This escape room company is in a historic church. It is one of the coolest buildings, if not THE coolest building, we have played escape rooms in. The owners, Kim and Roger, were a delight to meet and talk with.

After we parked, we went to the front door. It was locked. To the side of the door is a little wooden church on a platform. It looked like a large birdhouse. On it were buttons. After hitting the green start button, Curt had to play Simon Says a few rounds. Once the game is beaten, the door unlocks. So cool!.

• Redemption-Redemption is a fun game. The theme of a corrupt pastor makes you chuckle given the building you’re playing in. There are A LOT of puzzles. The two of us barely made it through in time. We definitely needed nudges along the way. We felt the flow of the game could be improved as well as a little more signposting. Not all the puzzles connected with us. But we loved the music (though it was much too loud at the end), the set design, and we appreciated the great tech in this game.
• Under Pressure-We enjoyed Under Pressure more than Redemption. The set is very neat, and the tech is really cool. Some of the puzzles didn’t make sense for the theme, but they were fun, nonetheless. We needed a fair number of nudges to find things or open props, things that could have been signposted in theme, but that’s a small gripe. We needed a couple of extra minutes to finish. There were definitely times when we didn’t know what to do next. The music was so good during the game, and the sounds and music of the last part really turned up the intensity. 

Nocturne Adventures (Hickory, NC)

After playing at Key to Escape, we drove about 40 minutes to a neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. There were plenty of houses and some farms, but we didn’t pass any stores and just one gas station after getting off the highway. We knew ahead of time that this business was in the basement of a house, but as we got closer we started feeling like we were driving to our doom. This is how horror movies start. 

Alas, we had nothing to worry about. The “basement” has its own door and is actually quite nice. After parking in their driveway, we headed in and met one of the owners, Nicole. After playing the first game, we met her husband and sister (the actors). All of them are incredibly nice and very passionate about escape rooms.

• Ripper (PG-13 Scary Version) -We absolutely loved this game. We are not exactly into horror or scary games, so we really appreciate that Nocturne offers varying levels of scare to choose from when booking. We did the PG-13 Scary version, and it was perfect for us. The difficulty of the puzzles and the flow of the game couldn’t be better. The live actors were amazing. We had SO much fun with this game.
• Nevermore -We played this game after Ripper, and it was a very different experience, but still amazing. Nevermore is more of a traditional escape room game, and it is terrific! It is an Edgar Allen Poe-inspired game. The set design is amazing, but it’s the puzzles, the game flow, and the ambiance that truly make this an outstanding game. 

Hometown Escapes (Fort Mill, SC)

• Wizard’s Academy-This game was a mixed bag for us. On the positive side, there were some fun puzzles that we appreciated. And that's what we are ultimately there for. However, we would have liked to have seen a little more signposting. While the flow wasn't ideal for two players, it would be fine for larger groups. The set design was just okay (though, after 400+ rooms, our bar is set a little high, probably). This is a very Harry Potter-themed game with a few changes to some of the references, like only a single letter changed in a lot of the names. Ultimately, the price was lower than other places in the area, and this venue seems like a good place for new players to experience escape rooms.

Nerd Escapes (Raleigh, NC)

• The Return-The storyline is very different for this one. You are returning home from war and your family has escaped after being locked up by the butler. Now the butler has locked you up, but your family has left clues for you on how to escape. Um . . . okay. We had fun in this room, though. For two enthusiasts, the puzzles were on the easier side. We had over 15 minutes left, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. It was. EVERYTHING is used in this game. Nothing is just decoration. While that is a neat idea (nobody likes red herrings), it also makes the rooms feel a bit bare since the decor is at a minimum. But that doesn’t keep us from recommending this game, especially for newer players. It has some very fun puzzles and a cute ending. 
• City with No Sun -This is the second completely dark game we have played. The other one was Outage at Escape Ventures in Orlando. While we love Outage, this one we enjoyed even more. This game has a split start and uses ALL of your senses except sight. This game is NOT scary. It is safe and a lot of fun.

Game On (Cary, NC)

• Rest Easy Motel-Tina realized that she had played this exact game in Sanford, Fl a few years ago. As Curt knows, that doesn’t really matter. She will have forgotten most of the puzzles. We liked this room. It’s creepy but not scary. The puzzles and flow are good. But, if you played Rest Easy Motel at Escape Artists in Sanford, Fl, just know that this is the same game.
• MacGregor Manor-This game was just as creepy as Rest Easy Motel, but it was dimmer. Thankfully, we carry small flashlights. You do eventually get flashlights in the game, though. We liked the puzzles a bit more in this room, although we got stuck on one particular puzzle that we never would have noticed if not for a hint. Other than that, it was an enjoyable game.

Green Light Escape Rooms (Wilmington, NC)

• Brewery Heist-We had a good time with this one. We liked the puzzles and the set design. Nearly everything in the game is used as part of a puzzle, so you weren’t distracted by props that were simply décor. There is a fair amount of crouching which we find to be a nuisance, but the game and ambiance were very good.
• The Attic-The minimalistic design of this room made the game feel a bit empty. However, we really like the storyline and how it led into the puzzles. It was very creative. The first part was better than the second part. We would like to see an improved set design and maybe some creepy audio of the kid talking to the players (babysitters). Fewer cabinet slams to scare players and more overall creepiness would serve this game well.

Exit Games (Wilmington, NC)

This is the sister location of the one in Florida that is touted to be the best escape rooms in the state. We have done both rooms there and they are amongst our favorites.

• Front Street Casino Heist-While this game in no way compares to their games in Clearwater, FL, it was still an enjoyable time. You’re robbing a vault and have to find the keys through a series of puzzles. The set design was very good and the puzzles were too. It’s a solid game.

Lock, Clock and Peril (Sumter, SC)

• Teleporter Trails-In this game, you are teleported to an alien spaceship and not the space station you were supposed to end up in. You are told to complete a series of tasks in order to prove your worth to the aliens. We don’t want to get probed, after all. This is a really fun game that has an adorable twist at the end. It also has some neat tech and a wonderful hint system character. The puzzles were fun and all made sense. Highly recommended.
• Paranormal Investigator-We have found ourselves in another creepy house. What is wrong with us? We’re pretty sure we have earned our paranormal investigator certificates at this point. This game is creepy (we like that), but not scary (we also like that). The set design was on point and the puzzles were varied and enjoyable.

Locked Inn (Florence, SC)

• The Carnival of Wonders-In this game, we have gone to an abandoned carnival only to find out that it is being run by a serial killer. Great! How do we get ourselves into these situations? This game is carnival-themed, so we knew there would be at least a couple of carnival games to play (Curt loves those). Most of the puzzles made sense and were fun to do. We also liked the ambiance with the music and lighting. It is very creepy (not scary), so if you like that kind of thing (like we do), then you should enjoy this game.

Well, that’s it! Our EPIC trip has ended. We are sad it's over, but excited for what's ahead. Thank you for joining us on our adventure. You haven’t seen the last of us quite yet, though, because we'll be doing one more article highlighting our favorite rooms from the trip (and maybe some of the worst!). 

Until Next Time,

Tina and Curt