Real Escape Game

You know, despite the numerous times I call bullshit on some of the solutions, I keep coming back because the puzzles are generally really well done, the theming and production values keep improving over time, and it’s just a good old time if your friends are nerds. Going to this is pretty much an admission of such, verified and qualified as such by the number of Spotpasses I get every time I go to one of these events. Earnestly surprised there aren’t more cosplayers, honestly.
But really, it’s a fun challenge and makes you think outside the box, which is a skill that doesn’t often get exercised in everyday life. At least, I guess, not in a quite so obvious way. I’m probably never going to be Professor Layton, but sometimes at the end of one of these things, I feel like Mr. Magoo, and that’s probably the best that I could hope for.

I went to tonight’s Escape at AT&T Park and the ending was so utterly disappointing. It didn’t even make sense even if we had figured it out. The last clue about the note around the field was complete BS. Everything up until the last clue made sense and was really fun. Also, it was way too crowded and we got off to a slow start because we didn’t know that the clues were so obvious and we were not searching for the boards with the clues directly on them. And, the $ 36 cover for this game was overpriced. $ 20 would have been more reasonable for what it was.

I wanted to do something different for my birthday this year then going to a bar or dinner so I booked out a game at the escape room with my girlfriends. Although I wish there was maybe two games going at the same time so more people could play. Besides that we had a great time! It was definitely fun, interactive and different. I would definitely go back and try a different game.

People love these escape games. Look at these excellent reviews. Look at the number of people that have gone again and again. Look at them proliferating in other cities, states, and countries.
Now look at me, dialing down the volume.
Not to rain on anyone’s parade, we like what we like and I’m glad, in this day and age when people only play games on their phones and computers, that people are gathering en masse to interact with one another in trying to escape from a room in a set period of time. The activity is fun and the duration (1.5 hours start to finish) is such that even if you don’t find it fun you can endure it.
Two friends and I did the «Escape from the Puzzle Room» on a recent afternoon, along with about 10 other fun people we’d never before met. Because of all the positive press, one friend who doesn’t like games agreed to go; she thought it sounded somewhat fun. The other two of us like games (board games, puzzles, cards, not video games). Here’s the outcome:
* My friend who doesn’t like games. didn’t enjoy this. She had a good attitude throughout but couldn’t figure out what she was supposed to be doing and proclaimed that she had no interest in ever again doing an escape room game.
* My other friend enjoyed it and is interested in trying another escape room. She remarked, accurately, that this would be a great corporate team-​building exercise.
* You could have locked me in that room for 4 hours and I’d not have escaped. The puzzle is non-​linear and doesn’t speak to my strengths. There were brief moments where I had some idea of what I should be doing but those amounted to — maybe — 5 of the 60 minutes in the room. Still, I’d go again if others suggested it; I didn’t have a bad time.
So, take this for what it is, one voice amongst many who love the escape games.
If you’re looking to entertain a group of people for a brief amount of time, involving them in some activity is desirable. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea but even those who aren’t inclined to enjoy it will probably be able to endure it without complaint.
Tickets are $ 29 per person.
We did not escape.

I’ve done one escape the room game before but at a different location. After I did that event (which was a Unilocal event!) I kept telling my coworkers that we needed to do it as a team! Well it took a while but we finally did it with some partners of ours and everyone had a blast. This location had a couple different options and the two guys who helped us, were very friendly, funny and did a good job running it. We almost got out but alas we did not. The puzzles were challenging and fun. I would definitely be back to try again. Also, they are doing an escape from AT&T park that sounds crazy but fun. I’ll be out of town that day but if I was here I would do it.

I’ve done the Puzzle Room and the Time Travel Lab, and both were extremely fun. Really creative puzzles and a great staff supporting you.
I’m definitely going to try some of their other rooms.

I put together a team of 11 of the smartest puzzle solvers I know. Despite my initial confidence, we failed to escape from the Time Travel Lab. This was my 5^th escape room and it’s my favorite so far.
The puzzles were super fun and creative. I’ll offer just one hint to potential players: you don’t need to solve every puzzle! I thought that the set up is very clever and different.
We tried to strategize in advance and our team had good communication. Unfortunately, we fell short of achieving our goal and we were probably 10 minutes away from escaping.
We all had a blast and I would high recommend Real Escape Room to advanced players.

SCRAP from Japan is the Pinkberry of the the Room Escape genre, so their games are always consistently amazing. Expect nothing less from the founders!
This review is for Escape from the Cursed Forest at iam8bit. They do games that are narratives rather than rooms as well. Amazing experience, will do whenever they come to town.

We did the Escape from the Time Travel Lab and it was awesome!
I like very challenging, out of the box thinking and just creative puzzles and problems — Real Escape Game reached all these points. When you solved the problems it takes a decent amount of critical thinking, team working and communication which is really fun. So it wasn’t easy, we were unable to escape but it doesn’t matter, it was a great experience.
The room we did followed the theme very well and I love rooms that pay attention to details and when everything actually follows the general theme. All the problems you solve sort of relate to the theme at hand and relate to each other.
I’ve done a bunch around the area including escape from zombie and escape from titan in SF earlier this year, this one is much better than those ones. Also I’ve done a bunch in Toronto, and this one is definitely on par with the ones in Toronto. I’m excited to try the other escape rooms they have here.
Nice area and was definitely not sketchy looking at all. Also you could tell they kept the rooms in good quality and weren’t beat up.

Ok I have never experienced anything like this before. We were invited for 2 hours of mystery puzzle solving. There were about 20 of us collectively and we all just had to come together to figure out how to find a key to get out of room in record time. Unfortunately we didn’t get out in the allotted time, but it was a ton of fun. Better take some Ginko Biloba to sharpen the brain cells before coming out!

My friend and I came here on a whim when we saw an advertisement while having high tea downstairs in the Free People building. There were set times when they meet, so we went to the next time available. You are suppose to book it ahead of time, but we didn’t know about it. However, we got lucky and they squeezed us in for the Puzzle Room. The max was 12 people, but we had 13. We paid $ 30 after the game ended because their credit card machine didn’t work, or else we would have paid before the game. Cash is preferred.
The girls that work there are really nice and friendly. The random team that I joined was smart and aggressive (in a good way because we escaped!). I didn’t know what to expect or know how intense it would be, but now I do. I will be more prepared next time.
I’m glad that I experienced this on my birthday! :D I will try the real escape game in San Jose next time!

I signed up because of the Unilocal reviews being very positive and i have been to few escape games in LA and enjoyed it.
So I tried the time travel lab with five friends and another couple which i don’t know. This game is VERY different from other escape rooms i’ve been since a lot of this puzzles are word/​letter puzzles.
So the up side is, if you are really good at solving word puzzles, then you probably have a higher chance to escape. But if English isn’t your first language (like me and my friends), it might take you a little longer or higher chance of not escaping.
I actually have no problem understanding or guessing the problems but my friend’s wife who speaks russian and was in the states for less than half a year didnt enjoy it as much.
The other room in LA i tried are all logic and math type of questions so I didn’t think language would be an issue.
The overall experience is positive but if you had trouble figuring out the message behind the clues (which are in english) should try some other rooms that base on logic or solving an actual puzzles (which i think the puzzle room should be?) so i will update my rating after i give that room a try.

For those who are unfamiliar, «escape room» games are where you and friends around you are placed inside a room where you must escape within a certain time limit. It’s kind of like the movie «The Game» assuming you know the spoiler to that movie. To me, it’s like being inside a real-​life text adventure game… or one of those point-​and-​click adventures from Lucasarts, except you physically have to manipulate things.
Great concept.
So, here, I tried the «Escape From Alcatraz» (one of the scenarios) with my coworkers. We were handcuffed inside a prison cell and had to use our cleverness to escape within one hour. Luckily, my coworkers were great partners to work with, so we were able to escape fairly smoothly. If you beat the record time, you will have had a free game. We didn’t beat the time, but we came pretty close. Observations, brain work, a bit of decoding, and Mac Gyver-​ing should help you out.
The hosts were great and quite professional. They really got into it. The game was fun and challenging. If you are really stuck, they can give you a hint by waving at the video camera inside the room.
Hidden in Chinatown of San Francisco, this game room is a jewel. One would think that the rooms would be small or the games would be limited, but not so! When I was there, they had about three games going on. Very cool! A must try!
I believe a group of 5 is usually the limit in terms of one game. We had 6, but they were cool with it.

The Time Travel Lab is very well designed. I can’t imagine how much time it took the staff to create the room. If you want to know what it’s like to be in a thriller, this is probably as close to it as you’ll get. It runs around $ 30 bucks per a person for an hour of mind-​blowing fun. All in all, a phenomenal experience.
Try to get a group of friends together vs. completing it with strangers. It’ll be easier to collaborate.

I had no idea what to expect when I booked the real escape. I was looking for a interactive team event and the puzzle room caught my eye. We literally went in blind, half my team thought we would be chased by zombies or be locked in some small jail.
Thankfully it was neither of those. The real escape is being locked in a room (fairly large) for those claustrophobic, and you have to figure out a series of puzzles to try and escape.
The introduction was slightly cheesy and very scripted, but once we got in it was fun. Towards the end everyone had their sleeves rolled up and made it a mission to escape. Though we didn’t, we all had a amazing time and I’d definitely like to book additional rooms!

Real Escape Game is a great activity for puzzle enthusiasts. I’ve come here to the Post Street venue two times now (one for Puzzle room, and the other for Mysterious room), and I had an amazing time for both.
Basically, you are locked inside a room and you have an hour to figure out how to get the key to escape. Each room has a different theme. For example, the Puzzle room is filled with mini puzzles that you have to solve in order to find the key. It’s a fun hour filled with yelling, screaming, frustration, and pure adrenaline. I definitely suggest that you bring several friends along. It may be a bit difficult to cooperate with strangers, but if you keep an open mind, you will have a blast.
Out of the two rooms I have tried, I definitely prefer the Puzzle Room. There are so many different things going on that both frustrated and entertained me. Even though we didn’t escape– we almost did though!- I definitely felt like it was worth what I paid for.
I suggest that you buy your tickets early (at least a few weeks beforehand), since the demand is high. It’s definitely worth the 29 $ you are paying!
have fun and prosper,

SO. MUCH. FUN.
I’ve done a few of these «escape» rooms in SF & LA and at this location I did «Escape from the Time Travel Lab.»
This was hands down the best one I’ve done — even though we did NOT escape! Yeah, it was that awesome of an experience at this location/​company.
Obviously, I’m not going to give away tactics or clues, but what was interesting to note was that there was a little girl (10 – 12 year old?) who was part of our team. And she figured out a clue before the adults did. But no one listened to her and we spent 20 minutes trying to solve the very clue she figured out all by herself. Lesson: DON’T IGNORE ANYONE, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, english-​speaking level, etc.
Coming back again. So addictive.

I did the Puzzle Room and the Time Travel Lab.
I tried the Puzzle Room with my boyfriend and we played the game with a group of strangers. Though we were close in solving the game, it was definitely different playing with strangers and not knowing what everyone was doing.
When in doubt, just start opening everything and anything you can get your hands on!
I did the Time Travel Lab with a group of friends and loved the experience. Being able to solve some of the puzzles = amazing!
If you get stuck, you can get help to move along with the game.
Very fun experience even if you don’t win. :)

I gathered 10 of my smartest friends yesterday to escape from the mysterious room. Unfortunately, we fell short of winning. Maybe if we had 5 or 10 more minutes but no dice…
For those of you who don’t know what this is, this is a real life puzzle game where you and 10 others are locked in a room and you must use your brain and brawns to find clues to unlock the door or forever be trapped in the room. Without revealing any spoilers, I will say that this was worth the money spent ($ 30 for an hour) and you will feel much closer to your friends after this experience. If you had strangers in the room because you didn’t book all 11 slots, those strangers will be your new best friends after the journey.
What are you waiting for? Book the next available event and solve away!

As I’ve stated in my check-​in you’ll need at least a few of the following people in your group in order to win: Sherlock Holmes, Watson, Stephen Hawking, Marilyn vos Savant, and/​or Andrew Wiles.
That’s how mindlessly ignorant and stupid I felt after they revealed the answers at the end.
The object of each and every game is to solve the puzzles in order to unlock you out of the room in the 60 minutes allotted. Sounds a bit like the horror movie Saw, but I promise you, no heads will roll, only egos, if you don’t escape.
Granted, I’m not the brightest crayon in the box; hence my only usefulness in these games has been the word puzzles, occasional art or visual puzzles, and tearing up the room in The Escape From The Mysterious Room to find the clues.
Break open stuff to find clues? Heck, my brother and I are pros at breaking stuff open! Hence, that game was favorite out of the three I’ve played so far.
Each and every time the great revealed occurred I was like, hmm, that seems like a little bit like a stretch but okay.
Yet, when we played Escape From The Auction House for my birthday, and mind you one of my friends is a top graduate of Cornell, we were like, wow the leap from the final puzzle to answer for the auction item was as wide as the Grand Canyon.
Who would get this? Oh right, the team in the corner from Japan?!?
Hence they were the only team out of 65 tables who won that one.
Talk about thinking outside the box! You would have to think outside of the room that the box was in, in the imaginary mind of that savant in order to figure that one out.
The third and final game I played was the Escape From The Time Travel Lab. And well, no shock that even in a different era with a different set up, I’m as good as lost. No matter where you put me… and yet I keep going back for more, why?
Because I love these games!