We visited CipherX Entertainment on August 2 at 2:30 PM with three kids and one adult and chose the Harry Potter escape room. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing, especially considering how excited the kids were beforehand.
Throughout the room, several of the interactive puzzles did not appear to function properly. We had to call for assistance multiple times because we became stuck due to what seemed to be technical issues rather than difficulty solving the puzzles.
There were also points where parts of the game appeared to progress or unlock automatically, which made us feel like we unintentionally skipped portions of the experience. The biggest example was the final puzzle, which opened after we placed only a single symbol on the pad. It definitely did not seem like that was how the puzzle was intended to work.
Because of these issues, we finished the entire room in approximately 30 minutes. We have done several escape rooms elsewhere, and this felt considerably shorter and less complete than the experiences we have had before. The kids left disappointed because it felt like we only experienced part of the room as it was intended.
To be fair, the staff we interacted with were friendly when we asked for assistance. However, between the malfunctioning puzzles and the overall operation of the room, the experience did not feel as polished or professionally maintained as we expected.
What disappointed me further is that I emailed CipherX privately first to explain what happened and give them an opportunity to respond or address our experience. I specifically avoided immediately posting a negative public review because I wanted to give the business a fair opportunity to make things right. Unfortunately, I never received a response.
I normally try to be understanding when technical problems happen, because things can break. But when multiple puzzles malfunction during the same session, the room ends in roughly 30 minutes, and a follow-up email about the experience goes unanswered, it becomes difficult to feel that we received the experience we paid for.
I hope CipherX takes this feedback seriously and checks the Harry Potter room thoroughly so that other families can experience the complete game as it was intended. read more