It was an entertaining escape room but people should know that the percentages to escape are low,…read moreand they are not geared for younger children.

This is the fifth of a set of five reviews we are writing for Yelp, for the escape rooms we did on…read morea short sojourn to San Antonio and College Station in Texas. A short introduction to this set of reviews is included with our review for Komnata Quest. College Station itself is home to two escape room businesses, and we decided to give Padlock Games' Masquerade a go right before leaving Aggieland. We had wanted to do the Masquerade room a year ago, when our daughter first arrived in College Station, but term was out, so we couldn't fit their hours into our schedule. Although parties and murder mysteries were common themes among the games we played, this was the only masquerade (the good kind!) themed escape room we had found along our route, so we were thrilled that we managed to book a slot this trip. We paid for the whole room, which was a four-person minimum charge, but even with just the three of us playing, it came to less per person than an average room in a bigger city. Parking was free, as parking is outside of college property, and it was the perfect day to do an escape room because it was raining. There was already another group playing either Kidnapped or Secret Study when we arrived to play Masquerade, and they sounded like they were having a blast, so our sense of anticipation was heightened at once. The lobby was very Insta-friendly, with antique keys and the like adorning the walls, although the facility itself seemed smaller than the other businesses we had been to. It looked as though Andrea, our cheerful and friendly game mistress, was actually hosting at least two of the three games at her reception desk. But they certainly made good use of the space they had to provide a set of compelling and riveting puzzles in a well-designed challenge. The story was straightforward enough: having been invited to a masquerade dinner party, we arrive to discover our hostess had just been murdered. We had to discover the name of her murderer as well as find the key to leave the party in an hour. The look of the room was likely inspired by the Phantom of the Opera and the Great Gatsby. It was lit as a dinner party should be, and filled with everything a masquerade ball would have. The puzzles were some of the most original we've seen - and, no surprise, really, because Padlock Games primary clientele would be college groups and, perhaps, families arriving for graduation. The room was spacious and the sophisticated layout complemented the hoity-toity soiree air of the game. We would have been quite comfortable including our wheel-chair bound grandparents, in fact. We did feel at times that there were more red herrings than puzzles - but that may actually have to do with us being distracted by the décor of the room rather than it being any kind of deliberate misdirection. There were also more hardware store locks than we wanted to play with - but we, erm, didn't actually get to the point of actually needing to play with them much! What's the best part about losing to a room? Going through all the puzzles with our game host and seeing the game host stumble on the puzzles, of course! For us, beating the room is only one way to play an escape room. In the event of the room winning, we always enjoy talking with our game hosts and seeing how we missed the most obvious clues. It's always great when the game host gives us due credit for puzzles solved and is able to laugh with us when the room proves even more sneaky than all of us combined. Masquerade is comparatively low-tech, and required a fair bit of paper and pencil work, but the best puzzle was galvanic! There were not very many locks at all, but each puzzle took a good while to work out, and if Andrea had not been as attentive as she was in providing very much needed clues - even while monitoring at least one other game, we would have been totally lost. As it were, she was en pointe with every request for a hint. We had to wait five minutes between hints, but it was part of the game, and this system was new to us, so it worked out. To top it off, our photos were great! Padlock Escape Games' Facebook page was updated last 5 December 2020, so we just missed being part of their album to date, but we loved our photos with their props, and we left feeling as chuffed as if we had won the game. Our escape room experience in College Station certainly measured well against the more high-tech and more expensive games we've played. We're so sorry we didn't have enough time to play their other games!

So fun! Our family has completed all of the scenarios and they never disappoint! The staff is…read morewonderful, the escape rooms are always challenging! I highly recommend!

The host was amazing and we had a great time! We did the game show version and it was so much fun…read moredefinitely want to go back for the actual escape room

This place is AWESOME! BRKThrough is such a unique and fun experience. The website does a great job…read moreof explaining everything. I've only been here once and I would definitely come back! My husband and I booked the 2 hour experience. It seems like a lot of time, but once you play, it feels like it's not enough! The rooms truly are best played with 2-4 players. There are some rooms where 2 people is nearly impossible to get a perfect score, and there are some rooms where people would just be standing around if you have more than 4 players. Your team will have a team leader who will wear a specific wristband that opens the rooms and allows you to view your score on a big screen in the hallways. If your team doesn't care about rankings and want to just play for fun, then you can go at your own pace or split up if possible, depending on the size of your team. For example, if you have a total of 6 people playing, you could be one team with 1 team captain. For scoring, it would be best to stick together. Or you can split into two teams and have two team captains. That way, your team could split up into teams of 2 and 4 or 3 and 3 depending on the game/room. If you do care about rankings, then stick with your team and try to solve as many rooms as possible and get the perfect score. The rooms are so different! It's a lot of fun. There is definitely something for every one and many rooms to solve. Within the 2 hours, my husband and I were not able to go through all the rooms. Man, after we were done, we wanted to play more! It was exhilarating because you are trying to get through as many rooms as you can and trying to get the best score. It's like we were on a game show. haha Some rooms are addicting to where you want to just play it over and over again, but if you care about your ranking, just move on! lol The rooms have a time limit, which helps you pace yourself and prevent people from hogging a room the entire time. It gives off a "minute-it to win-it" vibe. Running around and trying to find an available room is also fun in itself. It's like a labyrinth in there. There were some technical issues with some rooms. For example, there was a soccer room where one of the goals would not score at all, so that messed with our points. There was another room involving a subway where I seriously think several answers were not on the posters provided. However, it was still fun! The employees were all super nice! One of the employees even helped us play in one room because it was one of those rooms where it would have been impossible to get a good score with only 2 people. I would say this isn't exactly a "one and done" type place. If you play with different people, it will be a different experience. Certain rooms you can definitely memorize and just plug in the answers. However, there are other rooms that are sports and arcade style, so replaying it would still be fun. Furthermore, you may not finish all the rooms the first time and by the next time you come back, they may have added additional rooms/games. Also, since they track rankings, you could try to get a better score the next time you come. The price is sort of expensive, but I think it's worth it. I mean, it's not something I would do every weekend, but I can definitely see us coming back a few more times for special occasions. They do serve food inside the venue. They have a really cool little glass box outside of each room to put your drinks inside. Also, they have free lockers to put in your purse and other valuables if you wish. There are also several cool photo opportunities. This place is just amazing. You have to just come and experience it yourself! This place is perfect for birthday parties, family outings, date night, or just to try something new. I highly recommend this place!

Some of the rooms were lacking any intelligent explanation. Therefore, it was a waste of time. Just…read moreprovide one clue at least. They kept telling us our minds were not to think a certain way. It was insulting. I submit our group over thought each room due to a lack of clues.

This was a lot of fun!!! We solved the antidote room and had a blast! Sydni, Sophia and Ainsley…read morewere great staff members that took care of us. We ended up doing another session the Scooby Doo room the next day lol

Had an absolutely amazing time! Took 5 friends with me kinda late at night and they were super…read moreaccommodating with giving us tips if we needed it.Katie the front desk manager gave us a super positive experience and was extremely sweet. If you are looking for a local escape room THIS IS THE PLACE!!

This place is fantastic. This place was clean & the staff were great. No complaints from any of…read moreus. Will go again

Thank you Mo Money and Max Power for making our night one to remember!!!! We had so much fun and it…read morewould not have been possible without you two! Thanks for being amazing hosts and making my sister's birthday one to remember!!! If you enjoy game shows along with a little competition, then this is your spot! It's a unique concept that plays on classic tv game shows that we all grew up on! They have two types of game show rooms, we chose the classic game. The first game was "survey says" which is similar to family feud, in the next game we spun a wheel to solve a puzzle which is similar to wheel of fortune, next was "guess the price and the drop" which is similar to the price is right. All of these were so fun to play and gave us a night to remember! We had 6 people total, and we decided to go with men vs women. The men ultimately won booooooo lol but we had a blast! Highly recommend for a family night out or other group events!!

Looking for something fun and exciting? This is definitely the place! Came here with some friends…read moreon a Wednesday and had such a great time. There's free parking in the garage (upper level), which made things easy. When we walked in, we were greeted right away and got checked in while waiting for our time slot. The waiting area was clean and had some photo opportunity spots. Our game master, Brianna, came over and gave us a quick rundown since it was my first time, which I really appreciated. As soon as we entered the room, I noticed how clean and well-organized everything was. The props were also well taken care of, making this whole experience super immersive. Brianna was really helpful and gave us hints at the right moments whenever we got stuck. There were multiple layers to the puzzles, which made it more exciting and less predictable. It truly kept us engaged the entire time. It ended up being such a great escape room experience for me, and even my friends who have done others said this one stood out. Definitely worth checking out if you're looking for something fun to do with friends!

We came here with some older friends and they really struggled. It was my second escape game and my…read morehusband's like 5th. The Heist room is really challenging. It was really frustrating bc the game master was not really helping us so we waisted a lot of time. We were kind of close towards the end but she still didn't willingly help us like we asked (bc we knew it would be harder with only 3 people really trying at it). It was really fun but we left frustrated. Especially for the price you pay. Definitely come here with your quick thinking, murder mystery, detective friends!

We went here a few months ago to celebrate my boys' birthday and this place was so neat! I didn't…read moreknow what to expect because I've never heard of this place. However, we were gifted a Groupon so that's how we knew about OUAC. When we went it was a cloudy and rainy day so it wasn't crowded at all, which was nice. The place was unique because it had many different stations and activities for your kids to play. It's like a huge Montessori playground. My boys loved the train ride and riding on the dinosaurs the most. I like that the place includes both indoor and outdoor stations. The place seems rather small compared to an amusement park like Six Flags, but it's just enough. Kids can easily spend 30 minutes - 1 hour in just one location so I really like how they can enjoy their time and casually play without parents feeling overwhelmed to get everything done to maximize the amount of money spent. We didn't host a birthday party here, but there were other parties booked. I don't know how much it costs, but let me say that the decorations were beautiful! I'm not sure if it was included or if the parents decorated themselves, but if you wanted to go all out for your child, you certainly can. The staff were also ALL super sweet and friendly! The place plans for everything, like rain. They had numerous umbrellas for patrons to use within the grounds. When it started to rain, all the staff were asking if we needed umbrellas, and one even was willing to run in the rain to get us one! Seriously, I've never seen such hospitality in an establishment from everyone! I also would recommend going here on a weekend because according to their website, more stations and activities are open during that time. Even if it's more crowded, I think it is worth it. If you want to do something different for your child, then I would recommend this place!

Second visit was even better than the first!…read more We asked the kids when we were leaving what their favorite part was and neither could come up with just one. As for us grandmas, our favorite part was watching the kids have such a great time and being able to let them free to be kids. Seriously- from drawing on walls to virtually reality ax throwing tic-tac-toe there is a new adventure behind every door. I

Why 5 stars? Because there are fewer things in life that my son has loved more…read more --- --- --- I had known about Immersive Gamebox for a while, but never really put a lot of thought into going. But with mom out of town for the weekend, I was looking for stuff to do with my son, and it actually seemed like a pretty solid option. He's 6 years old and plays (kid-friendly) Squid Games worlds on Roblox. It's one of his favorite things to do, actually. So when I saw that they had a Squid Games thing here, I was pretty intrigued. It was noted to be 12+ though, so I opted to not book in advance and just ask the people working here when I arrived, if it would be appropriate for him. They all universally said that it would probably be too challenging for a 6 year old. So we booked Paw Patrol instead. Walking in on a Saturday meant that we had an hour wait, which was no problem because we had plenty to do at the mall in the meantime. He absolutely loved it. He hasn't stopped talking about it in the 24 hours since we finished. It was definitely easy enough for him to figure out how to play, other than the 2nd to last game where you were supposed to herd ducks and fish into their body of water. Even I struggled with that game. But the rest of it was very manageable. It's not the cheapest way to spend an afternoon, but we will definitely be back to do this again in the future.

Interesting concept. Not VR but more like augmented reality. Staff is super friendly. You can…read morewatch folks playing before deciding as play rooms are visible for spectating. After watching and reviewing the options, we ultimately decided not to partake. But I think one could have a good time here just not our cup of tea.

I've been to a few escape rooms and thought this one was on par with the others…read more As far a price is concerned, I thought they were reasonable priced compared to others maybe even a bit cheaper. Perhaps it's a bit cheaper because the inside is a bit rough/unfinished. I mean It's not dirty, unsafe, or disgusting - but you can tell that little investment is made to "upscale" things. Staff - the lady working the room ( I believe she's the owner) is super cool. We did the Avengers themed room and succeeded ( and it was not because of my skills). It was a lot of finding clues to open locks. I felt that maybe 80% of it was finding ways to open locks then use what was hidden to do something to move to the next step. Now, let's be honest, if we are the Avengers, I don't think we are going to look for clues to open locks. I sure there are more effective/efficient ways to open them:-). Same goes for a normal person, lock cutters anyone? Overall it was fun and we finished with about 5 minutes remaining. Think we were there for about an hour total.

This was so fun!! This was the first time all of us had tried an escape room it was very fun and…read morethe host was very helpful! The leaderboard with the fastest times really kept us motivated to solve riddles and use our own powers of deduction rather than the hints. Do the Sherlock Holmes room!

The moment I walked in, I was greeted warmly and checked in right away. Since I arrived early, the…read morestaff member mentioned the sample puzzle boxes on the wall that I could try while I waited, a fun little preview that got my brain warmed up before the real challenge. Before heading in, be prepared to lock up your phones in the provided lockers. What happens in those rooms stays in those rooms! Our group did the Titanic room, and the adventure did not disappoint. Every little detail matters, seriously, the smallest clues make the biggest difference. And anytime we hit a wall, hints were available to keep us moving without spoiling the fun. Im happy to report we made it onto the lifeboat with our life jackets on . Azi was a fantastic host, friendly, clear with the rules, and congratulated us when we escaped. All around, an amazing experience. I'd absolutely return for another adventure!

Booked axe throwing for a group of 4. The website is very difficult to use for axe throwing, so we…read morewent in person to make the reservation. The business was open, but we waited and waited for someone to come assist us. When it came to the day of, the employees were nice and helpful, but the axe throwing is a bust. The plywood used is so hard that the axes bounce right off. There is an axe throwing business in kingwood that uses more porous wood (and will wet it a bit) so your axes actually go into the wood when you throw them! This plywood left us all feeling unsuccessful after an hour. They have a good music system and digital backgrounds for throwing. They have good drink selection but no food on the premises, so bring your own food. I have heard their escape rooms are better than axe throwing, as they need to update the wood used.