The Witches Hollow escape room was a lovely and very story centered Escape room experience…read more My friends and I have done a number of escape rooms together and separately and this was the first escape room I have ever participated in where competition with a ticking clock was not front and center to the entire thing. There was no clock present at all! And we learned, after we escaped, that they have additional puzzles they add if players are getting through the puzzles quickly. Because it's story centered, they want you to get from point A to point B, but the puzzles were still difficult enough to be satisfying. The production value was fantastic - a lot of attention to light and sound design and a beautiful set and props. It was a great atmosphere to lose yourself in for an hour. Bravo. I don't live that close to Salem, but kind of hope my friends will want to organize to try the other room. Other less important stuff: Though they don't have their own lot, they are located on a public pay lot. They are about a 10 minute walking distance from the downtown witchy area of Salem. There is a Starbucks next door which can be convenient for meeting up before and debriefing after. Check them out - a really great experience.

I love an escape room, so when I booked a birthday trip to Salem I decided to see if there were any…read morelocal ones to try out and found Stained Hourglass. We selected to do the Witch's Hallow and it exceeded my expectations! In most escape games everyone plays the same game, the host watches from another room and throws hints up on a screen, and you have giant clocks counting down always taunting you - but Stained Hourglass was different in the best way. There is no clock at all, instead your game guide/host is an active character in the game and helps to ensure you are moving along in the storyline and towards completing the room. Where the guide/host is playing a character known as Belsnickel is in another room, you have multiple interactions with him for puzzles, hints, and following the storyline (and the character is hysterical). The game is customized to the players as well, the number of puzzles and difficulty can vary based on how the team is doing or based on what they seem to enjoy more. The puzzles are well-designed and intuitive to work through! I think only 3 puzzles were locks you had to figure out or find keys to (which can be my least favorite puzzle) and the rest were activities and patterns (the best!). Without the clock you really get immersed into the story as well, which is a nice change, particularly when there is a good story line. Also, with the game able to be so personalized part of our game everyone sang happy birthday to me, I was given a plastic cupcake, and when I pretended to blow out a nonexistent candle, magic happened and a new room appeared! Also, hidden in the game was a birthday card from Belsnickel and the Stained Hourglass crew. My friends and I talked about how much fun we had the entire rest of the trip, I only wish we would have had more time to do the boring office room as well. This is absolutely a must do experience if you are looking for an activity in Salem!

This is the best escape room ever angle was the best game master ever we did the mystery mansion…read morethe hardest one and she helped so much this place is the best

We went here for a corporate activity and it turned out to be a great time! No one in our group had…read moredone an escape room before, but the staff were very friendly for beginners and guiding us when we needed help! The room we had was interesting, had a nice blend of needing to think outside the box, but not so much that things couldn't be solved. Overall, I'd definitely return here with a group of friends or my family for a night out!

Back again after several years! Had people in our group who were new to escape rooms and you can't…read morebeat this place. Everything is so well thought out. The puzzles line up with the story. The rooms are incredible. We did Cabin Fever and had a great time screaming. You can tone down the scary if you want to. Jack was our host and we loved him! We are glad we saved you in the end!

Upon entry, it was located in a weird office type building…read more The stairway leading up looked suspicious as fuck. Very moldy; the air itself escaped The decor behind the front desk appeared to be done by a school kid We got there and turned right around

Boda Borg was so fun we went 2 nights in a row on vacation. Our group is usually fans of escape…read morerooms but this is that with MORE activity! Be ready to run, sweat, jump, crawl, and climb - I have bruises on my legs lol The rooms are really immersive - if you're in a jail themed room you can expect low lighting and crawlspaces. If you're in an army themed room you can expect to be speedy, climbing, or seeing flashing lights. The door colors tell you the level of physical activity so you can just do chill mental challenges if you wanted to. Two parts of each room - figure out the objective, and then actually complete it. If you fail you can exit the room and line up for it again (it goes quick) or go to another room. You can also ask a worker for hints. It gets hot in there quickly if you're doing physical activity challenges (some rooms are hotter and smellier than others) - but there are drinking fountains on the main level and fans blowing in the hallways. Make sure to wear comfortable activewear and shoes!

Boda Borg was such a fun experience. The quests are creative, challenging, and full of variety. If…read moreyou fail a room, you can jump right back in and try again as long as no other groups are waiting to enter. It did get pretty hot inside while running around, so be prepared to sweat a little. We could see that the AC was set on 69 but the temperature was 78 so the AC may have been having issues. They also had some industrial fans to help cool it down. They provide free lockers but you can't bring a water bottle with you in the quest area. This was an awesome group activity that requires problem-solving, teamwork, and physical activity. We only paid for 2 hours but could have definitely stayed longer. Highly recommend!

We came...we saw...we failed. But had a fun time failing!…read more First time doing an escape room. Super easy to book online and find information on each room. A little on the expensive side for a daytime weekday @ $39/per person (same price for adults and kids), but you also get the room to yourself! The staff is very friendly and helpful! - Every booking is private! - This location is super clean - Each adventure is 60 minutes - spacious waiting room with comfy seating & fun games - cocktails, wine, soda, water, & snacks available for purchase - merch available - free photo at end of session Kids had a fun time and can't wait to go back. Next time we'll try an easier room! Plenty of parking available in shared shopping center.

This was our fourth escape room. Our second time at the Waltham location. The staff at both…read morelocations, Tewksbury and Waltham, are so friendly and very accommodating. We always have a great time. We will be going back soon to play a different game. Highly recommend.

The games and puzzles are amazing, they are working on a new one that I and a few others played or…read morebeta tested the other day and it was awesome. So much fun, great combination of difficulty and "wins" to keep us motivated. The First room they created was a different type of game and more "puzzely" but great back-story and the environment is so realistic.... because it was a real Jail. Great job guys. Highly recommend.

Awesome time here! The puzzles were just hard enough: challenging so we felt smart, but not so hard…read morethat we were standing around for ten minutes doing math (we do not like math). Our nine-year-old dug it and was able to solve a bunch of stuff all on his own. We also got exactly the right level of hints from (whoever was working on New Year's Eve - she was super cool!). She was good at stepping in when we were totally on the wrong track. We're psyched to come back sometime and get thrown in jail!

I've done a few escape rooms - this is my second one in Boston. It was so much fun - we really had…read morea blast! We completed the Magician's Study. I cannot remember the name of our gamemaster but they were awesome. We are def not expert escape artists but we really enjoyed our time and our gamemaster was skilled at giving us hints. I def. recommend checking out Boxaroo! We'll be back to try another one of their games.

This is not a linear room but it is a spectacular room! Our group finished in average time but…read moredidn't break Neil Patrick Harris' record. We crushed the first puzzle in the top 5% (2:29 vs the average of 6:19). If you love books, adventure, and teamwork, this is a must-try. The ore room tested us with tricky math, but the clever object reuses and adorable hint system made it unforgettable. Minus one star for the discount situation. We had a Harvard student in our group and they only give students discounts for Berklee and MIT. I feel like any college student should get a discount. Also parking is non existent in this area but that seems to be the norm in Boston (please note we came from out of state to play this game).

Great people and service. Extremely friendly and helpful…read more I would highly recommend this for teenagers and above

We came to celebrate my brother's birthday. As HUGE Scooby fans, this was so fun! We ranged in age…read morefrom 6-70, so it was great for all involved. Highly recommend!!

Fantastic escape room! We came on the weekend and did "The…read morestolen Diamond" escape room and it was a perfect amount of challenging and fun. We were able to crack the case with about 10 minutes left on the clock and wanted to queue up for another game but sadly they work best off of reservations. I would definitely recommend dropping by if you're in the area and enjoy a good challenge. I also really appreciated the pictures and goodies once you finish your room!

First time in an escape room, we all had a great time. The room was impressive, great detail,…read moreclever challenges. The staff were great and seemed to love the jobs. Definitely going back for more.

I had never been here before but took my son with two friends for an informal birthday celebration…read more All three kids are neurodivergent. First, I want to say make a reservation for one of their interactive game room on their site before your visit. I made a reservation for a 60 and a 30 minute game for a total of a 90 minute experience. My son chose Party Box and The Floor is Lava. When you arrive, the person checks you in and you wear a head piece and move your entire body to solve physical challenges and puzzles. All three walls are interactive. Because the instructions go rather fast, I stayed in the room and helped the kids with instructions. Party box was like 10 different games and puzzles that were appropriately challenging for the 12 year olds in the room. They had to be aware of their bodies in relation to their character on the screen. The Floor is Lava is like the television show but more achievable. Bottom line: This is a really fun place and the games are physical virtual reality experiences that I would prefer over sitting at home with video games. Families can have a really great time and this would be a great place for a date! The young lady who was working that day was running the place single-handedly. There was a fire drill while we were there and we had to exit and wait for the mall to let us back in. I think her name was Chanel, and she was a picture of calm. When she let us back in, all the servers had to be restarted and this delayed us about 45 minutes. Despite everyone being in this woman's space and asking questions, she stayed pleasant and poised. She deserves some recognition for that. It was a lot to manage so I stayed out of her hair. But other people were not as gracious and this was totally out of her control. When a game is over, the room records a fun TikTok style video for your party. I would come back often. The cost for 90 minutes was about $50 a person but that is comparable to other gamebox places and I like the physical aspects of the space. My neurodivergent children enjoyed the experience immensely, even with the Fire Drill.

My two boys just celebrated their birthday party here, and couldn't have asked for a better venue…read more Some of our guests arrived earlier than the start time of our party and the staff didn't miss a beat bringing us to the event space to entertain our guests. The back party space was decorated beautifully with a fun Happy Birthday theme. They were very "hands off" and aside from getting the Squid Games started in 2 of the boxes, they simply left us alone until we asked for more plates for the cake. Fun entertainment for both young and old. Prior to their party, we came here on a separate visit to do a FREE demo of Squid Game, which allows you to try out a game for approximately 15 minutes. We ended up having so much fun that we committed to the full hour of gameplay. We can't wait to come back and try out some of their other games like Psychedelic Mansion, The Floor is Lava, Angry Birds, and their latest edition, BATMAN!