It's been a few years since I've tried out an escape room. Prior to covid times I've visited a few…read more I've heard of this and have always wanted to try it and I'm glad I got the opportunity to! In order to enter the building you have to enter an access code which is emailed to you at the time of your booking or you can just ring the bell. The staff were really great and gave us a warm welcome upon our arrival. We did dungeons of drakar which was labelled as one of the more challenging ones however, we didn't find it to be too bad. It was fun and we managed to escape (I've never escaped a room before). There was a glitch with one of our items and due to that the staff added some extra time to our room which was nice. Parking may be a bit tricky as it's downtown so plan for that. I had a nice experience and would love to return again. Bonus: you get to play for free if it's within 3 days of your birthday with proof of ID

GTFO - another place I have to put in my top 5, probably overall top two!…read more Like I've said in my other reviews of escape rooms, there are a few things that I really look for in a good escape room and to paraphrase, it's that the room looks good, makes sense, has good puzzle, immerses you and gives you satisfaction when you've completed it. And by golly GTFO must be from Tennessee because .. well you get the rest. The puzzles here are very well thought out, they are unique and really provide a good challenge! I especially love how incredibly story driven their rooms are. GTFO is one place that has a story line and sticks with it to the bitter end so there is no fear of getting lost in a random puzzle. Although they do not utilize walkie talkies or intercoms to keep you in the game (just like Escape City, usually a worker will just come in the room) the rooms are visually appealing enough to pull you back in if you need a hint break. Nightfall is a great room to do with a big group - there's lots of space to move and A LOT to do. I was able to beat it with my partner in really great time but I wouldn't suggest doing so unless youre somewhat of a more advanced player. The Heist is a great beginner room but certainly not easy - it's nothing new but the puzzles in that room are incredibly cool and I really enjoyed their twist on a typical plot. It's probably best done with 2-3 people. Visiting Hour is another really fun one but I would NOT suggest doing it with 6 people - it just gets way too crowded and frankly it was impossible to get anything done. I would HIGHLY suggest 4! The Directive is one of my all time favorite rooms - everything about it I found cool and it's really going to be an awesome room if you're more of an experienced player. You will not be disappointed giving that one a go! Overall I really love GTFO - their rooms cover a huge demographic from beginners to advanced players, from kids to adults - they really are just a well rounded place. Not to mention all the staff are wonderful and incredibly fun people! High highly recommend!!

The waiting area was inviting, spacious and interesting. There were seating areas and tables where…read moreyou could play games or work with puzzles while waiting. There is also a washroom and a snack bar in this waiting area. Next to the front desk, there's another area around the corner, where they have smash rooms - a separate activity which people pay to smash and destroy things for fun. At the front desk, there is a computer with a giant screen, where each person needs to complete an electronic waiver, prior to going into the escape room...or I guess especially a smash room. There are definitely ways people could potentially get hurt in these rooms. To store your personal belongings, they have a hallway of closets with keys in the doors. You can hang your jackets and keep your bags in here, for no extra charge. Then you can lock the door and take the key with you. I preferred these closets to the tiny lockers I've seen in other escape room venues. The staff advise you not to bring any cell phones into the escape rooms. This is to prevent people from taking pictures inside of the rooms and risk giving away important clues. This would totally ruin the fun for everyone else! While we were in the lobby/waiting room, a lady gave us a brief orientation about the rules of the game. Unfortunately, her colleague was also explaining the smash rooms to a couple of ladies, at the exact same time. Because they were talking at the same time, this made it a little hard to hear the lady. I think it would have been better if the guy brought the ladies into the smash room area (around the corner)and spoke to them there. Not a huge deal, but I think there was a simple solution to minimizing the noise. Both staff were trying to share important information to their separate groups. As I listener, I was a bit stressed trying to make sure I heard everything I needed to know. A lot of the important ground rules had to do with safety. For example, we were advised not to re-wire any electronics and to not stick our fingers into electric sockets. Other information was to ensure we didn't destroy the props in the room. Some people have been rough with the props and so some fragile/broken items have been covered with red tape. We were told not to touch the items covered in red tape. Bottomline: Don't hurt yourselves and don't destroy the room. They have smash rooms for people who want to break things. After our orientation, our host (dressed in character) came to greet us in the lobby. He quickly led our group of seven, upstairs to our room, "Morning Never Comes." Once inside, we were given a short introduction on our mission. We only had 45 minutes to complete our mission. The clock started after our host finished giving us the background story to our room. Our host handed us a two way walkie talkie, to use when we needed any hints or clarifications. We had a total of three hints (originally two but I earned one extra by checking in on Facebook) and an unlimited amount of clarifications. The difference between a hint and clarification seemed a bit confusing to me. We didn't obsess about the differences. When we had a question, we just went ahead and asked our host. The room wasn't too large. We had ample space for seven people to be scrambling around without bumping into one another. We were also very careful not to break any props. It's pretty obvious when something is glued into place. The key is not to apply too much force to anything. If it doesn't move easily, it's probably not meant to move! Also, if you do anything totally unnecessary or risky, the host will inform you via the walkie talkie. After a lot of teamwork, quick thinking, three hints, and I can't even remember how many clarifications, we needed up solving our riddle! With a whole nine minutes to spare! Whoohoo! We were extremely proud! Our host took our picture as the newest group of Smartpantz! It was a great feeling and an awesome way to spend a Friday evening!

Overall it was a good place. I liked the room I was in as it had so much character. The actor at…read morethe beginning was good too. We were only 2 steps away from solving the puzzle before time ran out. The people at the front were nice and welcoming. They have a birthday special where the birthday individual plays for free with 4 paying members. They also had a groupon deal when we went in. There is parking in front of the business which is so handy. I think it's 1 or 2 hours for free. The only thing I don't like is that if you don't have the set amount of people then you can't play. I wanted to come here with a group one afternoon. As we were short one they wouldn't let us play. It's tough to arrange a large group of people and get them to commit. It would be nice to have rooms in which people who come with less than 4 can be accommodated.

Having tried many escape rooms in Edmonton, I must say that this was mediocre at best. Other escape…read moreroom places have a pleasant greeting and enthusiastic personnel working however these folk working here definitely were not invested. Even after we escaped, we walked out to the front ourselves and they still did not know we escaped. Then an employee came running out from the back apologizing. Lol As for the room it self, we did the magic emporium room, which was okay. Puzzles were pretty mainstream (lot of locks and combinations). Not much technology used to complete puzzles. I would say the theme was definitely pretty cool, but seemed like this was like perhaps an original room when they first came out or something. Nevertheless, we had fun and the best part was we ESCAPED!! Definitely a confidence booster hahaha.

This is one of my two favorite escape room facilities in Edmonton. I have now officially completed…read moreall of the current 6 rooms at this location. Some I passed, some I've failed. I love this place because the theming for each of the rooms is on point. All of the details in the rooms are done so well. You really get immersed in the stories. The rooms and puzzles are fun and it's a great way to spend any hour. Great location with easy parking. I always finish a room and want to do another one right away.

Easy to find via Google maps. Lots of parking in the strip mall parking lot. We pre-booked and they…read morewere ready for us when we got there. 1 free locker with booking that had enough for our 4 winter coats. Shoes go under the lockers. Bring water! ( Could bring snacks too) Price seems high but totally worth it. Had a blast. Was really good as interestingly no one felt like the weak link as all the games are so different. Loved that huge variety of games. Really recommend going when others don't so no waiting. Games are really short so not a ton of waiting but it also means we couldn't play very long at each station. Worth playing ALL games once then go back and play your favorites. Love the free swag and prizes for returners. 100% would recommend and will be back.

Doesn't look like much from the outside but step inside and you're taken into a whole new…read moreexperience that's super fun in Edmonton! I wasn't really sure what to expect but I knew it was some type of a physical game place. This is kinda like a video game but in real life! You start playing at level 1 and work your way up through the levels. Each level unlocks rewards or swag too! Think things like Actívate water bottles, T-shirts, hats, mugs, etc. you can also unlock rewards like lifetime 50% off! I find the cost quite reasonable, $25 per person for 75 mins of gameplay. You play in teams of 3 - max 5 people. I visited with my husband, my friend, her 15 year old daughter and our 14 year old niece. I think this place is perfect for that age group but it was totally fun for us too and I would definitely visit again! The staff takes you in and tells you how to play and how to set each game up. You can play as a team for some fun teamwork games or you can play competitively against one another which is also really fun! We started off playing as a team and loved it! Playing competitively is also really fun but can be difficult for some. There are many different rooms where you can try different games. I recommend trying them all and then going back to do the ones that you liked best! My favourites were the rooms called Hide and Mega Grid. Your timer starts when you're playing and stops when you're nor playing so you can take a break to drink some water or catch your breathe. We came on a Friday evening, they are open during the day as well as late night so there are lots of options. When we got there it wasn't too busy but when we were finishing the place was filling up! If you want to avoid crowds I would try coming earlier in the day. You could even come during an extended lunch! Anyway, I highly recommend this place and I will definitely be visiting again very soon! They currently do not have any type id party room but don't let that discourage you from bringing your 4 closest friends and having a great time!!

We came here with a team of folks of varying ages and experience-levels with escape rooms. The…read morelocation was easy enough to find and we had a pretty good experience with check in (though we had to complete the waiver on paper rather than on the tablet as it was not functioning properly. We then went to complete our 5 Elements escape room which was a really nice themed experience. Often we over thought things as people in the room itself. I liked the room as it had some neat theming and some more unique choices. That said the lighting was rather dim which really diminished the experience for several in our group. We would really hope that such an escape room could be better lit in the future -- for accessibility reasons at the very least! Nonetheless this was a good experience and I would recommend it to others.

My friends and I recently did the Matrix room here , First I…read morereally appreciate that they keep the door locked and you have to be let in - considering how City Center mall has become a scene out of a zombie movie it made us feel a lot more secure. Overall it was definitely pretty great as far as escape rooms go, the fact that there are no padlocks is pretty cool. Overall it's a lot more high tech than other rooms we've experienced. Everything worked the way it was meant to and we were able to escape the matrix! We would definitely return here again. I also appreciated a message before our appt letting us know the best place to park.

Definitely not one of the best escape rooms in the city; nothing wrong with the puzzles, which had…read morea nice flow and logical enough to solve, but they definitely cheaped out on the design here. Room was sparsely decorated and lacking in quality. Friendly service, although he was a bit hard to understand. Free street parking out front; they have underground parking available as well, although the parkade was under construction when we went.

It was ok. We went there as part of a birthday party with a group…read more The front desk staff was a nice person. The atmosphere seemed ok. Then we started our game. Compare to other places that I've been before, this was probably the lowest quality in terms of decoration and setup. The puzzles were ok and I didn't really have any complaints about that. However, part of our game got messed up because of a mistake in prep. There was a hidden door that supposed to be opened when we solve a puzzle. One of the ladies in our team touched the door and without any push it got opened. So we went to the next room and after we solved two puzzles there. A guy came in, and said you didn't solve the puzzle and should not be in that room and started giving us hard time that we may have kicked or forced that hidden door open. So all that time we spent In the second room was wasted and time was not reset and we started the game again with shorter time. If everything was setup correctly that door shouldn't have been opened at all. I think part of the fun and good experience about escape rooms is having high quality environment (close to reality) and setup everything correctly because these type of incidents just ruins the whole experience.

Breakout is unfortunately another room I have to give.. not the greatest rating too…read more This experience I found pretty close to my experience at Time Escape. And as I said before : if you need a place to take your kids then these rooms are fine, but if you want a real experience then I wouldn't suggest coming here first. Even before getting into the room, my escape room partner and I were already a little taken aback. Breakout is one of the few places in the city that will automatically place you with other people if not otherwise booked. So the issue with this was that #1) we had not had to look out for public booking before and #2) the website is not designed in such away that it's particularly easy to see that you have to book private if you so wish. So upon arrival we found we were paired with a family of 4 who by the way were lovely people, absolutely no hard feelings to them. My issue is however that paired with people you don't know , it is such a struggle to complete a room. You could gather a group of very intelligent individuals but I garuntee they would lose everytime to a group that knows how escape rooms work and how to work with eachother. So anyways, the game was very rocky and a lot couldn't get done because we all just didn't know eachother and I believe this was their first escape room. The actual decor of the room, by the way, was pretty nice. There was obviously some thought put into the room and I really appreciated that. The amount of puzzles and the complexity however were lacking a bit and I say this because (I will not say the room on purpose so as not to spoil anything) at one point we found a key.. that opened 4 things .. One key.. for 4 things? And at the end of the room - even though, like I said before, it was pretty rocky to get through anything, we still escaped the room in what I think was one of the fastest rooms we've done. It was the classic "Oh... We got out?" Because, unfortunately the story line was just lacking. And although this place did better than some of the worst ones it certainly didn't leave me satisfied. All in all - great people, really nice staff but just not a great experience.

Honestly, I've been to Breakout twice now, and I don't think I'll be going back. I'm going to stick…read moreto reviewing the most recent experience. A group of 3 friends and myself decided to do an Escape Room on a Thursday night. We booked the Detention Room in advance. We got there, signed the waivers etc and were led into the room. First things first, the room is incredibly dark, and it isn't part of the puzzle. It makes finding/doing puzzles very very difficult. They definitely need to provide a flashlight to people using that room. Further frustration ensued when we were able to complete puzzles out of order and waited 7-10 minutes for help when we pushed the clue button. Breakout needs to stop the clock when you're standing in the room waiting for a clue, or have staff respond to clues in under a minute. I mean this is a timed escape, so getting three clues ate up between 15-25 minutes of our time. Additionally, the last clue the staff member gave was poorly worded. Why on earth would you have a 5 letter lock that uses a four letter word? It just doesn't make sense. We stood in that hallway on that lock for 15+ minutes despite having the correct word. Also, one of the puzzles that we did wasn't reset/working properly so something opened without us having to do anything to earn it. Lastly, this room had very little story, and both rooms I've been to at Breakout have failed on this point. I've been to plenty of other rooms where the puzzles/room reveal and complete the story. I still don't know what the supernatural force spiriting away the children was or what had happened to cause it, or where the children went, and none of of our group did. Overall it was disappointing and I'll go elsewhere to escape.

The wife and I are big fans of escape rooms and this was the first one we did after covid. Our…read morebrains needed a bit of warm up time but once we got going, it was fun. The place is neat and tidy and staff were friendly. We did 2 rooms (carnival and chaos effect). The puzzles were fun, not like other places with a bunch of padlocks. This place also has unlimited clues, which I'm not a fan of. I like clues to be capped because then you have to use them wisely. Reason I removed a star was because you could hear people in the lobby and it was distracting. People were yelling and laughing and the staff were not mindful of it. Overall, worth checking out!!

This was my 2nd escape room and most of our group of 7's first time. The location was easy to find…read more The staff was very friendly and explained everything we needed to know. We did the Jack the Ripper room. It was a fun experience and we made it out right at the 60 minute mark. It was thought provoking and definitely required people who think differently. I would definitely go again to try their other rooms