We did the clown room in willoughby. We are experienced escape room people, having done over 30 rooms across northeast Ohio. This is so shade to the individual worker at this location. She was likely untrained or just following protocol as she was told. Either way... whoever owns this location needs to make some changes. This place is a dump and I wish I could get my money back. Would give zero starts if I could.
1) this room splits your group up before the game begins. We've done this in other rooms at a different company where you get split up mid game for a few minutes, have to solve 1 puzzle, and then get reunited with your group. This clown room split us up and we were split up for a majority of the game. We essentially did 2 separated escape rooms without the rest of our party.
2) the decor at this location was so cheap, things were falling apart, props were broken, we felt like we were in someone's basement.
3) the rooms were so poorly lit, we could not even read the clues or the key locks. If you are nocturnal, this room is for you. We ended up finding flashlights at the end of the game that were located literally on the ceiling. We obviously did not find these because they were impossible to see in a DARK room. At other escape room companies, they hand you a flashlight in the beginning. Or allow you to use your phone.
4) the clues were so nonsensical and made no sense. After the game, the worker couldn't even tell us how to solve the puzzles or explain them to us.
5) when the game was reset prior to our time, the props were reset incorrectly. For example, the code to open a suitcase was located inside the suitcase. We physically could not continue the game without the clue..............
6) when asking for clues... there is no clue button. In order to get a clue, you have to stand in front of the camera and wave your hands and/or yell. If the worker happens notice you yelling & asking for a clue... you might get one. Several times, we asked for a clue and the worker responded "no." We wasted 20 mins during this room bc the worker would not give us the clue. The clue we needed was the code to unlock the suitcase.... We obviously could not figure out the clue bc the clue was inside the suitcase it. So are we supposed to stand around until time runs out if we can't figure out the next clue??
7) the door to the business was locked when we arrived and I imagine locked while we were inside. This is a fire violation and unsafe
8) we were told to leave our purses/cell phones in the car or a provided locker. I am not going to leave my phone somewhere where I cannot reach it in case of an emergency. read more