escape room 13: Brake Out Arizona

Way back in September, my sister organized a big group of us to experience Brake Out Arizona. It's a mobile escape room. They converted an old school bus into a puzzle experience.

The concept is fun if you have a big group of people. You can bring the bus to your location and have groups run through it. They can adjust the length of your experience because it is not linear.

Being on the bus was very unique. They had a few interesting elements. I do think it's just tricky trying to do an escape room with a large group of people. It's hard to know what people have already done or tried so you don't get to experience all of the puzzles. They packed the bus with real items to make it look and feel lived in and real. This was both interesting and very distracting. Personally, I felt like it was too much going on to know what to find or do. Some of the puzzles and clues were a little confusing and frustrating. But some things were well done. 

This escape room experience is pretty new so I tried to keep that in mind. They are still working out some kinks, but it had potential.

There were two groups that ran through that night. Our group set the all time record for an escape!

Fun night, but not one that I'd highly recommend. So I'd give it three stars.

Brake Out Arizona=***

Escape Room 12: The Cabin at Escape Chandler

 Escape: Chandler is definitely one of the best Escape Room venues in Arizona!!

I'm so glad we made it to this place again. A couple of years ago we went here with some friends to do the room "Tony's Bistro." We didn't have a lot of escape room experience then, but it was really well done and we had a lot of fun. Though, we only made it out because we were granted a minute extension. 

But since then, Escape: Chandler has been on our list to go back to. We finally had the chance to try another room, The Cabin, with our friends. IT WAS AMAZING!

The atmosphere, the details, the puzzles--everything was top notch. They created a cabin scene that even had the smell of the woods. Pretty incredible. The puzzles were varied and logical but made you think and work. They had some cool mechanical elements. They had some interesting details, but not so many and so random that it was frustrating or anything. It was a blast!

We didn't ask for a single clue and escaped with 27:22 left on the clock. Our game master (who happened to be the owner) came bursting in stunned and asked us our team name. We were a little confused, but she explained we were so good that we had to be a team that goes around together completing escape rooms and breaking records. Hahaha. She certainly made us feel good about our genius skills and teamwork in an escape room. 

Inspired by the vacation that brought us together, we became team "UnBELIZEable"! And then got our picture taken for the Facebook page.

Anyways, I am giving this one 5 stars--and that is not just because we broke the record and became famous;). It really is one of the best Escape Rooms in Arizona!

The Cabin at Escape: Chandler= *****

Escape room 11: Casino Heist at Paradox***

We went back to Paradox Escape Room in Gilbert to try the room Casino Heist.

This room had a couple of cool puzzles and elements. But like the other room we have tried here, it was a bit heavy on the math. They give you a calculator and paper though.

I think we ended up getting two clues, but we solved it with around twenty minutes left over.

Yep, all we do is win!

We give this room 3 out 5 stars.

Casino Heist at Paradox=***

Escape room 10: The Secrets of the Master at Brainy Actz*

Well, I think it was the worst escape room we have ever been to, but the company was good so the night was fun anyways.

We went with our friends to a yummy sandwich shop in downtown Mesa, Worth Takeaway. 

We picked up our food and ate in the car with the air conditioning on. With content bellies, we spent way too much time trying to get a jumping picture with the self timer on the phone. 


Look at Eric go with that high kick.

We mostly laughed at our valiant and persistent attempts.

It is impossible to get a clear jumping shot from a self timer as the sun goes down. And I'm sure the 110 degree temperature didn't help our cause. We learned our lesson, but had fun trying.


Then we headed to Brainy Actz to try the room "The Secrets of the Masters." Fun theme, but poorly executed, in our opinion.

We had been to Brainy Actz before and had an ok experience, but this particular room was a step down. I don't mean to be harsh, but this was probably the worst escape room I've ever been to. Some of the clues and the puzzles were ridiculous--to the point that the escape master at the end couldn't even explain to us how it was related to the answer. Some things didn't work. One puzzle we solved but didn't even know how. And they had a lock in there that you never used as a "decoy." Insert eye roll. A decoy lock is pointless.

And I still don't like the fact that they give you a walkie talkie to ask them questions and they come in to the room to give you your clue. It is a subpar way of communicating and distracts from the experience.

We still finished with lots of time left over.

The Secrets of the Master at Brainy Actz = * (one star)

Fun night because we brought fun people, but I would not recommend this escape room in Mesa.

Escape room 9: Rush Hour at Escape Zone AZ****

Escape Zone Arizona is a great escape room option in Tempe. We went with some friends to try out the room "Rush Hour."

I'll brag right here and tell you that we rocked it. We were only a few minutes behind the best record time.

This room was TINY. But that's because it was set up to feel like a subway. Definitely four people was the max in the room. I am glad we had four people for some of the puzzles, but two or three would've worked just fine, too. 

There was variety of good puzzles. And the puzzles took some brain power and creativity, but they all made sense. The puzzle master was super friendly and made the experience really great, too.

 Rush Hour at Escape Zone Arizona in Tempe=**** (Four Stars)

We are looking forward to trying the other rooms at this location. Such a fun night!

escape room 8: the crimson storm at puzzle effect***

Yo ho, a pirate's life for me. 

Eric and I went by ourselves to the Puzzle Effect to try the Crimson Storm room. We went together to this place before and did the Knight and Rook room. That room was actually our least favorite room we've tried in all of our escape room experience, but we were willing to give this place another try. 

The Crimson Storm room is a pirate themed puzzle. It has the potential of so much fun! We wish our cluemaster had set us up better. She hardly spoke to us and sent us into the room to watch the video and get started. At the end of the video, it tells you to shackle yourself to the wall and then figure out how to unlock yourself. Unfortunately by that time, we had already jumped into the game and solved the chain puzzle without realizing we were supposed to be locked in it. I wish our cluemaster had instructed us to get chained up to the wall before she left. That would've made it a ton more interesting and difficult.

The other puzzles were interesting. We had to ask for one clue, but that's because we forgot about a paper we had gotten in an earlier box. And also because one of their puzzles was a stretch. But we finished and found the treasure with lots of time left over.

With our 5 Star rating scale with 5 being the best, we would give this room a 3. It could've been a 4 if the cluemaster had been more engaging and set us up better in the room.

The Crimson Storm at Puzzle Effect = *** (3 stars)  

escape room 7: Mystery at the Lost Point Lodge at Brainy Actz

We found a Groupon for this escape room at Brainy Actz: Mystery at the Lost Point Lodge. (What are we going to do once we use all of the escape room Groupons?? ha!)

We grabbed dinner and krispy kreme donuts which meant we were sufficiently fueled and sugared up and ready to go.


The room itself was pretty cool. It was another linear room. It had a lot of mechanical elements to it, which is always fun. What I liked was that when something you did triggered something in the room to open up or unlock it would give you a verbal clue, like "window unlocked." We've been to rooms that didn't tell you this and it made it really tricky to know if something across the room happened so we were glad they did that. The puzzles were good, but there were a few things that didn't seem placed very well and kind of a stretch. One of the puzzles we had right, but the trigger didn't work so we got stuck for awhile until we asked the cluemaster for a hint and he came in and checked our work and saw that it was right and then had to manually release the next part. So that was kind of annoying, but we understand that things happen. They definitely need a more updated and efficient way to communicate with the cluemaster in there. I do feel like they could've used a few more puzzles in there. We finished up quickly.

We are definitely going to need to update our rating system to a five star system. It's two hard just to say one, two, or three. I keep wanting to give something one and a half stars, etc. I won't go back to update the other escape room reviews, but going forward this will be our new system.

New rating system while keeping in mind the old system here. 

5: excellent, the best, highly recommend

4: awesome, great, but not perfect

3: really good, but could use some improvements

2: fair enough

1: eh, just ok

This room would have to be a two star room, in our opinion.

Mystery at the Lost Point Lodge: Brainy Actz **

escape room 6: The Condo at escape games az**

We went back to Escape Games AZ.

The first time we went here we took our boys. This time we went with some of our awesome friends. 

We did The Condo room. And crushed it.



Entering the Condo was very nostalgic--like walking into my Grandma's house and my childhood. It was so well done! We all loved the details of the room--the VHS tapes, the games, the mugs, the cabbage patch doll, the TV guide with pictures from some of our favorite shows (Full House!)--too fun. 

Eric and I give this room 2.5 stars. (Ok, we probably need to rethink our rating system if I'm going to keep giving things half stars...so if I was using a five star system, this room would be a 4.) It was probably one of the best linear rooms we have been to. It had a good variety of puzzles and elements and lots of fun. 

Having all four of our brains working together to puzzle things out was great. I love how differently we all think about things and use our different strengths. Four people is probably my favorite number for a linear escape room.

We are excited to try the other rooms at Escape Games AZ! We really like this place.

escape room 5: Paradox Escape Room **

Eric and I tried out an escape room in downtown Gilbert for date night—Paradox Escape Room.  

We played the Caskwerks and Capone Room. Using my own escape room rating system here, we gave it 2 stars. But if I could give it one and a half stars, I would probably do that.  It was rated a 7/10 for difficulty. It was pretty linear. There were a couple of fun elements and puzzles. But there were a couple of things that seemed unrelated to anything else and more confusing than puzzling (for example, a type of wooden locking puzzle box that we had never seen. The box itself was cool, but the combination was unrelated to the box and didn't really connect to the element in the room). We ended up getting a couple clues without asking and we asked for one clue. There was some math in the game, but they gave you a calculator and a notepad and pen (it was some serious math!). We finished with over ten minutes to spare. Overall, we had a lot of fun and Paradox Escape Rooms is a place we will be back to. We are looking forward to trying the other rooms there.

escape room 4: escape games Arizona**

We took our older boys to Escape Room Arizona in Mesa to do the Quest for the Throne escape room.

We used a groupon for this room. This one was mostly linear, so perfect for our small group. It had a great variety of puzzles, locks, keys, and elements. A Knight theme was very family friendly. This room was rated 7/10 and we thought that was pretty accurate. We did ask for our three clues, but one of them was just because we didn't see a lock hidden to the side of a picture frame so I don't really count that one. Ha! We escaped with 11:47 minutes left! 

We are excited to try the other rooms here because we feel like this was a really balanced and well done escape room business. 

So we have always had fun at every escape room that we have tried, but there is definitely a difference in quality and experience among escape rooms and businesses. I just feel like I need my own personal rating system here if I'm going to keep sharing our experiences with these places. So here it is:

One Star*--the escape room is ok; not a lot of variety or interesting elements; puzzles are average or aren't connected or adequately puzzling; atmosphere is subpar or cheaply done; escape masters don't seem engaged or give poor clues; system of communication is lacking or low technology; too linear so hard to keep moving especially with more people

Two Stars**--the escape room is well done and I would definitely recommend; multiple kinds of elements, types of puzzles, and locks; interesting and nice atmosphere with space in the room; adequate system for communication with the escape master and clear direction; fun and challenging 

Three Stars***--the escape room is extremely well done and I would highly recommend!; the room is set up well with quality elements and design; a variety of impressive elements, types of puzzles, and locks; there is an attention to detail in the room and by the escape masters; good technology for communication with the escape masters and good clues as needed; super fun and challenging

Escape Games Arizona: Quest for the Throne = **