Disclaimer: We did this room in Saskatoon. We’ve been told by the manager in Saskatoon and the manager in Edmonton that their rooms are identical, save for a couple of puzzles.

One of the puzzles was wonky in its execution. Our gamemaster was happy enough to call the manager and have her explain the solution. She also provided some behind-the-scene tidbits about how the theme of the room came to be.

BEN

The Saskatoon location’s lobby looks pretty similar to the one in Edmonton! We got the same great in service in Saskatoon as we did in Edmonton. At the end, the manager came to walk us through one puzzle that we couldn’t quite get, which was great!

Consistent with other Escape City rooms, the puzzles were top-notch. They toe the line between difficult and too difficult. They always push your mental limits but not so much that the solution becomes impossible. There are a lot of creative surprises here.

This room, especially, will test not only your wits but your teamwork. The highlight was a puzzle involving crates that will make you hustle like never before. It was physically demanding, mentally taxing, and will test how much you can stand your teammates. I loved every second of it.

The puzzles in this room were non-linear, which was nice to see because we don’t do a lot of non-linear rooms. For the most part, I liked the difficulty level of the puzzles – there were some thinky ones and some others that required a bit more physical interaction. One qualm I had was that we got stuck on a puzzle that needed some background knowledge – unfortunately, my group was not very familiar with football.

The first part of the room was packed to the brim with details. The second part was appropriate but a bit lacking.

As is usual with Escape City rooms, Quarterback Sneak looked amazing! I definitely got a gang hideout vibe here – the decor was tasteful and appropriate, and it also advertised some of my favourite places to go in Edmonton (seriously, visit Duchess Bakery if you can). It was a smaller space, but they managed to fit everything in without it feeling cramped.

One thing I wanted to mention in particular are the videos played on the in-room TV. They were absolutely incredible and were a testament to the high quality standards of Escape City!

True to Escape City’s form, the puzzles were the strongest anchor for immersion. You will think, work, move, talk, and (if you’re like us) play foosball the entire time.

What I love about non-linear rooms is that if you’re not making progress on the puzzle you’re working on, you can move to a different one and keep going. This way, there isn’t a lot of standing around and waiting, which was great!

Seamlessly integrating Edmonton’s finest spots, the theme was one-of-a-kind. You’ll watch with mouths agape admiring Escape City’s beautiful production. There will be a lot of “Oh! I know where that is!”

This was an incredibly unique theme, and such a fantastic way to promote some local Edmonton businesses. I really don’t want to say much more, because I feel like you just need to get in there and do this room.

This room gets a #diamond for being a solid addition to Escape City’s consistently fun and challenging rooms. The theme hit close to home and featured Edmonton’s finest.

Definitely a #diamond. Bring anyone and everyone (just not too many people because it might get a bit cramped).

Our gamemaster was eager–maybe a bit too eager. He started with the usual “Have you done any escape rooms before?” We answered with a yes but he proceeded with the longest spiel of the rules and how escape rooms work.

They got us in and out quickly and took the time to answer our questions at the end. There was an instance where someone had to come in to manually activate something for us because there was a piece of tech that wasn’t working, but they were able to spot it from their cameras without us having to call them in. Smooth!

The puzzles were a good mix of simple and straightforward, as well as complex and multi-layered. They leaned heavily on low-tech locks, true to Breakout Calgary’s form. There was enough creativity here for both rookies and pros.

The main highlight was a puzzle referencing Stranger Things. The execution was clever and the payoff was satisfying.

Overall, I think the puzzles here were a bit simple. There were a few that I wish had a few more steps to solve so that our group could have more to do since it felt very straightforward.

This is Breakout Calgary’s second residence-themed room (after Final Request). It’s set in a suburban apartment complete with the usual furniture staples.

It was cute enough. For a horror-themed room though, the room mostly stayed cute and didn’t transform into something more scary.

This room went for an older, vintage feeling. It was decorated accordingly, with some older furniture pieces and some old school wallpaper. A standout for me in this room was the lighting – I really liked how they played with it!

In terms of scares, this was on the milder end of the spectrum. There were jumps and screams from us, but that scared feeling did not linger throughout the room. We would let out a loud “AH!” sporadically but the room did not sustain its spooky atmosphere.

I loved how the tech was the driving force of this room – this definitely made it more immersive! Unfortunately, with tech comes tech problems, and although someone had to come in to fix our issue (and scared me in the process), they did it quickly and smoothly.

This was supposed to be a heist in a haunted mansion, but the story got a bit convoluted with the information you find in the room.

Who were the people missing? Why were there random body parts strewn across the room? Who was warning us to get out?

I’m very confused about this room’s theme. I felt like it was trying to do too much, so instead of having one strong and cohesive theme, it felt disjointed and undeveloped. I definitely think it would benefit from a bit of streamlining from the story perspective.

We got out in record time of 30 minutes (out of one hour) which led to a “Oh wow, that’s it?” feeling. While there were certainly jumps, this room could have upped the notch in terms of the scary factor because Breakout Calgary is capable of it. This room gets a #gold for being a good (but mild) horror offering.

I would give this room a #gold. There’s not a lot of scary rooms in Calgary, and while this one isn’t the best, I think it’s still a solid offering that’s worth a visit if you’re up for something spooky.

The people at GTFO strike the perfect balance between professional and friendly.

Cookies, water, and friendly and efficient staff. What else is there to ask for? Since there was no one booked after us, they also gave us an extra 10 minutes to finish the room when we didn’t get out, so that was very nice!

The puzzling in The Directive showcased some of the most advanced technology we’ve encountered in an escape room. It was intimidating to walk into a bare room with nothing but a massive control board with foreign-looking buttons and symbols.

The puzzles were elegant in concept and presentation. Because there were no mechanical locks, the puzzles were unlike any other. The unabashed use of technology allowed for less logic thinking and more “How do I tinker with this apparatus?”

The puzzles in this room aren’t the usual logic puzzles that have come to be an escape room staple. All of the puzzles in this room require some sort of communication between team members – so when your gamemaster tells you that you need to communicate in this room, make sure to listen to them!

There were no locks in this room which always seems to throw us off at the start, but I thought that it really worked in the grand scheme of the room. We got fun, creative puzzles that were deceptively simple and didn’t over-rely on number combinations.

The intriguing bareness of the room paired well with the elegance of the puzzles. The machinery in each room served as the centrepiece. The intentional lack of decoration allowed players to focus on how to solve each puzzle instead of trying to tease out red herring from relevance.

There’s not a lot in this room, but I thought it was appropriate given the theme. It also wasn’t conspicuously empty – it did feel right!

This room pushes not only your mental limits but also your patience. There was a lot of shouting from our group and, conversely, listening to each other. You have to be able to be expressive but also be receptive to information.

I thought that this room was great at building momentum – it almost always felt like we were moving forward instead of being stuck. Unfortunately, since we came with a smaller group, there were times when I had to wait on the rest of my group members to do something before I could jump in.

PAULIE

This was one area that The Directive relegated to the sideline, and, understandably so. The puzzles speak for themselves–complete them and get out.

It was a standard theme as far as escape rooms go, but it was executed very well. I enjoyed the twist that happened midway through!

This room was a stellar accomplishment from GTFO and deserves a #diamond. It reinforces them as a premiere escape room company within the Edmonton scene. Be warned: This room isn’t for small groups or rookies. If this were a videogame, The Directive is final-bad-guy level.

I would give this room a #diamond. I think to really get the most from this room, you need to go with 5 or 6 people (which we unfortunately didn’t). This room is absolutely perfect if you’re doing a team-building activity of some sort!

The folks at Cognito are always all genuine smiles. They even made escape room recommendations for other Canadian provinces.

Unlike our previous visit to do Sorcerer’s Academy, we actually arrived on time! They got us in quickly, and after the room they talked to us a bit about what their future plans are for Cognito. They were very friendly as always.

The puzzles leaned heavily on low-tech locks. While the concepts were mostly ordinary, there were moments of extraordinary creativity in terms of execution here. The puzzles were so deeply rooted into the environment and story that you would never think they were puzzles – this room definitely bamboozled me several times.

There was a nice variety of puzzles here, with some puzzle elements that made us interact with some pretty fun technology that we’ve never played with before! There was one puzzle that we got hung up on that unfortunately caused us to time out – it wasn’t completely unsolvable in hindsight but it was very tough in the moment!

My favorite part was the first portion of the room because of its highly (and deceptively) realistic appearance. The subsequent portions become progressively but appropriately bare.

This room was very clean in a way that made it easy to pick out what was for a puzzle and what wasn’t. At times, I felt that it was a bit too bare and that there could have been a bit more decor without adding in any red herrings.

Something happens at the very beginning of your experience that got me #shooketh. As soon as it happened, my proverbial wig came off and I could not get over how clever it was. I just sat there in awe of how they fooled me.  This highly realistic approach paved the way for the rest of the room.

This (and theme) is where Unmasked absolutely NAILED it! There was a strong story that pulled you along and I loved that there was appropriate music at a good volume, which is missing a surprising amount of the time. I also really liked the hint system! Another thing to note is that we weren’t given a super long spiel about the logistics (e.g., here is the hint button, you can leave when you want, etc.) but instead we found out about things ourselves as we went.

Reading the title “Unmasked” alone would probably have you wondering what the room is about. I thought it would be about modeling, with photoshoots and runway walking as puzzles.

However, it was none of that. What it was though was completely surprising. Go in blindly and let the story unfold in the room.

I mentioned above that the theme of this room was amazing, and I would definitely give this room higher than a 10 here if could! The theme is incredibly unique for an escape room, and it was definitely one of the draws for me to do the room. But what really stood out to me was the story. Unlike other rooms that might have a set story in place for the room, you don’t know much coming into this one. As you do the room, the story unfolds in an incredibly integrated and dynamic way – the decor, the puzzles, the hints, everything! It was just so well done!

This room gets an easy #diamond for prioritizing realism in the player experience. It loses steam in the middle but finishes with a bang. The substantial story and gripping immersion are enough for me to say that this is a must-try room.

Definitely a #diamond. Ask for hints if you need them so that you can get as far as you can! The ending is worth it!

Standard overall.

One thing that I know has been consistent with my visits to Confined has been the friendly service! I love going there – everyone has always been very welcoming and warm.

The puzzles played on the POTUS’s controversies in his campaign, speeches, and policies.

There were equal parts of humor and camp here. The puzzles were self-referential and the room never took itself seriously. However, while funny on paper, the humor and campiness fell flat in execution. The puzzles’ novelty factor wore thin and just became a series of references.

The puzzles were a confusing paradox: The room is built around the Trump product which is all about money and grandeur, yet the puzzle components felt cheap and consisted of Mr. Potato Head and Lego pieces.

I have to say that the solution to some of the puzzles in this room made me laugh out loud. It definitely helped to know a few of the more common ways in which Trump has been made fun of. You’ll need to be very observant in this room, since you need a keen eye to find all the pieces you need to solve certain puzzles!

Size-wise, some parts were tiny. Prop-wise, it was juvenile. Atmosphere-wise, it was unnecessarily dark.

Compared to Alice in 3D and Cabin Fever, this room wasn’t quite as incredible looking. That said, the setting of the theme isn’t something that is as inherently amazing as their previous two rooms. I thought that what was there did look good though – a bit standard, but good.

I smirked at the references, in an “Oh I get it” way. Beyond that though, the room didn’t carry much weight. I wish there was more as I felt the room had an overreliance on its theme.

What Confined is really good at is transporting you to another world with their decor. I thought that without the strength of a really good setting, I didn’t feel as drawn-in as in their previous rooms. To me, the puzzles also weren’t as engaging.

Tackling a public figure that is so omnipresent and current is a massive and brave undertaking. They get bonus points for offering another out-of-the-box theme, which is consistent with Confined’s other rooms. However, I’m not sure if there was any substance to the room other than escaping from Trump Tower.

 

This is definitely one of the most unique themes I’ve seen, and that theme was echoed consistently throughout the puzzles. It was nice to see something a bit lighter than the typical escape room thoroughfare (bank heists, secret labs, killers, etc.).

This room gets a rating of #silver. Underneath the smokescreen of having Trump as a theme, the room was a campy offering that never took itself seriously. The novelty eventually wore thin and substance was sorely missed.

I give this room a #gold. It wasn’t my favourite, but If you’re into something a little bit more campy, then give this room a shot!

We did this room on GTFO’s re-opening weekend. If they had cookies and water for free consumption before, they had pizza, cake, and soda this time around. They clearly know the surest way to an escape room player’s heart.

Service at GTFO has always been amazing, but they really brought it for their reopening.

The puzzles were serving escape-room-circa-early-2010s realness: You had laminated sheets cut into little pieces for a makeshift jigsaw, classic lock-and-key-operated boxes, and others that were very straightforward.

I could see how the puzzles here could be fun to solve in the early days of Edmonton’s escape room scene. In the context of 2017, however, the low-techness and simplicity of it all came across as dated.

There are a good variety of solid puzzles here – some wordy, some numbery, some findy. There should be something for everyone! The puzzles mostly follow a linear progression and are the traditional combo-and-lock format. I personally found them a bit too straightforward, but that may be because I’ve done too many rooms!

There was a clear and purposeful progression to the look of this room. What started out as an innocent-looking office space progressed into a full-blown internal bank vault.

At times bare, and at times decorated with glitzy props, the look was tastefully designed.

I didn’t find anything particularly compelling about the room’s look, but it also wasn’t bad. One thing in particular that I did like was the room’s use of physical space. There was always enough wiggle room for our group of 4 to do our thing.

There was a lot of screaming on our end every time we solved a puzzle. This was partly due to our own craziness, partly due to the sugar content of the free cake, and particularly because the excitement slowly but surely built up.

We finished in a very short time though (a testament to how easy and simple the puzzles were), which made us go, “That’s it?”

In this room, we had asked the GTFO staff to hide some birthday gifts in one of the last puzzles for our friends to find. This was definitely a motivating factor for us to go quick and break out (or at least find the gifts). When our friends found the gifts, they exclaimed, “Wow they hide prizes in here? How did they know I wanted this?!” And they were serious. Thanks for hiding the gifts for us GTFO!

At the time of writing, there are three heist-themed rooms in Edmonton (and more in Calgary–and innumerably more across the globe). This was Edmonton’s first.

For a theme as common as this, there wasn’t much to the story as the tasks were already pretty straightforward.

This was a straightforward heist theme. While this might have been more exciting for someone doing their first room, the theme was pretty much negligible. That said, the puzzles and decor were still thematically appropriate!

This room gets a #gold. We are aware that this is one of Edmonton’s most-beloved rooms, as per different escape room blog posts. While it was still a great room, some of its components have been left behind by time.

I would give this room a #gold! This room is fantastic for people who are just starting with escape rooms. Bring a smaller group so everyone can contribute!

Logic Lock always makes you feel warm and fuzzy when you visit. We’ve gotten to know the staff and owners there really well over the past year. They always strive to uphold excellence in their customer service.

The Gallery leaned heavily on technology to anchor the puzzles. They were sometimes covert, requiring acute perception to discern the tiniest detail in your surroundings. They were sometimes obvious, with certain gizmos in the room displaying puzzles that were begging to be solved.

The puzzles had a mix of difficulty, depending on which type caters to how your brain functions. It would have been cool to have the paintings themselves be manipulable, instead of just being passive sources of clues in the room.

This room was clinically clean, as what you would expect from an actual art gallery. The props were impeccable replicas of European art history’s greatest hits. The blueprint was strategic, allowing players to feel like they’re staging an authentic break-in.

This room would benefit from minor furniture tweaking though, as some of the shelves make it look like a mansion than a museum.

Pioneered by Logic Lock, the clue system paves the way for a complete immersive experience, with no one in a uniform coming in to give you a clue and reminding you that you are merely playing a game.

What sets this apart from other other Logic Lock rooms though is how they constantly reinforce the notion that you are in the middle of a break-in vulnerable to being caught at any moment. They do something cool and different to up the notch of immersion.

One of the hallmarks of this room is the story being a continuation of The Warehouse’s. While cute, I’m not entirely sure if it really mattered in the room.

This room gets a #platinum for being a worthy addition to Logic Lock’s ever-growing collection of great rooms.

A/Maze was one of the few anticipated debutant escape rooms of 2017. The owner talked to us about A/Maze being a fruit of his passion, relayed the details of how Cabaret Voltaire came to be, and teased us about their next room.

We noticed that there were no bookings at their next available slot, but it was an hour or so away, so we called to ask if we could just pop in and do the room ASAP. They were very accommodating and got us into the room as soon as we arrived.

The puzzles in Cabaret Voltaire were integrated seamlessly into the story. The story steps into the foreground and provides the framework for the puzzle progression.

There was creativity here in spades, as what seemed to be an innocuous object became necessary to move onto the next step.

What stood out to me about the puzzles here was how nicely they were integrated into the environment! There weren’t any boxes with locks on them lying around the room, which meant you had to do a bit more exploring. I thought that the real strength of this room was the puzzle progression. While there were lots of different types of puzzles to do, the way that the room guided you through them was intuitive and engaging.

I also loved some of the surprising and fun uses of tech in this room. I only wish that for some of the puzzles we completed, there was some sort of feedback (visual/audio/something) to let us know what we did.

The environment was gorgeous, thanks in particular to the large antique set pieces and a collection of small vintage curiosities that contributed to the overall atmosphere. Cabaret Voltaire transported us not only into a different space but also through time.

Cabaret Voltaire takes advantage of the Amaze building’s natural walls to great effect. Combined with the vintage decor, Amaze does a great job of bringing to life a believable setting. The excellent decor did highlight some props that didn’t fit in quite as well, but I don’t think I would have minded as much if the rest of the room didn’t look so nice!

This room spelled out the true meaning of breaking in. In an unprecedented twist, this room starts very abruptly and dares blur the line between reality and artificial immersion. (Deep-cut reference: I felt like Newt Scamander trying to figure out how to get into Gnarlack’s cabaret.)

Cabaret Voltaire started out subtly, but for a brief moment, the beginning made me go, “Where does the room start and where does real life end?!” …which may have been an overreaction on my part, but I thought the start was a fun idea that worked out really well.

The hint system and the background audio definitely kept the feeling of immersiveness going in the room. I did find that the audio was a bit loud at times though.

While most rooms have tacked on stories that get abandoned in-room, Cabaret Voltaire is the opposite: The introductory story was as convoluted as can be, but the room lets you explore and be engrossed in the story. The characters in this room were almost too real. A simple Wikipedia search would reveal historically accurate references found in this room.

I wasn’t aware of the theme before coming to the room. When our gamemaster was explaining it to us, I thought that the concept was interesting, and definitely unique. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of how the theme developed in the room. To me, it felt a bit like it was forcing the whole “escape or die” trope that is very common in escape rooms.

Also, looking back on the Amaze site, I’m not certain that the room’s description completely captured the feel of the room, but that could just be me.

This room gets a #diamond for daring to be unconventional and unfamiliar. Cabaret Voltaire is a bit of an acquired taste. This room would be perfect for escape room pros who crave something extraordinary. I’m still haunted by the room after several days.

I would definitely give this room a #diamond. It’s an incredibly polished room and the amount of work that Amaze put into this room is very obvious. If all their rooms are this good, they’re definitely a company to watch out for in Calgary!

Located on the outskirts of Kensington, Cognito is one of the surprise additions to the Calgary escape room scene in 2017. The gamemaster was gracious enough to let us play for extra time when we did not finish the room.

We got there REALLY REALLY late because of some terrible traffic, but they were very nice about it and we were still able to play! They’re also very friendly and nice to talk to.

The room’s meat is in the puzzles. What seemed to be a familiar display of escape room tropes, the puzzles delivered many surprises.

Designed to test your team’s individual solving skills, the puzzles catered to different strengths. It’s up to you and your friends to determine who would be most efficient at what station.

Not only were the puzzles creative, but the way that puzzles were organized and flowed was also fantastic. This room had a great system that allowed us to easily link a puzzle to the box it’s supposed to open. This made sure there weren’t any instances where we had a 3-digit combo, and countless 3-digit locks to try that combo in.

The room had a certain charm. What looked like a nondescript office was actually a magical one laden with little trinkets and knickknacks referencing Harry Potter, some of it clearly made, printed, and glued together on-site. There were some impressive pieces here. Some of it, though,  was a little rundown, fragile, and easily tearable.

I actually really liked how the room looked! The major pieces in the room looked pretty great, but there are some small details that didn’t look as nice (like Paulie mentioned, some visible glue, some pieces of paper that didn’t look very magical). The not-as-nice parts may have just been emphasized by what I thought was a good-looking room overall.

Without spoiling anything, Sorcerer’s Academy sends hints in a very unconventional but very thematic way. Owl be the first to say that I found it magical. (I wonder if this method works on Sundays?)

I’m not very punny, so I’ll just leave it at what Paulie said.

Yes, this is a biased rating due to my unabashed love for Harry Potter. It’s surprising how this is the first of its kind in Calgary/Edmonton. The folks at Cognito took accio-ed this theme and ran away apparated with it.

I love magic themes! This room in particular was about as close as you can get to Harry Potter without being a Harry Potter room.

Solid #platinum. Sorcerer’s Academy turned your standard bag of tricks inside out. If you’re seeking a magical fantasy escape room, this school is worth enrolling in.

#platinum! School is a drag without any friends, so bring a bunch! You’ll need them!