Because we enjoyed Minotaur so much, we decided to do The Great Train Robbery a few hours later that night. The crew here was as jovial as ever, and there’s a certain camaraderie among all of them. Whenever we asked for a hint, each staff member that came in was patient and understanding. We also got a thorough explanation of the rest of the room after running out of time and not getting out. Even when we finished around midnight, the staff still said goodbye to us with all smiles.

This location has a great group of people. Very fun and very welcoming!

As I mentioned before, and as you probably noticed with our statistics, Ben and I prefer doing escape rooms with just the two of us. We joined another party before and the experience didn’t feel complete. Usually when companies indicate that max capacity is more than 2 people, Ben and I are incredulous and think (or hope) that the room is still doable with just the two of us. This is one of those rooms where the recommended max capacity of 8 is actually valid. This room is still escapable with just two people, but it’s definitely tough.

We wasted a lot of time looking around, using trial-and-error strategies, and figuring out how puzzles were related to clues. Unlike Hipster Hangover where there were only a few puzzles, The Great Train Robbery will keep you busy from the moment you enter. Alas, Ben and I didn’t escape, and there was still a lot to do when time ran out. However, we felt immense satisfaction after solving all the puzzles. Conversely, when we were getting a run-through of what else the room had in store, we felt immense regret that we failed, because the rest of the room sounded amazing.

Maybe it was because it was really late (or maybe it was because this was one of the first few rooms we did ever?), but we had a lot of trouble getting going in this room. We missed a lot of things here and there that added up quickly. When we did get something though, it felt pretty good!

Looking back, we didn’t fail to escape because the puzzles were super hard. They were actually very fair – puzzle difficulty is one of The Locked Room’s biggest strengths. I think we may have both been trying to piece things together in our minds separately, which is why it took us a while to do anything. Communication is going to be really important in this room (well, in all rooms, but this one in particular!).

This room captures that old-time industrial feel. Most escape rooms are wide and almost square, but this is one of the few rooms that start out as a long rectangular hallway, which I appreciated. The room slowly unveils itself as you progress through the room, and each progression is elegantly decorated.

It’s a train. It really really looks like you’re on a train. The colours in this room are great – I think they were going for a look like those old Western films, and they definitely got it down.

This room’s music is its most valuable player. I legitimately felt like I was in a moving train–I reiterate, not just in a train, but a moving train. In addition, I also felt like being in a time-capsule, in the early twentieth century. In other words, I was transported away not only from where I was, but also when I was.

Speaking of old Western films, I felt like I was a part of one when I was in this room. The tension was real as we saw the time ticking down and I think I may have genuinely been worried that we weren’t going to pull off that heist.

There’s been an abundance of heist-related themes. You go in, get an object, and get out. This one is exactly like that. What worked exceptionally well was the cohesiveness of the room’s individual components, and how each component contributed to enriching the theme.

Like Paulie said, there is no shortage of heist-themed rooms. What sets this room apart is how well they executed that theme. The look, the music, and the puzzles were all fantastic and really made the fact that this was a great train robbery come to life.

I’m giving this a #diamond rating. We did this room when we were still novice in the escape room scene (this was probably the third room that we’ve done). It used to be my favorite, and while it’s been demoted over time, I still admire this room for a concept and execution well done. Make sure to bring friends so you can divide and conquer!

This gets a #diamond rating. Absolutely stunning room, definitely one of the best that The Locked Room has to offer. Bring a big group!