This was our second time at Breakout Calgary, and the lobby was pretty quiet when we went. The staff member who assisted us was enthusiastic and had lots of energy.

BEN

Our game master was nice enough to let us know that there was one puzzle that wasn’t working for the last group and that we should call him when we think we’ve got it. The puzzle did end up working for us, but I appreciated his attention to the state of the room. If it didn’t work for us, he would’ve saved us a lot of frustration!

The puzzles were few, but what it lacked in number it more than made up for in variety. There were visual, logic, searching, and counting puzzles which I appreciated because Ben and I have different strengths and it’s always great when we divide the work.

Initially, the puzzles were more on the easier scale, and the difficulty level got progressively harder with each portion of the room. Ben and I actually had our first argument in an escape room because one of the earlier puzzles required precision and was very tedious. We had to repeat it multiple times because we got antsy, which caused both of us to yell at each other. It was pretty funny looking back, but at the same time, if a room gets you arguing and making team work mandatory, then that’s overall plus points for the way the puzzles are set up.

The puzzles stumped us. At first, I was really confused as to why we were so lost, but once we got out of the room, Mr. P pointed out that the room didn’t have any locks! This meant that our usual strategy of “link the 4 numbers here to the 4 number lock over there” didn’t work, which was why we got off to such a slow start. It was just very new and very different!

Because this room didn’t have any locks, I found the puzzles to be more playful and varied than any other room we’ve done. The goal of the puzzles wasn’t to get 4 numbers or 5 letters or a set of directions, which really made us think differently.

I think I’m going to rate this component not based on its aesthetics, but based on its effectiveness. What I mean is, each portion of the room had its own look that it was trying to achieve. It’s no spoiler to say that the theme is time travel. So, was each portion effective in its attempt to take me back in time? Yes!

My only complaint was the last portion’s centerpiece puzzle was very blatant and looked jarring. The puzzles in the earlier portions were more inconspicuously embedded in the setting.

I was super impressed with this room because it had a lot of things going on and almost hit the nail on the head for all of them.

The miss for me was also in the last part of this room. I think they did a great job of managing a lot of information and making it seem less overwhelming, but I think it may have been at the expense of aesthetics. Not that the last part was poorly done (quite the opposite!), but the rest of the room was just so amazing that the last part kind of stuck out like a sore thumb for me.

I probably felt the most sense of urgency in this room than anywhere else. I think this is mainly thanks to how the main physical mechanism was set up (which I’m not going to spoil here), so you have no choice but to hurry and hustle.

Like Mr. P said earlier, there was a little bit of yelling. I REALLY got into this room because yelling is very unusual – I don’t think it’s happened until now! The puzzles were engaging and the mechanism of the room was amazing. I was definitely hooked.

This is the best attempt at time travel ever. Whenever time travel is referenced, you think science fiction, advanced technology, and everything neony. This room was the complete opposite. It’s so unique (and very cool) in its own way. I loved it.

This room has set the bar for time travel themes and it has set the bar HIGH. I loved how this was a dynamic take on the theme, instead of the static techno-style rooms that Paulie described above.

I give this room a #diamond. I had never seen or experienced a room like this. When an escape room goes out of the box with its concept and succeeds with execution, then  there’s nothing more to ask. This is a must-try, especially for those escape room addicts looking for something different! (Fun fact: This room has no locks!)

Easy #diamond. Do this room! It’s one of the most unique I’ve ever done, but also one of the harder ones – bring friends!