QUARTERBACK SNEAK

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.

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).