The Locked Room — Attraction in Calgary

Lots of fun, especially geared towards people who are just starting to try out escape rooms, or only have a few under their belt. They have a variety of settings and difficulties.

Disclaimer: I've only played as an adult with other adults, so I can't attest to the difficulty or enjoyment that kids may get from the experience. I am an intermediate-level player, so take that into account in terms of difficulty and experience.

Pros: The Locked Room delivers a fairly consistent experience, and overall is pretty enjoyable. The price is on par with the other escape room companies in Calgary, even below their competitors in some cases. I've managed to escape every room I've done, only calling for hints a couple times. Some were easy, some were more difficult, though I'd say the hard ones are more difficult for beginners than intermediate players. The hosts are generally friendly, though tend to be young and not always the most professional (oh god I sound so old, I'm sorry). But they're still very nice, on the whole. I find the games to be a fun way to pass an hour with friends, and there's hardly a better feeling than when something has stumped you and you figure it out, and you manage to escape.

Cons: The props and decorations can be kinda cheap or corny, and sometimes too sparse, so in some of the rooms the price doesn't quite feel justified. Not outrageous though, I suppose. Their hardest room, "Dead Meat" at the time of writing with an 8% chance of escape, is only intermediate (imho), so advanced players will likely find their games too easy. I haven't yet tried their premium game, Hangar 403, though I would like to try it. As with all escape room companies in my experience, they sometimes have weird leaps of logic in their puzzles that may not be intuitive to everyone, but usually once you've played a few of their games you get a feel for what those are. Sometimes the hosts are a bit too casual and don't always do the best job at setting up the atmosphere for the scenario, though I've never had an outright bad experience with it, just sub-par.

Tips: The biggest determining factor in success, in my experience, is your team: if your friends are excited and open to the experience, you're more likely to be successful. People who don't care and don't try, don't win. I would suggest trying to hit the maximum number of people per room when you're booking, but no more. Too many players means there's going to be people with nothing to do, too few means everyone will be more stressed and it's easier for things to get missed. Have your team talk out loud to each other constantly: about things you've found, things that could be part of a puzzle later, etc, because this will make it so everyone is on the same page, and can more easily put 2 and 2 together.

Conclusion: Overall I enjoy The Locked Room, I think they're a great introduction to escape rooms in general, but also fun for those who have a few under their belts. If you're an advanced player then you may find the puzzles too easy. I like it in terms of just having fun with friends and solving some puzzles, maybe not so much if I'm looking to really challenge myself. Don't go in hoping for an incredibly detailed and immersive experience because then you'll be disappointed, but just take it for what it is and...

First time coming here (and to an escape room for that matter. Came with a group of 6 to play the Quest for Excalibur Room for me and my cousin's birthday, had an amazing time! The theme was playful and fun, the riddles were challenging but not impossible, and can be solved without hints for first time players (however you'll likely cut it close for time, by the way the timer is displayed above the entrance door in big lit up numbers). The only issue we had was one of the locks would not open for us even with the correct combination, we tried about 8 times with 3 different people. Finally we asked for a hint, and of course the lock opened when we were demonstrating the correct combo was not working. Besides that, it was an enjoyable locked room and was a nice size for 6 players, although there are some parts where it was clear that 6 was a crowd and only about 3 people were needed while the others stood around for 10 minutes. Overall the game was very well put together and the theme was consistent and great for all ages. The price per a game is a bit expensive (especially since there is no group rate, so large groups are quite pricey), $150 for 6 people. There are medium sized lockers which are free to use, and you can put your belongs in before the game (they are locked as well and you keep hold of the key). After the game is finished, you can put your name on the leaderboard, given you didn't use any hints and actually completed the game before time ran out. You also get a free themed rubber bracelet each as souvenirs and the option to get a group picture in the room to take home via email (also free). I would definitely suggest trying out a game here, though I hope there might be a discount special for groups sometime...

Did the Game Over room, and completed it with a group of 3 (including myself).

Overall, great decor and a lot of video game references. The puzzles made sense and gave you an idea of what items are associated with which puzzles. It was a great flow and the only frustrating part was the little details to figure out the puzzle.

There are two rooms, and in the first room some locks are labelled with "need to be level 2" -- this is really awesome because you're not wasting time trying to guess which lock to use.

Some silly frustrating things were some details that were hard to see if you were short, and if you're not a gamer, playing Punch Out on NES. They had a guide on how to beat the character, but Punch Out is not an easy game for those not used to gaming.

Since our group was the last one in that room, we were able to use extra time to go through the entire room. That was really cool because once we got over a few "duh" moments, it was extremely rewarding.

I recommend Locked Room over the other escape rooms, because of how they streamline...