Otherworld — Attraction in Columbus

Visited yesterday while we were in town for a concert — and this place had been on our list for a while after seeing it all over social media. We were excited to finally check it out!

We booked online ahead of time and chose the combo ticket, which included access to Otherworld and 75 minutes of playtime in Gamegrounds.

When we arrived, check-in was easy. We got our wristbands and a quick rundown of how everything worked before heading into Otherworld. From what we gathered, there’s no specific path — you’re free to explore however you like. The space is filled with tons of immersive rooms, surreal scenes, tunnels to crawl through, and interactive elements around every corner. If you miss something, you can loop back around and dive deeper. We spent about an hour wandering through and snapped a ton of photos.

Pro tip: come earlier in the day if you want a more immersive, less crowded experience. We went on a weekday, which helped — I’d imagine weekends get pretty busy. Also, for those bringing young kids, be aware that some areas can be a little spooky depending on your child’s comfort level.

As for Gamegrounds — it was honestly the highlight for me! Think: life-sized carnival-style games where you’re running, jumping, and playing your way through 13 different challenges. After a quick waiver and wristband setup, you tap in to start each game. It’s super interactive and surprisingly physical (yes, you will break a sweat). I’ve never seen anything quite like it before, and it was a blast. Highly recommend for couples, families, or friend groups looking to have some fun.

Overall, this was a really cool experience and a great way to spend a couple of hours. For us, it was probably a one-and-done kind of thing, but definitely worth doing at least once.

Just a heads-up: the location feels a bit off. It’s in a strip mall on the outskirts of downtown, surrounded by a lot of abandoned businesses, which made the area feel kind of sketchy. Not a dealbreaker, just something to be mindful of...

This place is perfectly curated to make each and every trip an otherworldly experience, as the name perfectly implies.

Everyone who goes through Otherworld makes it their own, as if it is a choose-your-own-adventure book in real life. Depending on how slowly you want to peel back the layers, the experience can range from a beautifully crafted story about a scientist indulging his fascination with his new discovery, to a combination of puzzle rooms, to even just a gorgeous light show. Kids will have places to crawl and things to hit to keep them entertained while adults will have puzzles leading to insights into how the world was created/discovered. There is certainly no wrong way to approach Otherworld, as each experience was lovingly thought out to make it memorable.

As you would expect with such a large passion project, all of the employees here are fully committed. Not wanting to give anything away, they will instead make themselves readily available to anyone looking for hints on more challenging puzzles. This created such a warm and inclusive environment I felt comfortable enough even asking for history into the artwork or even asking other explorers for a hand when puzzles required more people to complete.

As if I needed another reason to rant about this place—administration is out of this world as well. Due to a system issue I ended up showing up on the wrong day. It was my girlfriend's birthday so we were a tad dismayed, but we literally got a phone call from the General Manager before we got back to the car. He went above and beyond and made us feel like we were the only thing on his docket that day. We switched gears and went to the Columbus zoo and then came back the next day with a birthday present waiting for us. We were blown away with the hospitality.

I cannot rave enough about this place! But the other reviews say it clearly enough, what other places can you find with over 5,000 reviews and almost a perfect rating? It has been earned.

Thanks everyone for such an...

I went to Otherworld with my girlfriend and her mother today, Wednesday December 20, at 10:30am. They had been there before, and I had not. The venue was almost entirely empty when we arrived, which was exactly what we were hoping, as Wednesday morning is supposed to be their least busy (or nearly least busy) time.

When we entered, we received wrist-bands and were told there were five "clues" of one type and six "clues" of the other. We found four of each and were able to solve both final puzzles over the course of three hours and fifteen minutes (including about 15 minutes in the gift shop).

I think spending more than about 3 hours would have been too much, but their estimated "1-3 hours" range seems a bit on the short side. I think most groups that are actually interested in the exhibit will take 2-4 hours. It would be difficult to solve the entire thing in under 2 hours, and it would be difficult to "see" the whole place in under about 90 minutes. That said, there's really not enough in there that you would want to spend more than about 4 hours, regardless of how your search/viewing experience is going, at least not with a nearly empty venue.

As a note, I think if the venue was at all crowded, it would have drastically taken away from the experience, and would have resulted in solving the puzzles taking more time. I went to Meow Wolf in Denver about a year and a half ago, and while it was not a busy time, it was not an empty time. That museum is about three times the size of Otherworld, and the crowd was annoying at times.

All in all, while I probably would not return (as I've solved the puzzles), I will continue to attend every museum of this type I encounter, and am very happy to have attended this one. I definitely HIGHLY recommend attending in the morning on a Wednesday or Thursday, and blocking out 4 or so hours to ensure you don't feel at all rushed. Bringing water and a snack would be recommended, though eating is only allowed outside...