Off The Couch Games — Attraction in Fremont

What an AMAZING experience. Most of us were kind of nervous going into it because of the anticipation of the live actors. The staff were super friendly and you can tell they are passionate about what they do. They made us feel very welcoming and did not rush anything. A lot of places start you ASAP to make up the time. Speaking of time… this place did things differently. So the time stated for each chapters were 110, 90 and 120 respectively for first 3 chapters. If you go past the 110 minutes, time starts being taken out of the next rooms. If you don’t use up the full 110, well, that’s more time for your following rooms. If you pass the games and still have time remaining, you get credit back that time. Another unique thing is if you want to stop, you can “save your game” and resume where you left off another time. Upon arriving, you’re allowed to grab drinks and they will charge you later. You can bring the drinks into the rooms with you.

Our group is nuts and we chose to do all 3 rooms in one day… Our plan was to start the first room at 1pm and finish first 2 chapters by 3 something and have a break to get boba and donuts nearby. Unfortunately… we suck and didn’t get out on time so we didn’t have that break and most of us were burned out. We couldn’t get our boba and donuts. We had a short break until jumping into chapter 3. The staff were nice enough to offer us snacks to give us energy. This may not be for everyone but I highly recommend doing all 3 if you can - or at least don’t spend too much time apart. Like don’t do chapter 1 and then wait months to do chapter 2. Doing it same day or close apart will keep the memory fresh and really play into the immersion.

We had a great time speaking with Nick, the owner, and the other staff members - Jo, Nick, and Kenneth. They were all passionate and loved what they were doing. You can feel the energy and positive vibes from each of them. Usually places that don’t have that energy, it rubs off on the players and it isn’t as enjoyable so I’m glad that wasn’t the same at Off The Couch Games. Nick said he has done 1500 rooms… that definitely tells you how much of an escape room enthusiast he is. The staff told us about their plans for expanding this game into 12 chapters. They really value the experience and story line more than a typical escape room filled with bunch of combo locks, number codes, key locks, etc. They told us that they are currently petitioning to the Mayor of Fremont in order to get the green light to further expand their rooms. Fingers crossed because we are so looking forward to continuing the story line. We were told chapter 4 would include dinner with the mayor…😉 the food can be as low as McDonald’s grade to Michelin Star grade. That sounds SOOO interesting.

Your decisions in the games matter and affect how your other games play out so think carefully. Hopefully the city of Fremont makes the right decision so we can continue have such amazing, high quality escape rooms for us at Off the Couch Games. Please drop by! Hands down the best escape room experience. For my 🐓s out there, it’s not that bad. You got this.

Oh, we also got a beautiful drawing personalized for our group. Jealous, are we? Go get one yourselves...

I've done around 140 escape rooms, and Off the Couch is still one of the companies I'd recommend locals check out. The owner is also extremely ambitious with some exciting projects coming down the pipeline.

---Excalibur--- 4 out of 5. An above average game that's solid in multiple dimensions, and stands out from a standard room due to its polish, progression, and puzzles.

Set - Diverse sets with excellent use of lighting. Medieval-themed rooms are perhaps overdone at this point, but Excalibur is the best I've seen so far. The size of the physical space was substantial, the props were high quality, and each room felt like a distinct part of the castle.

Story - Excalibur successfully creates the adventuring feel. At the start of the game, we got costumes, roles, and a beautiful notebook. While these weren't necessarily super significant within the game, I thought they were a nice touch. I think one area of potential improvement is integration of the story with the game as a whole, particularly with the puzzles. While the puzzles were all on-theme (more on puzzles below), the story part of the game was isolated from them. The story elements also required more gamemaster intervention than would be ideal, and didn't quite flow seamlessly. I think people who like medieval fantasy in general will appreciate the story here, but there isn't much that's unique.

Puzzles - Above average puzzles for sure. The puzzles were well-integrated into the set and story, and many of them had something that I hadn't seen before. Only 2 or so traditional locks in this room, and the automated tech was on point. The puzzles were multi-layered and on the challenging side, which I appreciated.

I liked that Excalibur was really about enjoying the experience, as it's a 2-hour room and the owner encourages taking your time rather than trying to set records. As a group of 5 with a solid amount of experience, we escaped in 1 hour and 40 minutes with 1 hint.

---Conspiracy--- 3 out of 5. This room doesn't stand out from a standard room, with a sparse and unexciting set and little to no story, despite the above average puzzles.

Set - It looked kind of like an underground government bunker, but nothing really stood out about this set. The decorations and furniture were pretty basic. This was probably a below average set.

Story - Pretty much none. Maybe some if you squint. You can definitely see some of the conspiracy theory elements floating around, but I wouldn't really call it a story.

Puzzles - Solid, probably above average. Most of the puzzle elements are things you might find in other rooms, but they tended to be on the slightly more challenging side.

---Inheritance--- 3 out of 5. A bit on the short side and nothing that makes this room distinctive from an enthusiast perspective.

Set - Some nice set pieces, though it annoyed me that there were a tad too many red herrings lying around. Generic antique set with wood finishing, which is pretty but not unique.

Story - There wasn't really any story.

Puzzles - These were on the easy side, and nothing that really stands out from a...

Out of the roughly 100 escape rooms I have done (including a chunk of TERPECA winners and finalists), the three Asheville rooms at Off The Couch Games are the most remarkable thus far. They are incredibly well rounded, with immersion always at the forefront. I typically find escape room storylines dull, peripheral to the overall experience, and ultimately ignorable. However, Occam’s Apartment, Norcross Art Gallery, and The Morgue quickly pulled me in. They kept me engaged for the entire 5 hours, feeling as if I was a meaningful part of the story. At some point, I forgot I was playing an escape room and began to just experience what was unfolding in front of me, which is something I have not felt in any of the other rooms I have done.

The immersion doesn’t stop at the story, though. Hints are delivered through in-game mechanics and in-character actors corresponding to each room, rather than a typical game master. The set design, props, and technical implementations are world class. The puzzles themselves are unique and incredibly thoughtful, with only one traditional combination lock in the entire series. The Morgue was my favorite room of the three, and ultimately the best escape room I have ever done, even if taken in isolation. It has so many distinctive mechanics I have never seen before and served as the perfect finale for the saga. If your group is willing and able, try to do the chapters 1-3 in a single session for a truly enveloping experience. If you do prefer or require to split the rooms up, they have excellent recap videos to bring you right back up to speed.

On top of the rooms themselves, the owner and game masters are extraordinary. They genuinely care about you having the best experience possible, carefully tailoring their interactions with you to fit your unique journey. They have the escape room experience to inform everything they do, all having done many rooms (Nick, the owner, has done over 1,400!) and being experts themselves. We had Adam as our game master, whose passion shines through both conversationally and in his role within Asheville. He elevated our experience to the next level, making it even more memorable than it already would have been. Additionally, the staff as a whole are super accommodating. I booked all three rooms back to back and started feeling very ill midway through the first. Despite the great inconvenience to them, the game masters were kind enough to save my progress and allow me to return a few weeks later to complete the experience from exactly where I left off at no additional cost.

In summary, everything at Off The Couch Games is meticulously developed and curated by enthusiasts. That will be reflected in an immersive experience which will forever stand out in your mind, no matter how many escape rooms you have...