Escape Room KC in Union Station — Attraction in Kansas City

This was my 5th escape room and it was the worst escape room experience I have ever had. A 1 star rating is too high for what this place deserves.

Upon arrival, the staff did not introduce themselves, but simply escorted my group into a room without giving any of us a chance to prepare for what we were about to do. There was little to no explanation of what we would be doing in the room or what our objective was. I asked the "Gamemaster" a simple question, "Are any of the keys/solutions used multiple times?" To which he responded with a blank stare for 15 seconds before walking out of the room simply saying "good luck."

During the escape room itself the timer / tablet they have mounted on the wall went back to the home screen so we could not see how long we had left for our hour. We had to wait 5-10 minutes for two different staff members to come into the room opening the exit door and ruining the ambiance / experience of being 'trapped' in a room that you're trying to escape. Finally they got it fixed and we proceeded with the room. We are on the final clue with 5 minutes left on the clock to escape and have the correct solution to the only remaining 'cryptex' puzzle (a 5 character spiral combination lock). After passing the puzzle around to three different team members all to no avail, we use a hint to ask how to solve it. The staff member sputters useless information that we were long past leaving us to our own witts. After one final try to open the cryptex lock, the end of it literally broke off revealing what looked like elmers glue holding it together. The metal piece fell to the floor with a clang and we all sat in disbelief as we were now 100% unable to escape the room. The staff member again opens the door, unannounced takes the puzzle out of my hands and walks into the corner without saying a word. Readjusts the combination then hands me a key, again without saying a single word. He leaves the room and we use the key to escape. After leaving the room in disbelief at how unprofessional they were and how adept they were at ruining the mood of an escape room, I asked them, "Is __ the correct combination to that lock?" and one of the staff members replied in a snarky tone, "Yes, and it would have worked if you didn't break it. Now we can't use that room anymore because you broke the puzzle and we don't have a replacement."

I left the building frustrated and unamused. I felt like I wasted $140 on my 4 friends and myself to attempt to have fun... All just to have the unprofessional staff blame me and my friends for ruining their game which was broken from the start. I am highly dissatisfied with the entire experience and wouldn't go back even if they offered us a free round. The whole experience wasn't even boring / neutral, it was negative. Do not go to this escape room.

tl;dr: Unprofessional staff literally entered the room and finished the game for us because we "broke one of the puzzles." 0/5 star review. Do...

I love escape rooms. I love finding clues and racing to the end and the adrenaline of it. My group of 8 participated in the 221B Baker Street room. It was OK. The only reason why we chose this location was for the discount. $30 per person is a tough price for some people, but with the 20% coupon we used it made it easier for everyone else to join in. So that is definitely a plus, that this location had that option! Unfortunately the experience wasn't that great. Even though there are cameras for the GM (game master) to be viewing and help guiding when in need or providing clues, it was like they weren't even watching. So when we did ask for a hint, the GM asked questions that if they were watching, would have known were already completed. It was such a large room that several people were trying to solve clues that were already completed. Also there was no direction with the clues. One clue would only lead to another, which then was a dead end. I think the description of this particular escape room would need to include that it's not truly a group effort, but that the group needs to stay separated finding their own clue to solve. The GM makes or breaks the escape room experience. My husband and I got this group together to show them how awesome an escape room is, and unfortunately fell short. When we first went in to check in, there was no welcome or acknowledgement until I went to the counter and said hello. Not a total flop, but not an escape room I...

Anytime I travel I always check out the local escape rooms. Escape Room KC did not disappoint!

Staff: The staff here were very curtiouse and welcoming. The employee with the rainbow hart hat was awesome!

Location: This has to be one of the coolest Escape room locations Iv ever seen! So much history in the building just makes for an even better experience for a out of town visitor!

Room design: We played the DaVinci game. The room was very well built and extremely clean. I love when rooms are very immersive. They did a really good job with this, I was very pleased!

Game design: the first 3/4 of the game was great. I’m not a fan of math puzzles in escape rooms. But they didna good job at making it fun and not complicated. The rope maze was very cool! Iv never seen that in an escape room and I felt it worked really well with the theam! Unfortunately we got stuck for a long time on the table game. The game master gave us a few extra minutes but we were just burnt at that point. I would have liked it to have a better clue to help solve it for smaller groups. That being said the over all pacing of the game was great. At no point (before we got to the table) was I ever board or felt just clueless. So very good job to your game designer!

I’m hoping to come back to the city soon. This escape room will definitely be on my list of places to come back too! Also the photo booth idea...