Mystery Soup Escape Rooms — Attraction in Pawtucket

Lock and Clue Escape Rooms is, without a doubt, the best escape room company in the northeast.

I have played about 40-50 escape games in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont and Lock and Clue's rooms are the most innovative, well-constructed, well-run, and memorable. Below are three ways Lock and Clue sets themselves apart from other escape room businesses.

Immersion: The room at Lock and Clue do not only feature fantastic construction, decoration, and design, but the way the room operator interacts with the room's participants is truly unique. The room operators are in character and provide a memorable introduction to your rooms. Often times, getting to the room itself is a fun adventure--taking you to some dark corners of the large mill building the company is housed in. Most escape rooms try to fit a story into their rooms and, often times, it is overshadowed by the puzzling. At Lock and Clue, the story of the room is deeply embedded in the puzzling experience and essential for solving the room. They are quirky, original, and often times feature a fun and unexpected twist. The story is told through the design of the rooms, little details in them, and through the room operator--which successfully follows a 'show not tell' method of story telling.

Innovation: When you play a lot of escape rooms, you quickly pick up on clichés and tropes that many rooms employ. Lock and Clue actively strives to not rely on clichéd puzzles and the majority of the puzzles in their room is unlike any I've seen elsewhere. In fact, my experience playing escape games has made it extra challenging for me to solve some puzzles, because their solution and execution completely subverts my expectations from playing previous rooms leading to many "Wow! I did not expect that!" moments. Many modern escape rooms rely on technology and electronics to make their rooms more exciting--Lock and Clue combines these elements with stagecraft for some truly awesome moments. Be prepared for moving walls, unexpected crawl spaces, and large, hands on set pieces.

Service: I've played all six rooms at Lock and Clue and have brought 4 groups of students here on a field trip and the service has been excellent each time. The website is easy to use, the staff are courteous, and, best of all, all the rooms are private! The staff are all very passionate about what they do and the amount of time and effort put into the rooms is very apparent.

I cannot recommend Lock and Clue Escape Rooms enough. They are truly the best escape...

Having done 40 different escape rooms accross the country, Lock & Clue has been my favorite! This place goes above and beyond to create an outstanding experience in every way! Aside from having a super friendly staff & great customer service (shout out to Trey!), they do a few things differently here that really set their rooms apart.

Their rooms, each involving multiple chambers, are among the most spacious and emersive I've ever seen; they're well designed, nicely staged, and complete with surprises! The Cellar even involves an actor who pops in when you need him and really makes for a wonderfully intense and emersive experience. (Jason you were awesome!)

We really loved their unique method of clue giving; they've eliminated that horrible moment of defeat where you have to admit you need a hint and instead use their own judgement as to when to offer up, in character, an ever so slight nudge in the right direction.

Another perk we loved about this place that I've never seen elsewhere is that their rooms are all private: once you book your room, no matter the size of your group, the room is closed off to others. No having to worry about having to share the room with another group! (Having had my share of ruined experiences at other locations due to novice or roudy party crashers, I can't stress how awesome it is that this place offers this!)

Can't say enough good things about this place. They even offer a special room for the younger escapers, but I can't say we tested that one out. We did the Inheritance, The Cellar, and the Vault. All three were top notch and highly recommended, but I think the Cellar was our favorite! Hope to make it back to Rhode Island in the future just to see what other rooms they have in...

We’ve now done all the rooms at Mystery Soup (including a few back when it was called Lock and Clue), and every one has been excellent. The set designs are immersive and detailed, and the puzzles are clever, well-paced, and satisfying to solve. You can tell these rooms were designed by folks who really understand what makes escape games great.

We actually chose Doomsday Disaster as our 100th escape room because we had loved their other rooms and wanted this milestone to be something special. The room absolutely delivered on every level: engaging puzzles, strong theming, and a great sense of momentum and payoff. After we were done, we played our 101st room in The Vault game. It was a totally different vibe, but was super immersive and a lot of fun. The difficulty level feels just right, and the staff is really helpful with nudges when you get stuck.

The new owners, Curt and Tina, are clearly escape room enthusiasts, and they’ve done a fantastic job taking over the space and making it their own. We've always had great experiences with the staff and GM's too. They're clearly invested in making the experience enjoyable, which makes a big difference.

Whether you're an escape game enthusiast or just looking for a fun and challenging activity with friends, Mystery Soup is absolutely worth a stop. We’re excited to see what they come...