Escape the Mystery Room — Attraction in Rockaway Township

TL:DR - The employees are the real stars here. The escape room was worn out and full of red herrings.

First and foremost, Cassandra and Alex were wonderful. They made us feel welcome, gave us a refresher course on different types of locks, and were very helpful. As I mentioned above, they are the real stars at this place. When we asked for hints, they were patient, helpful, and not at all judgmental. They gave us just enough of a nudge to set us in the right direction.

The escape room we did was Sherlock's Library. When we were getting the rules review in the room, the hosts let us know that there was a "Master Level" if we finished early - they showed us a box in the corner, and a separate locked desk compartment - and assured us that everything for the Master Level would only be in that box, and that desk zone.

Then, they left us alone to get puzzling. Immediately we found two keys that had no use, as they didn't fit any locks. We saved them for later. We scoured the room for other clues, and found some. We knew the answer to open a lock, but the phrasing we were using was incorrect, so we needed a hint to be able to get the lock open. Inside that area were "clues" that were basically a lot of reading. So many numbers, letters, and symbols that looked like clues, and weren't at all useful (red herrings). We figured out some things, but for the most part, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Everything was worn out. Props were chipped. Wall posters rubbed on. Floor carpet pulled up in patches. Clues, even though laminated, were peeling, folded beyond belief, and limp. The locks were so worn, that in some instances, even though we had the right code, they still did not open unless you nudged them just right. It wouldn't be much of an expense to re-make these, and get new locks - especially when they don't work reliably.

At the end of the room, when we finished, we had three keys that we never used. Never. Used. We were told they were for the Master Level - this was really frustrating, as we had been told everything for the Master Level was closed into that one box, and desk compartment. We wasted so much time trying to use those keys, and the tons of other useless information. That was ridiculous.

If the other rooms here are like this one, I don't think we'll be back. Too shabby, too many red herrings, and non-working locks are just inexcusable. It's a shame, because the staff is...

I recently booked the Escape from Alcatraz room to celebrate my little sister’s birthday After being stuck on 2 different clues for a long time, we called for a hint and one of the workers came to assist us. After explaining to her what part we were stuck on, she told us that there was supposed to be a key in one of the boxes we had already opened. We told her that there was no key in the box when we opened it. She checked all the other boxes we had opened and said she had arranged the room and she knew she put the key in the box. After checking again, she took the box and came back with it opened and also had a different clue than we were originally trying to solve. It was clear that the room was set up incorrectly at the beginning which led to us wasting a majority of our time trying to figure out a clue that was not correctly placed, therefore not allowing us to continue. She gave us an additional 20 minutes to finish due to the error but at that point we were confused, annoyed and rushed. My sister was very disappointed as was I. I’ve done escape room before with different companies like 13th hour escape room and never had this experience. We should have been offered a refund or the opportunity to do a different room since it was not properly prepared. I was deeply disappointed in the experience and will be looking elsewhere for future...

If you’re an escape room person, don’t waste your time and money here. While I could see this being a good option for younger kids who have never tried an escape room, this was really not worth the money for older kids/adults. We sat waiting for 30 minutes for an employee to come to the desk. He then came strolling in with a target bag…he asked me to fill out waivers but I had already done so. Then he found them. The rooms are tiny like office cubicles, and the one we were in (Alcatraz) was the last one, which was pushed up against the glass that looked out to the mall. There was no immersion at all. The worker told us to start at the box closest to the door and work around the room clockwise. There was no critical thinking to solve the clues. Literally just going in a circle. There were missing clues and the room wasn’t properly reset. Honestly a terrible experience all around. I’ve been to a lot of escape rooms and this was by far the worst one I’ve done. I’m just trying to warn others who may be interested in booking…if you have done escape rooms before and enjoy them, this...