Sixty to Escape - Woodfield Mall — Attraction in Schaumburg Township

60 to Escape is located inside Woodfield Mall. It's on the second floor near the food court. If you park by Texas De Brazil/Comedy Improv parking lot, it's a super easy walk to get to. Follow signs on the walls as well.

From the moment you walk inside, you are greeted to a very professional and friendly experience. The staff are amicable and polite. I do recommend making a reservation prior to attending online, but you can also make a reservation on site as well, but no guarantees that you'll get in. They are very busy which is great.

As of writing this review, I believe they have 6 escape rooms. My partner and I decided to do the Cheesie's escape room. The room is inspired by Chuckie Cheeses and Five Nights at Freddy's. The story of the room is that you are celebrating your birthday by going to the arcade and restaurant. Only caveat? The restaurant has been closed and abandoned for years and now, just a single animatronic remains, Cheesie the mouse himself!

Some disclaimers about the escape room: The animatronic talks, lights up, and moves, but it's not an actor. It's a static animatronic that stays in the same spot the entire room. So for those of you that are scaredy cats like me, just know that the animatronic will not chase you or corner you, or do anything to make you feel that you need to run away. Next, the room has multiple sections, which open up to you as you continue. Finally, when you make the reservation online, you will be given an option for unlimited hints. It's $15 as of writing this and trust me, it's worth it. We used 5+ hints throughout our experience and all you have to do is push a blue button to get hints from the game master anytime you want, typed to you on a giant tv screen.

As for the experience itself. It was amazing! My partner and I felt like we were in a movie. The section based approach is also great because it tells a story. The puzzles themselves range from number locks, memorization, item based puzzles, information based, and more. Each item that you find is useful to some capacity which is great because in other escape rooms, the items are ambiguous on what's important or not.

Without spoiling too much, the escape room itself does a great job at cinematic cutscenes. The acting of the characters is wonderful. Cheesie acts sort of as an anti-hero and he does have some great monologues throughout the experience.

My partner and I finished the escape room with 2 minutes and 37 seconds left to spare, and we were told that was actually very impressive.

Here are some quick tips: Some puzzle solutions are actually more simple than you think. If you pay for unlimited hints, use them a lot. The staff are more than happy to give you as many hints as you want. The 60 minutes flies by. At one point you're at 50 minutes and the next, you're at 10 minutes and you're scrambling to figure it out. So make sure to keep an eye on the clock and please use the hints.

Finally I would like to call out our game master: Alyshah. She was WONDERFUL and AMAZING. She walked backwards while talking to us and it reminded us of the butler from the legend of Zelda majora's mask. She was super energetic and fun. She made the experience even more fun for us. Alyshah, you should be very proud of yourself! You did incredible in helping us and it was a blast! We also loved that you gave us an opportunity to ask you questions after the room was over. Thank you so much!

I also want to give a shoutout to the cashier Avi, who was extremely friendly and helpful as well. Thanks Avi for the positivity and kind words.

Overall we LOVED this escape room. Thank you for making my date night with my partner a blast. Can't wait to...

Update: It's been almost 4 months since my previous visit. I have since played 7 other escape rooms and most of them have not lived up to the magic that I felt at Sixty to Escape.

I was able to return to play another game, this time it was Magic Heist, and was just as delighted. A very thoughtful setting, top notch production and very fun puzzles.

Some audio clues could use a bit more volume, but otherwise, zero complaints.

Hope to see you again soon, folks!

{Previously posted}

My highest compliments to Sixty to Escape. From booking online to check in, to the quality of the audio/visuals and the level of detailing in the game, I was impressed with every aspect. I hesitate to use the "D" word, but I really think the quality was on par with a Disney attraction. I was surprised in the post pleasant way at every turn.

Great variety of puzzles, locks and things to discover. Excellent ramping up of story line throughout the game and carrying clues and hints along a thread from beginning to end.

We were a group of two people and appreciate the ability to play by ourselves and not with "strangers". We have experience with home-played "escape games" but only limited experience with live games.

Upon completion of our game we were instantly regretting not having a second one booked that we could jump right into. We are already planning a return trip (from 4+ hours away) where we can play a few more...

Loved it. We did the Magic Heist, and it was one of the best escape rooms I've ever done. We got out. We did pay for unlimited clues and used 5. It was so fun! The escape runs are clean. They are in great working condition. They make sense, and as others have said, the game is very challenging but fair. I can't wait to do the others at this location. So fun!

Update: 5 days later, we went back again to do Mystery Manor, and we loved it! We got out in 38 minutes. Again, it's a smart, fun challenge. I'm looking forward to doing the next one soon.

Update 2: We did both Lockbuster and Jurassic Outpost within the last 6 days. It's just awesome. It's so challenging. The puzzles are not easy at all, but they are just so creative. Robert was a fabulous game host. I preferred Lockbuster over Jurassic.

My favorites here so far were Magic Heist and Lockbuster, then Mystery Manor, Jurassic, and Chuck E Cheese's birthday party. I can't wait for the new games that are coming out soon!

Update: We went back to do Artic Expedition, the newest room, and it was by far one of our favorite escape rooms ever! Such smart clues and so much fun!! I think this room is perfect for 2-3 people, but more than that might feel a bit tight in the beginning. What a fabulous experience we had! The whole crew is so helpful and nice. I can't wait until they add more rooms, but I'm telling all of my friends to go search for the Yeti in...