Escape House Kansas City — Local services in Kansas City

Very disappointed. Our room wasn’t properly set up which left us without a piece of the puzzle. It was this missing information that I think reveals a bigger flaw in how this room was run. At about 40 min in we were completely stumped and we asked for our third hint. We were then told something that was written on the wall. I relayed that we needed something else (which will not be named in case someone reading this decides to brave dealing with this company) because we already knew what that hint was telling us (that and it was literally written on the wall). The hint was repeated and I asked for more help because otherwise we’d be standing around until the clock ran out. The clue was repeated again so we were sure that we needed to revisit the clues. After circling back and knowing that we weren’t going to get any additional help, we spent the last 10 min staring at each other waiting for the clock to run out. When it did, our game master came in and during the explanation discovered that the room hadn’t been reset with all the clues. “Sorry I didn’t reset the room, but I can get you a free game.” What I took away from this is that she had a script of what she was allowed to say and couldn’t deviate from it. And that she wasn’t really watching what we were doing (or even that I’d specifically told her we were missing X). I’ve been through at least 15 escape rooms and this is the only one that stopped communicating after the allotted clues were given. Every other company had a policy that caused some type of penalty for additional help. This one let us stand around after saying we were stuck. As for whether she was watching us? She wasn’t. At some point we couldn’t reach her on the walkie talkie so I stood waving my arms at the camera. Later while our “free game coupon” was being issued I asked how I could get a refund. Because we purchased through Groupon she couldn’t offer refunds. (*Note: a teammate purchased so I am not able to personally reach out to Groupon). Overall, I can understand rooms aren’t always set up properly. But we knew what we were missing, then asked for it, and still didn’t get an appropriate hint. I’m hoping my team mate can get a refund through Groupon because even with a free game coupon, I have no intention...

Flood the City, an ok room, don't pay full price. I've done 6 escape rooms now and this one ranks towards the bottom. We all agreed the theme is odd. It's much closer to some jungle safari where we lost our animals than a terrorist plot. Theme: 1/5. Props: I've done rooms with amazing props. Where you're wondering where they got all these things and they really help to immerse you in the theme. Props in this room are basic and not impressive. Props: 1/5. Dynamic: I've done rooms where chandeliers lower from the ceiling, walls mechanical slide open, air ducts pop open... this room features nothing like that. There's nothing that makes you go "oh cool". Dynamic: 2/5. Puzzles; there are no dexterity type challenges in this one. Puzzles are challenging and take quite the analysis to figure out. It has a 14% success rate. Definitely a hard one....

Because the Escape House is inside of Hyvee Arena, it could be a little tricky to find. Park in lot B on the east side of the building, and enter the main entrance. There was an attendant at the console when we entered, and he pointed us down a set of stairs behind his console. Once down the stairs, we took a right down a hallway and found the entrance to Escape House about 30 yards down the hall.

The Escape House itself was great! We did "Flood the City" as a group of 5 and found it very challenging. We were told it was the hardest room of the three they offer, and I'd believe it! In the end we managed to escape and got to add our names to the wall full of escapees. A perfect way to have fun...