Escape This — Local services in Madison

went to Escape This! one weekend in February as a fun, new thing to do with a friend. We had so much fun that it turned into an addiction!! I had never been to an escape room before this so I had no idea what to expect. We were able to get a groupon for their "Lost Friday Night" room and then booked the room through their website. It was extremely easy to book as their website is very user-friendly. We arrived 15 min early as requested and the owners walked us through the scenario and what to expect. I don't want to spoil anything for you because it's definitely all about the experience. Let's just say you get "involved"...A Lot, lol. It was so much fun that we started an escape room adventure and have now been to 23 different ones. But even after all of the ones we've done, Escape This! is still number 1 in Wisconsin in our book. I've even done 3 in Las Vegas that weren't as good as these. We went back and did "In Check", which was even more fun than the 1st one. You really have to think outside the box in there. Renee and Chris, the owners, really have a passion for their business and the creativity of their rooms and their puzzle concepts are awesome. One of the best and unique things about Escape This! is that their themes are fun and Lost Friday Night can be adapted for teens. I had so much fun doing it that I took my son and his 4 friends for his 13th birthday party. They really made it special for him and the kids couldn't stop talking about it (still haven't!). I live in Rockford, IL. Madison is quite a hike for us...especially with 5 kids in the car. But Escape This! is soooooo worth it. If you've wanted to try an escape room or even if you haven't but your friends want you to go......Escape This! is the...

Our family of 4 has done at least 10 escape rooms before... And I personally have done about 20. The Sherlocked room at Escape This was one of my top 3 favorite experiences ever!

The owner and room designer personally ran our room for our group of 10 (plus 2 kids age 9, whom she didn't charge us for!). The intro briefing was good. The room itself is surprisingly large, definitely not too crowded for our 12 people, and the set design is AMAZING. Everything authentic to time period, and really captures the small nuances that Sherlock Holmes aficionados will recognize.

The puzzles are excellent! They fit the story motif, and are challenging but not impossible. They make excellent use of props; we had multiple "oh WOW!" moments. The clue-giving is very good: 5 clues allowed for the game, but each clue covers unlimited help with a particular puzzle.

Our group, which included 10 experienced escape room players, managed to finish with 1:37 left, having used 3 clues. It is a challenging room, not a room for your first time, but really fun if you have a good mix of brain types! Very satisfying room. The debriefing was the most thorough and interactive I've ever experienced; the owner walked us through every puzzle that we still had questions about, she giddily showed off some of the little details in the room design, it was truly a fun friendly experience!

Be aware, parking can be tricky: the business only has a couple dedicated parking lot spots; the street is currently under construction so street parking is slim. There is a very nice parking garage one block further down the 1-way street, right hand side, we paid $3.60 for 90...

Five friends and I did the Sherlocked room. Two in our group had never done an escape room before, and four of us had, but not at this establishment. We all had a good time. The puzzles were challenging, but most of them we were able to work out. Our game master was friendly and engaged - we did end up asking for some clues. At one point, one of the puzzles with a mechanical component glitched, and our game master had to come in to reset it, but he was quick and he gave us a little extra time to make up for the glitch. It didn't detract from our enjoyment of the game.

The room aesthetic was nice, too. As a Sherlock Holmes fan, I was hoping for a nice set, and it was. The game takes place in Holmes and Watson's sitting room, and the Victorian set dressings and music make for a nice historic atmosphere. My one tiny complaint is that there are some printouts taped to Holmes' wall, and they are decidedly not Victorian. I'm not a stickler for immaculate historical accuracy, especially in an escape room, but I'm sure one could find plenty of more Victorian-looking papers to tape to the wall instead of the blatantly modern printouts.

Five Stars, and I'm looking forward to trying out other rooms at...