Ready Set Escape — Local services in Smithfield

Great for novices and for experienced fans who just love the hunt and puzzles. If you're looking for total immersion (through effects, sets, etc.) or high-tech gadgetry, you may be disappointed... at least by Hollywood Heist. The owner, George, was also our game master and has a passion for his craft and his customers as evidenced by the waiting room. There are phone chargers in the lock boxes while you play, complimentary drinks, and plenty of items and posters to keep you occupied! We enjoyed Hollywood Heist so much, we stuck around for Pirate's Plunder. There is a mix of puzzle types, but you are mostly working to find lock combinations and puzzles were generally sequential. There were a couple times in both rooms where we (5 of us) had three efforts being worked simultaneously. This gave us more to do, but it did require more solid communication to make sure things weren't overlooked or that we weren't stepping on each other's puzzles. Kids could contribute well in either room, but adults over 35 (40?) will likely get the biggest kick recounting the 90s era films as they follow Tom Hanks' career during the 1-hour problem-solving mystery. We were just passing through town, but we would definitely come back, if we were close, to see the new room...

4-30-23

A group of three of us did the Pirate's Blunder room and thoroughly enjoyed it. The theme is finding his treasure. We did "escape" it with about seven minutes left. The odds of completing the room within the hour are listed on their site, and I am happy we were able to finish it because the odds are low, in my opinion. Challenging and fun! So if you want both, this is it.

We will return to try the other room (another is under construction as of the date above).

Thanks to Jaden (spelling?) for our orientation and info pre-escape. There are complimentary drinks and candy. Lockers are available for phones and wallets, etc. The locker even charges your phone if you need that. Thanks to the owner for speaking with us ( I didn't catch his name) and detailing the other room(s) when we finished.

We love escape rooms, and we like how you can book the rooms here privately. So if you book a time, the room is yours. We've encountered other places that stick you with strangers unless you pay more to have the entire room for your own crew. We prefer our own crew, and Ready Set Escape enables at no extra charge. Kudos.

Thanks for a...

A solid Generation 1 (physical locks and puzzles) business with a really friendly staff and enjoyable rooms. You won't get lavish sets or a lot of technology in your puzzles, but you'll have fun.

Monopoly Mania: my least favorite room of theirs, but my friends really enjoyed it. A great room for fans of Monopoly for sure and the puzzles were clever.

Pirates Plunder: I loved this room! Easily their best decorated set, although I'm a bit partial to pirate-themed rooms. Lots of fun, hands-on puzzles.

Hollywood Heist: great use of props and Hollywood trivia (without having to know any Hollywood trivia). I won't spoil the room's ending, but it's...