paradigmQ — Local services in Vancouver

My best friend and I are well versed in the ins and outs of escape rooms and decided to take a trip to Oregon/Southern Washington to check out some more experiences. We booked Amnesia as it sounded very intriguing and seemed to be recommended for smaller groups like us.

The set was okay, though I did enjoy the all white look. There were a couple really unique puzzles that stood out to us that we had never seen before. I, myself, am not the biggest fan of logic puzzles, but this one was quite fun to figure out. The rest of the puzzles were pretty basic. We did have fun, but beat the room in 30min using 1 hint, and were left a little, “that was it?” But we later learned that by being geared toward smaller groups, it was probably the easiest of their options.

The game master, though quiet, was kind and greeted us at the door. He offered us a 20% discount to come back since we got a fast time and then he sent us on our way. With a good chunk of time before our next escape room elsewhere, we decided we wanted to try one more here, so we came back in and checked with their availability. He arranged for us to play almost immediately and gave us a recommendation to play the Bigfoot room, even though it’s geared toward larger groups. We were looking forward to the challenge!

My friend and I were immediately digging the set of the Bigfoot room as we walked in. Lots of props, good theming, and looked like plenty to do, which we were excited for! The storyline was a little cheesy, but in just the right way. We had fun searching around and gathering clues and really enjoyed quite a few of the puzzles throughout, and even had some more we’d never seen before! There were a couple puzzles we didn’t care for, or were too short (and/or short of breath) to do properly, but they were few and far between. We got stumped a few times and needed a few of our unlimited hints to push us in the right direction, but our game master helped us through. Just the right amount of difficulty! We won in 51 minutes!

We had a good time overall! And will likely return if visiting again :) The things that kept it from being a 5 star review were the following: We would’ve loved more animation and enthusiasm in our game master- one of our favorite parts about escape rooms is talking to the game masters and sharing in the passion for the industry! Getting hyped and excited about the adventures we just played/ are about to play, and being easily persuaded to play another. We were just missing that extra touch of warm connection-building flair. There were a couple tech things that kept us from seeing the big final reveal for the Bigfoot experience at the right time, but the game master showed us what would’ve happened, which was pretty cool. :) We did leave Amnesia wanting more out of it, but were glad we got the chance to...

(SPOILERS) Had an amazing challenging time, especially the first go round when we did the Murder Mystery room. Great, fair, our mistakes felt like our fault, challenging, no negative notes. However, the second room we tried, the Sasquatch room, had various problems. THIS SECTION IS OOPS ALL SPOILERS, FOR ROOM DESIGNER EYES ONLY. In chronological order (to our best recolle tion): Firsty, we were specifically instructed not to reach into the black woodstove, yet a puzzle required extensive manipulating of a key through said stove and it even fell behind the ramp and got stuck within. Secondly, the C bottles. While less egregious than the other two issues I will list out, it was still suitably frusterating and confusing enough that I will make serious note of it. The true solution was great, however the bottles also contain numbered dosage information, with two of the five having matching doses, perfectly aligning with the 4 digit code required for the lock. Having it match so perfectly in that way is a mistake that must be remedied. The room runners even mentioned that the C bottles give most people trouble. Fix it. Lastly, the worst of all, the sample boxes. Not only was there a completely unrelated object inside, making the zone seem completed, especially because a cavity search proved unfruitful. Well, wouldn't ya know, there WAS info inside the sample boxes. Completely out of sight and in complete shadow, requiring feeling the least visible face of the box, not even the bottom, the near wall. Not visible. I would say not only unintuitive but truly difficult to reach. My partner insists I make it very clear, that the distance required to reach said hidden clue was really deep in there. We had a good time and are content with our performance. First room was good. No, it was truly a great experience that I will always remember. The second was fun but will not hold a place in my...

Buyer beware! Additional fees! I won't be back!

I purchased three reservations in October 2023, then when I went to redeem my three reservations in December 2023, I was charged an additional $22.50 for the reservations. I did push back to explain that I had purchased three reservations but the staff person just repeated, "our prices increased." The staff made no effort to understand or explain what was happening and no apology was offered.

Rather than argue over $22.50, and potentially ruin the night for my friends, I paid the additional, unexpected fee of $22.50. The room itself was solid, but one of the locks was not fully reset from the previous group so we didn't get to play the room the way it was intended. We played the Fright Before Christmas at 5:00 on Friday 12/15. My group completed the room with about ten minutes to spare. The whole experience was oddly tense because of the cold treatment from staff at the beginning of the night.

When my group talked after we left ParadigmQ the consensus was that everyone was unhappy about the way I was treated before we started the room. None of my friends want to return to ParadigmQ. Their website promised an exciting experience and we got an awkward interaction. In the end, I feel like we got the bait and switch with the purchase of the three reservations in October. Based on the bait and switch tactics and the fun being sucked out of the experience, ParadigmQ...