Captured Escape room

Well, we were captured, but I had a great time holding the key!

It was a fantastical, fun, freaky fright on Friday. A crew of us went to "The Study: Scalpels and Saws" and it would seem that Barrington St is the nexus of Hal-Town's escape room brain-trust. We were excited and we rode that elevator to the top with the giddiness and mindset of our final exams at Uni.  The energy was high in the room and all the groups being shown the way were giggling with excitement during our overview and introduction to: "Saws and Scalpels"

Upon entry to the room a creepy, dark vibe was present, perfect for Halloween. The rest of the crew and I were salivating at the chance to prove our metal. With the title "...Staples and Saws" I had hopes and images of that similarly titled escape room horror franchise. Upon discovery of our first major clue, that feeling was fully expanded upon.

I really enjoyed the puzzling aspect of some of the challenges but feel a bit taken aback on the extraordinary leap one would have to take in order to even get the first major clue. Now that said, it makes sense in a suspended reality sot-of-way. One where someone (read security) wasn't actually watching you during the process. (I can't be too specific without spoiling it :)

There were a few red herrings which I thoroughly enjoyed, but another major clue was marred by lighting difficulties that none of us could overcome.

I really love the effort put in, the atmosphere and definitely the energy, but, and perhaps my expectations were too high.

I def overanalyzed everything too much during the process and I feel that just sticking to the task at hand and taking one clue at a time may have smoothed things out. The challenge was fun, I just felt the game was a series of clues without consistency or flow of the (short) story being presented.

Give it a shot for Halloween's sake. I'm sure you're up for the challenge.

Patrick O'Neal