Enchambered: Whispering Halls & Containment Breach (Sacramento, CA)

Enchambered is often hailed as the best escape room in Sacramento. We did both rooms here and as most reviewers have said, the production value was top notch. The puzzles were solid and the themes, although common, worked out well. All the rooms are open to the public, so everyone who books the same timeslot will be mixed together. The physical spacing of the rooms relative to the number of people was a downside which should not be overlooked.

Quandary: Runaway Train & Locked In Dead (Roseville, CA)

Runaway Train (left) & The Locked In Dead (right)

[Updated June 2017] Their new "Runaway Train" room was awesome and there were a lot of great puzzles that were new to us. The physical space was fine for two and I feel it would be cramped if there were any more than four people in the room, let alone eight. The co-founder, Ryan, explained how we solved the room the way he originally intended for it to be solved in terms of team communication. The room was simplified to accommodate the general public. If you ever play the room, you will understand :).

Escape Edinburgh: Darker Side of Edinburgh & Da Vinci Room (Scotland)

The Darker Side Of Edinburgh

We booked two rooms at this place which was billed as "Scotland's First Live Escape Game". Their website was terrific and we were excited to do both these room.

The Da Vinci Room

The first room we did was "The Darker Side of Edinburgh" and this was one of the least exciting rooms we've played to date. There were no extra rooms and only padlocks to open so maybe it is showing its age as the first escape room in Scotland. We also managed to open the final lock that gave us the key to the exit at around the 12 min mark which lead to the moderator to rush in and tell us not to use it. He questioned how we got to it and we explained that a riddle lead us to a number, which we were told was a coincidence. Ok, so we agreed to put it back and asked that he let us know when it was time for us to use the key since we already solved the puzzle. He never comes back and we eventually escape with 12mins to spare.

Time Run: The Celestial Chain, London (England)

We scored 78% in this Time Run

Time Run touts itself as an immersive cinematic experience that takes escape rooms to the next level. This was definitely a unique experience and quite an extravagant production. The set up was completely immersive as you wait outside the premises in some industrial area where the entrance seemed to be the back of an old shipping area. You only go in once your time has come (there is no lobby to wait in) and once inside, you're in the story. The actor was quite good and never broke character. He didn't even ask for my name for the booking, he just took us in at our time and boom, right into the theme.

ClueQuest: Revenge of the Sheep, London (England)

Bow to the Master! 

ClueQuest had an interesting take on Escape Rooms in that their theme was based on a secret agency run by a mouse named Mr. Q. It's hard to describe so here's an except from their site:

"Professor BlackSheep is back again to destroy mankind as we know it by turning us all into sheep! And this time he is not alone - he’s got an evil side-kick and together they have built a dangerous device: the SheepMutator."

Future Technology Escape Room: Reason, San Francisco (CA)

A bunch of weirdos

Reason, the room that promises high tech gadgets, but does it live up to the hype? We were conflicted when rating this room as people had very contrasting opinions. The technology was cool, you get to use a 3D printer, a drone and a VR kit and some riddles were clever. Mike, the founder and moderator was chill and we liked him a lot. There was also a story line communicated through videos but if you aren't there when it's revealed, it's impossible to follow.

Resident Evil Escape Experience, Capcom & iam8bit, San Francisco (CA)

"Gurghhhhhhaaaa..."

The Resident Evil Escape Experience was dark, creepy and...underwhelming. The set design was cool but when the only things to open are padlocks, it gets old fast. The actors hired played the part of Umbrella Corp technicians and they were pretty creepy which played well with the theme. The music at the end puts you into panic mode and given it's only 45 minutes, it does get your adrenaline running. We escaped with the fastest time of the day at 39mins.

Palace Games: Roosevelt Room, San Francisco (CA)

Team Commonwealth
The Roosevelt Escape Room at Palace Games is one of the highest rated rooms on most review sites. While it is one of the greatest rooms, the cost is pretty steep and a few puzzles are repetitive. In the final room, a few of us had to sit out and wait in another previously explored room as there was no space for us and nothing for us to contribute. Nonetheless, expect some great "eureka!" moments and exceptional grand reveals.

Omescape: Pandemic, San Jose (CA)

20 minutes to spare with no hints!

Omescape Pandemic deals with a virus breakout in the sewers and the story gives a slight nod to the 1990's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon.  It was one of the most enjoyable room due to the quality of the room designs and seamless automation of reveals. The production value for this room was exceptional and it was also very spacious, probably only second to the Palace Games rooms which are already ridiculously large.

Paradox Escape Rooms: Wonderland, San Jose (CA)

Follow the white rabbit...

The Paradox Escape Room in San Jose only has one room: Wonderland with the obvious theme of Alice in Wonderland. We went as a birthday celebration with a group of people who had a few games under their belts. While there aren't any big reveals or much tech at all, the decor and puzzles were fun and creative.

Limitless Escape Games: Bank Heist Diamond of Destiny, Livermore (CA)

We brought two total noobs to Limitless Escape!

This brand new room opened to the public a few weeks ago and we were excited to see what Limitless Escape Games had to bring to the table. We played the Bank Heist room two weeks after it opened (fits up to 10 people). We decided to bring along some friends who had never played an escape room before.

Reviews To Help You Choose The Best Escape Rooms

Crazy Escape Roomers!

We feel that the quality of escape rooms vary tremendously and given there are +1,000 escape rooms in the US alone, you really have to choose the best ones in order to maximize your fun. We review our rooms based on the below:

• Immersiveness (set design, story...)
• Puzzles and riddles (unique, clever, variety)
• Price ($30/person is standard in the US)
• The individual experience (too many people = missing out on some fun)

We appreciate the reviews that other sites post so we decided to help out our fellow escape roomers and post reviews (without spoilers of course) of our own. Enjoy!