Have you played a room that is NOT 60 minutes long?
If so, what did you think of the experience?
Posted May 15, 2017, 8:32 PM UTC
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I was in San Diego last week and played a 90 minute room at 3rd day escape. It was definitely my favorite room I've done.
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There are several here in Canada that are only 45 minutes long. I'm not a big fan as I always feel like I need just a bit more time in the experience but from a facility perspective, they're a heck of a lot easier to schedule.
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But did you feel like you got your money's worth even though it was only 45 minutes?
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I think the Purge one in LA a couple years ago was 45 minutes, and I definitely felt like I got my money's worth. The shorter time contributed to more of a panicky feeling. When there's a whole hour or more sometimes it feels a little too safe time-wise so we went a little more leisurely.
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Well that completely comes down to the quality of the game. I've played 45-minute games that needed a few more minutes to be solved, and I've played 45-minute games that were just perfect.
I prefer 1 hour games, for the money and the experience, but a good 45-minute game can make me happy. Money's worth is very subjective unfortunately.
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The price of around, oh $23 or so average, is pretty steep for anything under 1hr. I mean shite whats a movie 1.5hrs on average for $10(per hr). If you wrap it quickly(especially with a small group) it can feel like a rip.
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I've done a 45-minute room and a 70-minute room. They were fine. As for your comment about getting your money's worth, generally it's going to matter to me more how much substance the room has for the money, roughly reflected by how quickly I got out (but also how fun it was). If I get out of a mediocre $28 room in 24 minutes (true story), I don't care that it was a 60-minute room, I only got 24 minutes worth of entertainment (and somewhat inferior quality to what I'm used to), which I think is an issue.
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The price of around, oh $23 or so average, is pretty steep for anything under 1hr. I mean shite whats a movie 1.5hrs on average for $10(per hr). If you wrap it quickly(especially with a small group) it can feel like a rip.
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It has a lot to do with the GM's and the owners. If you are an experienced escape roomer they should find that out and be like "WOAH, this might be a bit easy for u!". NOW, instead of steering you away they might change the puzzles a bit making it harder, recommend doing it with fewer people, etc. I have been SORELY disappointed (My crew is 3 people) when we stomp a room (supposedly) designed for 10 people w our 3, in 40mins, no clues...
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I did once do a room where you can request a level of difficulty, which I thought was a really good approach.
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Yeah it's rare, I have only found 1 out of my 14 that did it. It's a "gen 2" kind of escape room thing. I'm trying to promote it, especially since I have run into a few WAAAYYYY to easy rooms, that were not that fun BUT could have been better.
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Check out our escape room in Victoria, BC. (Horror Escape)
We give you 45min. This does make it an extra challenge for the players.
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Not exactly what you were asking, but I always thought this was a unique approach to timing...
In Irvine California there's a series of 3 connected rooms. You get 1 hour, but you see how far you can get. Most people can't even beat the first room in an hour. But for expert players, they're guaranteed a solid hour of fun. Coolest thing is that room 1 is an Asian office. Room 2 busting out the back door into a China town vibe "back alley". Room 3 is busting into a new room from the back alley.
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Which one is this and does this count as your recommendation for it?
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It was called Legend X. But it seems it has since shut down.
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GAH, I wondered how many "lost" escape rooms there were out there.....I knew some had failed.
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I've played several across the country. The experiences ranged from pretty good to meh. I prefer 60 mins.
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I have been searching for longer escape rooms. I found one I will try in June in NY that is supposed to be 2hrs and based in a bar. YES, you can have drinks. I am having trouble finding reviews and with the description I think it's more sitting in a small bar solving puzzles while you compete with other tables, and I don't think there is and actual "room". NOW the right way to do it, would be to have 2-3 "smaller" rooms that you do in 20-25mins, THEN when they are being reset you have a drink at your table, while the next team does a room. (THIS IS A HINT FOR YOU ESCAPE ROOM OWNERS!) Also if you could come up with a few movable escape rooms, renting a B+B for a weekend with the guests doing the escape rooms one group after another. That would be fun as heck.
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I did a zombie escape room in Florida that was 90 minutes. It was more like a haunted house with locks and actors but it was a good change of pace from the usual escape room. Honestly I was pretty over it by the 70 minute mark and I think it would have been better if it was streamlined down to 60 minutes.
The worst escape room I've ever done was a 45 minute escape room. Nothing against them but at least in my area, the shorter games are usually smaller and lower budget.
Nothing is worse than slaying what is supposed to be a difficult room. I did one that was billed as a 1% escape rate and the hardest room in the country. It literally had locked boxes inside of locked boxes. 2 of us escaped with 8 minutes left and the record time was 30 minutes. This was one of the highest budget escape rooms I've ever done and the scenery was amazing, but the terrible puzzle flow and bait-and-switch on the advertised difficulty ruined it for me.
It all comes down to puzzle flow and game design. Regardless of the time, if the game design is bad then it's not going to be a memorable room.
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Challenge Accepted in the Chicago area has 20 minute rooms with themes that change every few months. They are located inside of a mall, so I would imagine it's good for casual shoppers and kids just waking by to be able to do an escape room quickly. I've done 3 of their 20 minute rooms and they have all been fun and while not quite as challenging as a 60 minute room (which they also have 2 of), there were still some quick clever puzzles.
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Just back from Amsterdam where my team and I completed Sherlocked: The Vault. 90 minutes. Great time!
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Palace Escape in San Francisco offers an 80 minute room (Roosevelt I believe). It's honestly my favorite escape experience to date.
Their Houdini room is 80 minutes too, and was the best room I have played to date.
Houdini is my favorite escape room. Have you tried the Roosevelt Room? Also 80 minutes
I have not. I played the Houdini room when I was visiting.
That's cool that you liked it so much. We have thought about making our hardest room an 80 minute room, but we'd have to raise the price a little.
I agree that Roosevelt is my favorite so far. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's hard though - it just 'big'. But it never felt like a 80 mins; for contrast I've been in 45 min rooms where time dragged.
But yes, it is also more expensive than most rooms.